One of my earliest fond food memories (1974) was noticing how Greeks (in the summer) were always eating outside. Of note were the tavernas that would come alive for the evening service: tables and chairs being arranged outside of the premise, tablecloths, plates, glassware laid out.
Greeks eat dinner late (say 10ish) and menu items would be plenty and shared by those at the table.
Back then there were no hamburgers but one could order Brizoles (pork chops), biftekia, keftedakia and today’s dish, soutzoukakia.
Much like the mixture for Smyrneika, these go on the grill and are nibbled on with some sliced tomatoes and onions, perhaps a spicy roasted pepper and some fries and bread on the side.
For best results, choose meats that have about 20% fat content, ensure your grill surface is clean before placing your meat mix on the surface and don’t flip the meat countless times. Let the grill do its work.
Grilled Soutzoukakia
1/2 lb. medium ground beef
1/2 lb. medium ground pork
1 medium onion, finely grated
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 slices of stale bread, soaked in milk then squeezed dry
1 large egg
approx. 2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. ground pepper
pinch of ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. dried mint
2 tsp. dried Greek oregano
- Mix all your ingredients with your hands in a bowl and fry-off a small piece of meat and taste and adjust seasoning to taste. Place in the fridge for an hour to bind and allow flavours to meld.
- Take out of the fridge, and form into palm-sized oval meatballs or longer, sausage shaped (like in photos).
- Before grilling, allow the keftedes to come back to room temperature. Grill on medium-high heat cook for 3-4 minutes a side.
- Serve with Fries, garnishes of sliced tomatoes, sliced onions and if you’re daring, a roasted hot pepper. Mustard goes well with these as well.
