One aspect of Greek cuisine that I’ve found to be under-represented is grilling. Greeks love grilled food yet I see very little mention of it.
Since the days of the caveman, humans have been throwing meat and other foods onto an open fire. It’s the most primitive method of cooking yet today, it’s probably the most enjoyed and also the most discussed (gas grill vs. charcoal/wood).
Although you will continue to see dishes come from the kitchen, I’m going to be top-heavy on some grilled dishes, from a Greek’s perspective. I’ll use ingredients that are mostly used in Greek cooking (some heresy will be tolerated), expand more on how, what, when Greeks do their grilling and of course, show some wonderful grilled food ideas for you to consider this summer when entertaining.
Just to get one thing out of the way that is the “charcoal vs. gas grill” debate. There really is no debate. Charcoal and wood BBQ will win out on flavour each & every time. For the sole reason of convenience, most of my grilled foods come from my propane-fueled grill.
On occasion, the charcoal will be lit up and you might see a lamb or whole pig on the spit but almost always, the food will come from a gas grill.
So…what do Greeks like to grill? Meats are the obvious faves, grilled fish and seafood get thrown on the “barbie”. Don’t forget vegetables like peppers and eggplants, some bread can get toasted and even some fruits will make an appearance.
Back in Greece, most families are “old skool” and the preference is for charcoal and wood. The appearance of gas grills has entered the markets of Greece and Europe but the cost of such apparatus are still steep.
Greeks will light up their BBQ on the weekends, at their summer homes by the beach, in the mountains or in the home village. Greeks sometimes will even grill on the rooftop of their apartment/condo building or in a vacant lot.
Barring any of the above options, Greeks can’t be kept away from grilled food. Nearly every block will have a taverna with a grill, where the aroma of souvlakia, keftedes or loukanika fill the air.
Being a Greek born in Canada, I do also employ some American grilling techniques but you will always detect that Greek touch to the dish.
For starters, I love zucchini and they are especially delicious when grilled. Here, I sliced them lengthwise, brushed them with oil and seasoned them with salt and pepper. Serve with my thick, creamy, just enough garlic Tzatziki with fresh dill and watch this appetizer/meze disappear.
Another grilling option takes a Greek vegetarian classic called Briam…a baked dish of zucchini, peppers, onions, tomatoes and potatoes. To make this grilled version of Briam, I par-boiled some potatoes, then grilled them off along side the slices of vegetables. A head of garlic also got roasted for some added flavour and I grilled some thick coins of white onions.
Grill everything until just fork-tender, throw them in your bowl with some extra virgin olive oil, squeeze in some roasted garlic, add some chopped parsley and dried oregano and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
The star of yesterday’s dinner was this T-bone steak. This cut gets it’s name from the obvious pattern of the bone, forming a T-shape. The T-bone is cut from the front section of the loin (near the rib section) and includes a smaller section of both the tenderloin and the strip loin.
Yesterday, I dressed this steak with some Greek flavours…olive oil, coarse sea salt, cracked black pepper, minced garlic, some Metaxa brandy, rosemary and some lemon thyme.
T-bone steaks are a good (pricier) cut, do not need to be tenderized. All one has to do is allow for the steak to return to room temperature before grilling and add your flavourings (except for the salt). Allow them to penetrate the meat for up to an hour. Pre-heat your grill and season with coarse sea salt just before the steaks hit the grill.
Cook to your desired doneness (I cooked mine for 4 mins. a side), allow to rest for about 5 minutes and cut into a juicy piece of summer, right on your plate.
51 Responses
Peter – This all looks so tasty. I made grilled lamb the other day and used your recipe for tzaziki, with a little bit of lemon juice added. I didn’t have ouzo unfortunately, but I’ll have to get some next time.
That looks so good! Wonderful colour on that zucchini. We do a lot of veg on the barbecue (charcoal) – a fairly new favourite is asparagus. Lightly grilled and then dropped in a bath of lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and oregano.
Oh you used the word “barbie”…LOL! T Bone steak is an absolute favourite. I love the use of the Metaxa in the marinade…great thinking Peter!
