Tuesday, August 9, 2016

What Is a Spiedie, Anyway?

104,000 people can't be wrong.

That was the estimated attendance at this weekend's Spiedie Fest and Balloon Rally, a celebration that started over 30 years ago to celebrate a food beloved in my community of Binghamton, in upstate New York.

The spiedie.

So, what is a spiedie?

Simply, it is cubed meat (traditionally lamb, but more commonly nowadays, chicken - it can also be pork or even venison) marinated in an oil/vinegar/herbal marinade for three days or more, perhaps up to a week.  The meat is then grilled, and served on Italian bread.  Here, you can buy bottled spiedie sauce, or the pre cubed, marinated chicken, in the supermarket.

Believe it or not, I rarely eat spiedies, and if I do, I skip the bread.  I find the commercial sandwiches too dry, and I have a problem with swallowing dry food.

But making your own is an excellent way to show creativity. The Spiedie Fest has a cooking contest every year, and these are some of the winning recipes.

From the above link, here is the winning recipe of last year.  Doesn't it sound delicious?

Chicken
First place: Katherine Madden, of Endicott
  • 3-5 pounds cut-up chicken
  • ½ cup red or white wine
  • ½ cup white vinegar or lemon juice
  • ¼ cup chopped parsley
  • ¼ cup chopped sweet basil
  • ¼ cup chopped mint
  • 1 tablespoon salt (season)
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoon soy sauce
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and marinate 3 days. Cook over hot coals until meat is white inside, but don’t overcook or they will be dry.

And, a link for another recipe from AllRecipies.

For my readers from India, I wonder if you could adopt it to your way of cooking.

Does this appeal to you?

21 comments:

  1. If I ever get to Binghamton, I will definitely try one. Although I am Italian, I am not fond of Italian bread so I might skip that part too.

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    1. I think you will enjoy them, but please note everyone has their own recipe. The commercial ones may not taste like the winning recipe I linked to.

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  2. Oh, looks like meat cooked on a skewer and then grabbed off by the bread working like a glove and then garnished. The festival looks really fun. Thanks for sharing a regional food. Very interesting.

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    1. Thank you. You are mainly correct except, traditionally, they are not garnished before serving. Just the marinated meat, grilled, and served in the bread, like a sub or hero sandwich.

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  3. Wow I never heard of it before. How interesting! Those numbers are incredible. Thanks for sharing this piece of information! YUM>

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    1. A lot of turnout - about as many people as live in our county!

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  4. That recipe sounds fantastic. Thanks for the intro; I'd never heard of a spiedie.

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    1. I invite you to try one of the recipes, if you are a meat eater.

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  5. Wow! 3 pounds of meat on one sandwich! Now, that's a meal, for sure :-)

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    1. Well, you won't find 3 lb of meat in a commercial sandwich - I can guarantee you that.

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  6. I have never heard of it it before... Sounds interesting and I guess it must be delicious as well.

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  7. Never heard of a spiedie..except for what we used to call spiders when we were kids..LOL.. but this chicken thing sounds awesome....

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  8. my son lives in Albany and when I visit I see Spiedies at the supermarket and smell them grilling at the ball game (Go ValleyCats!). Definitely an upstate NY delicacy. Thanks for letting me know what they are all about. Might try one on my next visit.

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    1. I invite you to try one - they serve these at many local events here, too.

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  9. Sounds good. Well, except for the mint. But it sounds like something I might enjoy.

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    1. The mint is not a requirement, although a lot of people use it. You can use oregano, instead, unless you don't like that, either.

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  10. Interesting! I have never heard of this but now I'm intrigued to try it.

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  11. Making your own is better than buying ready made which comes as superficial. I gotta try it, someday:)

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