Paphos Life

So how do you get the perfect Souvla on your BBQ?
The Last Castle always seems to get it right...So what's the secret ....
Suggestions please.....

daveg wrote: ↑Fri Mar 31, 2017 4:46 pm So how do you get the perfect Souvla on your BBQ?
The Last Castle always seems to get it right...So what's the secret ....
Suggestions please.....

The secret is slowly, slowly...

Big fire, let the charcoal go white and put the meat on. Just add salt and adjust the height of the BBQ to make sure it doesn't cook too quickly.

Alternate cheap pork and expensive lamb on the skewer to the pork absorbs the juices and taste of the lamb.

Now I'm all hungry.

Flossie wrote: ↑Fri Mar 31, 2017 7:21 pm Cypriots squeeze lots of lemon juice & dried oregano on it too whilst it's cooking!

Not at Last Castle, just salt & slow cooking!

Leave it to the Cypriot people to do the souvla cooking..... it's got to be a secret that's passed down between families.

It took us near on 11 years before my other half finally got the hang of it - but I'm not passing on his secret because we're now keeping our neighbours and friends in the dark too!

Looking fwd to experimenting....Love the summer BBQ...

Best for me is if the fire is only with wood. You produce your own charcoal from hard wood in a separate drum, half cut, and refill the BBQ when needed. Big heat, no flames, Oregano in the end when meat is cooked, otherwise bitter. And what other posters already said: siga, siga....
With enough fire wood you have even at Christmas no problem with the meat. Of course pork, lamb, chicken, liver not from the Supermarket but from your local butcher or family.

All the Cypriots I know always use Lemon juice and salt, as posted slow cooking is the way to go on a charcoal BBQ. Not gas!








I have used the Last Castle many times but never better than when your family (Cypriots) cook Souvla for you...

After watching my Cypriot neighbor for thirty years, his tips....make sure the coals are white, never rush the slower the better, always use salt at the end because salt takes the juices out, make sure you never mix different meats on the same skewer as they cook at different rates, never use lean meat, because its the fat in the meat melting and dropping on the coals that give the meat the smell and taste, never heat it up later, serve from the skewer to the plate..and ive yet to taste a better one anywhere. just to add he always adds oregano on the Lamb, for pork he marinates it in red wine and coriander seeds the night before, and Chicken he marinates in plain milk.

We went to the Last Castle on Saturday for the first time and had the best souvla ever! We couldn’t get through it all so had a doggy bag to take home and had cold pork sandwiches the next day which were quite excellent.

My wife has now bought me a souvla grill and motor so we can enjoy it at home, and I have taken note of all the advice above. The question is - how long does souvla take? I know that most may just tell me the obvious which is when the meat is sufficiently cooked and browned, but if, for example, we wanted to eat at 5pm, what time do I expect to put the meat over the white charcoal? 3pm? 4pm?

It is difficult to tell the exact time. Also in Winter it takes longer. And the size of your meat pieces as well as which meat (pork or lamb or goat )
If it is windy a lot of heat goes somewhere. Average is ca 1 hour and white coal or wood have to be added from time to time...Also the quality of the meat makes sometimes shorter cooking necessary.
Max

Thanks, Max.

cyprusmax47 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 18, 2017 10:17 am It is difficult to tell the exact time. Also in Winter it takes longer. And the size of your meat pieces as well as which meat (pork or lamb or goat )
If it is windy a lot of heat goes somewhere. Average is ca 1 hour and white coal or wood have to be added from time to time...Also the quality of the meat makes sometimes shorter cooking necessary.
Max

My Cypriot neighbour, who taught me to cook souvla, swears by a timing of "seven quarters of an hour" (i.e. 1 3/4 hours). You then have 15 minutes leeway or it's buggered. I've heard the one-and-three-quarters of an hour elsewhere.

You need the right equipment, of course - the typical Cypriot BBQ, with adjustable in height spindles.

You need plenty of zivonia, too - not for cooking, but to quaff whilst you're monitoring the pork.

The best souvla, IMO, is lamb.