Peter, that first shot is…money! Seriously, you totally need to enter that photo in a contest man.
I have to go take a look at this baklava next….
Can I become an honorary Greek? I believe all food can be grilled (heck I have done cornbread on a grill).
As far as charcoal versus gas. 8 out of 10 times I go to charcoal. The best purchase I ever made for mine was a charcoal chimney. It is amazing how much easier charcoal lights and does not have any residual lighter fluid taste. Usually I get home, light the chimney, prep dinner, and by the time I am done prepping the grill is ready to rock out.
I usually go to gas when it is raining. I like to keep the charcoal grill outside overnight and let the charcoal burn out. Rain tends to piss off lit charcoal and makes ash turn to paste. However, a trip to Home Depot for a metal trash can can solve this problem….
That t-bone looks amazing and great grill marks. Oh and grilled veggies are a beautiful freaking thing.
Peter, thanks for another great recipe. Still waiting for a recipe for the “tyrokefteri” dip.
Peter, thanks for another great recipe. Still waiting for a recipe for the “tyrokefteri” dip.
The barbeque will not be off from now until the end of October to cook up all of those seasonal ingredients. Believe me there will be plenty of Greek oregano in the mix.
Even with the flu, I am crazy over this… Looks SO good Peter. Or, since I am sick and this makes me feel better, that’s Dr Peter to you ;-)
That Briam dish is so colorful. I love it. I think I could get into all this steak business except it got cold and rainy here again. Pretty soon though. Great griLling post with lots of good information. I agree- wood or charcoal is tops.
I always leave your site drooling. This is my ultimate dinner – grilled steak and veggies. Delicious!
Yes, yes, yes! This is my favourite way to eat all summer. We love to do up a mess of veggies on the grill, just like that, and have leftovers for sammies, pasta, eggs, etc.
Long live the Greek Grill!
OMG, that looks so good! I love grilled food!
Cheers,
Rosa
I love the grill too and now I am really hungry. I just bought some T bone steaks the other day. Can’t wait to grill them.
Wow, way to kick start my spring! I don’t often get a chance to comment, but every post of yours is mouth-watering and I have bookmarked several recipes. To me, there is nothing more gorgeous than a plate of roasted veggies. Fabulous!
You have perfect grill marks on everything too. It’s totally time to heat up the coals.
Mmmmm… delicious pictures Peter! Love to know about all these techniques and tips!
I never BBQ, my man does and he always uses charcoal. I love the flavour of the smoke in the veggies and meat. Yum!
My father once told me that the best wood for a good BBQ is oak.
Grilled vegetables are really delicious and so is any kind of grilled meat. I love both!
I can imagine all those lovely flavours coming out of your bbq. We love bbqing whenever possible but you can imagine how difficult it is to do that in Athens on a small balcony.
I have nothing left to say except that you are lucky you live so far away because I would invite myself over. That steak is beautiful! I notice alot of oregano, thyme and rosemarie in Greek cooking. what about mint? I usually salt my meat before grilling which is what I read in Bruce Aidell’s meat book.(totally agree with your DM comment :-))
Cheers
The pictures if the grill & the smoke – is just amazing!
My dad is the charcoal grill kind ;o)
I cannot resist anything grilled. .oooo that flavor!
Looks great! I was looking for inspiration for a bbq next weekend and I’ve got it!
“A juicy piece of summer” indeed! We had a few days of 85 degree weather, and in 2 short hours yesterday plunged back to 50. How soon we look for endless summer! Have a great grilling weekend!
Incredible !! What a perfect blend of foods!!! Pair all these with a great bottle of wine and it does not get any better!!
Looks like the perfect grill meat and vegetables. Greek knows how to cook.
i think i’m gonna come live with you so you can cook for me. for my first meal, i’ll take this and that creme brulee you just made. and some shrimp. your choice as to preparation.
It all looks so delicious, Peter. I love to eat the fruits of the grilling labor, but I don’t perform the labor – that’s my husband’s job. :)
Is it wrong that I would skip the steak and go right for those veggies? Yum!
