NY Chicken Spiedies – a regional specialty

Upstate NY has at least two food icons – chicken spiedies and chicken riggies. Both are beloved by the locals. Today I’ll introduce the spiedies…… and riggies when I remember to take pictures.

Chicken spiedies are cubes of white breast meat, marinated 1-2 days in a lemony-garlicky-herby mix. Then just thread onto skewers and grill. Metal skewers work best as they will not burn like a bamboo skewer. And you can use the skewers again and again with any meat. Put in a roll, sprinkle over some more of vinaigrette that was set aside prior to marinating, and you have yourself a chicken Spiedie.

So simple, but way different to serve a crowd with something other than hamburgers and hot dogs. I like to toast the inside of the rolls until lightly browned, and add some lettuce to the inside before piling on the chicken. Per a family suggestion, a swipe of honey mustard spread goes well on the bun too.

Since the chicken is in 1″ cubes, it cooks quickly too. Serve with some potato salad and chips, and your guests will say, “Wow, what is this?”

Unless they live around my area, guaranteed they never heard of chicken spiedies!

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NY Chicken Spiedies

Chunks of chicken must be marinated at least 24 hours ahead, in a garlic lemon marinade, then grilled, and served on a roll.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup lemon juice
• ¼ cup white wine vinegar although cider vinegar will also work
• 6 cloves of garlic minced
• 2 tbsp fresh basil chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh mint chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
• 1 ½ tsp dried oregano
• ¾ tsp salt divided
• ¾ tsp pepper divided
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts trimmed and cubed into 1” pieces
• 4 medium Italian rolls about 6” long

Instructions

1. Whisk lemon juice, garlic, and herbs along with ½ tsp each of salt and pepper together in a bowl. Slowly whisk in oil. Reserve and refrigerate ¼ cup of the mix for serving tomorrow.
2. Place chicken in a container (preferable glass) or large bag and cover with the marinade. Stir to massage the bag to make sure all the chicken is coated.
3. Preheat your grill to high.
4. Remove the chicken from the marinade and skewer onto 4 metal skewers.
5. Oil the grill, and then put the chicken on. The cubes cook quickly, so turn to brown all sides until cooked. Let rest 10 minutes. Open the rolls and for a couple minutes.
6. Remove from the skewers and sprinkle with the reserve ¼ cup of marinade, if desired. Serve on toasted buns.

Recipe Notes

And maybe not so classic, but some lettuce goes well in the rolls too, and some honey mustard sauce.