Souvlaki's oversized cousin: fist-sized chunks of marinated pork threaded onto a long spit and turned slowly over coals for hours, then carved off in ragged, smoky pieces. A festival and Sunday-taverna dish rather than a street snack.
Also known as: kontosouvli, kontosoúvli, κοντοσούβλι
Watch it made
Ingredients
- 2 kg pork shoulder, in fist-size 6-7 cm chunks
- 100 ml olive oil
- 60 ml lemon juice
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp sweet paprika
- 15 g salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 onions, quartered (optional, for threading)
How to make it
- 1
Marinate the pork overnight in oil, lemon, garlic, oregano, paprika and pepper.
- 2
Thread the chunks onto a long spit packed hard against each other, fat sides facing out, onion quarters here and there.
- 3
Turn slowly over banked medium coals for 2.5-3 h, never directly over the drip zone.
- 4
Salt in the final hour and baste with any leftover marinade early on only.
- 5
Rest 10 min, then carve or pull straight off the spit.
Pro tip: Pack the meat with no daylight between chunks; a tightly pressed kontosouvli roasts like one joint and stays juicy, while gaps let every cut face dry out.