Looks great Peter and I look forward to reading this series. I also cook on propane because of convenience, and have started using wood chips to add some smoke flavor. My grill doesn’t have a special wood chip accessory, but I just soak em and put them in a small cast iron dish. Other folks seem to just wrap them in alumninum foil with vents in top.
Thanks to a fabulous festival at our local Greek church every year, I associate Greek food with grilling — the amazing aroma of lamb skewers cooking on the grill permeates the neighborhood for two days.
I really have to catch up with all your posts Peter. Kalo Mina kai xronia polla!
The reason Greeks don’t grill that often is that nobody really helps! Whenever we had a barbeque with my family, my father did the grilling for hours under the sun and all our guests sat around waiting for the food! In England people grilled their own stuff as well, or gave a hand with the salads etc. Plus Greeks really no know nothing about beef. THey cook it for too long and even if it is a prime cut it comes out like a “sole”!
So that what was wafting through the air yesterday — the wonderful smells of a Greek barbeque! Everything looks great, especially the veggies!
yeah, that food would disappear before you could say “baklava” if i was hanging around–it looks AMAZING. grilling veggies is the very best treatment of them in my eyes, so that makes my lack of a grill even more sad. :)
Oooh I could eat that steak right now! I’m loving the dressing you made for it. Visiting here always makes me hungry!
Since one of our favorite grilled dishes is your souvlaki I’m not surprised at how good all the Greek grilled food looks & sounds
Did you get a new camera or what?! Your photos are awesome, Peter, really!
xox
I definitely associate Greek food with grilling. Although I’m not that well versed in Greek cuisine (although I’m getting better thanks to you) when I think of Greek food, I do think of souvlaki and gyros cooked over hot coals with that pita bread warmed on the grill.
I just ate lunch and I’m hungry again after typing that. I’m even hungrier looking at pictures of that steak!
Oh yeah, this would be a HUGE hit in my household. Everything would be devoured … the steak (my cavemen love grilled steak) and the veggies (my favorite way to eat zucchini!). YUM!
Mediterranean grilling is so special, so tasty and so under-exposed in North America. I guess it’s because here people’s forte in the kitchen tens to be BBQ, so they have their own style, but Greek, Italian, French, Spanish, Lebanese, Turkish (etc) grilling is so delicious, it really ought to become better known.
These recipes looks amazing! I’m not a huge meat eater, so I tend to go for the grilled veg, that’s why I’m glad to see some on your plate :)
My mouth is watering … that meal looks amazing. Love the veggies and I too favor charcoal barbecues over gas grills (although I have to admit I see others using gas grills and it seems so much simpler). Steak, steak, steak … had our first barbecue of the season this past weekend and I can’t wait to enjoy some more.
I haven’t even read your post yet. I came right down here to the comments to tell you that the first photograph is THE MOST gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen. I can almost smell it!
Okay, I’m going back to read now.
Ohhhhh, my. Everything looks so dang good. The Briam is going to get made on my grill this summer!
Yay, I look forward to even more Greek grilling. I’ve started grilling every Saturday, so bring on the ideas.
Seriously, My mouth is watering just looking at this!
i could live just off those bbq vegetables (with some good bread and cheese on the side)
well you know our feelings on grilling, especially after coming back from 10 days in argentina where everything is grilled. i gotta say, grilling w/ wood or charcoal is the best for flavor, but using a good old gas grill is second best. great marks on those veggies, peter.
Wow! This is so my ideal summer meal, the grilled meat and super tender grilled veg with that cool tzatziki. Reminds me of my honeymoon food!
I can smell the smokey goodness from here!
Your photos are exceptional.
LL
P,
I tried the Colorado lamb as you suggested to me at Lupa (no smell), and I served it with your delicious tzatziki. I will post it soon.
Thanks!
I got rid of my rusty old grill. I have to hury and get a new one. Love meals like this.
Looks wonderful! Grilled foods are great but make it grilled Greek food OMG – I’m heaven!