Felicity Cloake’s perfect chicken souvlaki. Photograph: Robert Billington/The Guardian. Food stylist: Loïc Parisot. View image in fullscreen Felicity Cloake’s perfect chicken souvlaki. Photograph: Robert Billington/The Guardian. Food stylist: Loïc Parisot. How to cook the perfect ... Food How to make the perfect chicken souvlaki – recipe Interpretations of Greece’s most popular street food abound, but whose version of these smoky, juicy skewers is the best?
Felicity Cloake Sun 28 Jun 2026 14.00 CEST Share Prefer the Guardian on Google I ’m aware that, fittingly, I’m dancing across hot coals by tackling souvlaki: in her book Taverna , Georgina Hayden devotes an entire page to the subtle differences between Greek and Cypriot barbecued meat kebabs (souvla, souvlaki, kalamaki, kontosouvli … the list goes on), yet, as Carolina Doriti observes in her beginner’s guide , “the beauty of souvlaki, Greece’s most popular street food, is its simplicity”. Though I’d steer you elsewhere for a more definitive explanation of what qualifies in different places, the name comes from the word souvla , or “skewer”; souvlaki is the diminutive, and it’s usually cooked on small skewers rather than on a big spit. That’s all you need to know, because – although what’s on there, how it’s seasoned and what accompanies it changes according to region and season – the ancient pleasure of smoky, juicy, grilled meat (as featured in the Iliad!) or indeed vegetables, remains the same wherever you go.
View image in fullscreen Georgina Hayden’s chicken souvlaki uses a yoghurt-based marinade. All thumbnail images by Felicity Cloake. Pork and chicken are the most popular choices, though I’m assured lamb souvlaki is increasingly available; for meat-free alternatives, Olive magazine has a recipe with halloumi, and Lambrinaki in Athens serves a mushroom version. Though I decide to focus on chicken, which is, in my opinion, the meat that benefits the most from a bit of help in the flavour department, you could substitute a quick-cooking cut such as leg or loin of pork for the chicken below.
Hayden and chef Stuart Ralston both use chicken thigh, but breast seems more popular. Both are tasty – what chargrilled protein isn’t? – but the higher fat content of the thigh keeps it juicier. (Using a combination would work well, too, but ideally thread them on to separate skewers because they cook at a different rate.)
Though there’s no need to get out the measuring tape, chunks of about 3cm are ideal. Unless you’re also lucky enough to have a proper foukou charcoal grill, chef Theo Michaels’ 5cm cubes start to burn on the outside before they’re done in the middle, while anything smaller risks drying out. (This is the fault of my equipment rather than Michaels’ recipe. He does make it abundantly clear that: “As soon as it is cooked through, remove from the heat. I can’t emphasise this enough.” Can’t say I wasn’t warned.)
View image in fullscreen Akis Petretzikis says his chicken souvlaki is ‘the best you ever tried’. Akis Petretzikis reckons that the “secret ingredient in this recipe is the brine”, which he infuses with lemon juice, bay leaves, parsley, thyme, garlic, pepper and honey, and goes on to describe his version as “the best chicken souvlaki you ever tried”. The chicken, nicely seasoned though it is, has what one of my testers describes as a slightly “rubbery” texture. I know what she means: despite being perfectly cooked, there’s a definite bounciness between the teeth that...