Binghamton, New York's signature: cubes of chicken, pork, or lamb marinated for days in a vinegar-oil-herb bath, grilled on skewers, then pulled off into a slice of Italian bread used as both glove and bun. It descends from southern-Italian spiedini brought by 1920s immigrants and has its own annual Spiedie Fest.
Also known as: spiedies, spiedie sandwich, speedie, spedie
Watch it made
Ingredients
- 800 g chicken thigh or pork loin, in 3 cm cubes
- 120 ml olive oil
- 80 ml red wine vinegar plus 30 ml lemon juice
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp dried basil and 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried mint (the Binghamton tell)
- 1 tsp salt and 0.5 tsp black pepper
- Soft Italian bread, in thick slices
How to make it
- 1
Shake all the marinade ingredients together in a jar, reserving a few spoonfuls for serving.
- 2
Submerge the meat and refrigerate 2 to 3 full days, stirring once a day; this is the step that makes it a spiedie.
- 3
Skewer straight from the marinade without wiping.
- 4
Grill over hot coals 8-10 minutes, turning until browned at the corners and cooked through.
- 5
Grip a slice of Italian bread like an oven mitt, clamp it around a skewer, and pull the meat off into the bread. Drizzle with the reserved marinade.
Pro tip: Time is the invisible ingredient: two hours of this marinade gives you grilled chicken, two days gives you a spiedie. The vinegar-herb bath needs the full soak to work its way to the center, and the dried mint is what old Binghamton cooks check for.
