Spiedie

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The spiedie (IPA: /spɪdɪ/) is a dish local to Broome County in the Southern Tier of New York State. Spiedie consists of cubes of chicken and pork, but it may also be made from lamb, veal, venison or beef. The meat cubes are marinated overnight or longer in a special spiedie marinade, then grilled carefully on spits over a charcoal pit. The freshly prepared cubes are served on soft Italian bread or a submarine roll, wood skewer and all, then drizzled with fresh marinade. The roll is used as an oven glove to grip the meat while the skewer is removed. Spiedie meat cubes can also be eaten straight off the wooden skewer or can be served in salads, stir fries, and a number of other dishes. The marinade recipe varies, usually involving olive oil, vinegar, and a variety of Italian spices and fresh mint.

Spiedie has been celebrated at the Spiedie Fest and Balloon Rally in Binghamton, New York, every August, since 1983. The annual event includes a spiedie cook-off in search of the best spiedie recipes. The spiedie and the Spiedie Fest were featured on an episode of The Food Network's "Unwrapped".

Commercial marinades are available regionally and can be ordered from various internet websites for shipment throughout the world.

Contents

1 History
2 Where to buy in US
3 Marinade Ingredients - Typical
4 External links

History

The original idea for spiedie was brought by Italian Immigrants to the Southern Tier of New York State in the early 1920's.

Agostino "Augustine" "Augie" Iacovelli from Endicott, New York, began serving spiedie sandwiches in 1939 when he opened, Augie's, his first restaurant. Iacovelli emigrated from Abruzzi, Italy (Civitella Casanova) at the age of 25 in 1923. Iacovelli's son Guido continued in the spiedie business into the 1990's, owning as many as 26 restaurants at the peak of his career.

The term "spiedie" comes from the Italian "spiedo," meaning "spit." Traditionally the early Broome County spiedie was made only from spring lamb, but currently, most commercial restaurants prepare spiedie using chicken or pork. The "chicken category" was added to the Spiedie Fest cook-off in 1987, and quickly became the most popular meat choice. The regional dish in Abruzzo, Italy, most closely resembling spiedie, uses goat meat. Another regional dish from Sicily, "zúzzu", consists of a gelatinous sausage made from the cartilage of pork and beef meat that is usually served cut into cubes.

Iacovelli's marinade, which he called "Zuzu", originally was made simply from wine vinegar, water, lemon juice, garlic and mint. Italian spices, olive oil and minced onion were added later as regional tastes and the choice of meat began to vary.

One of the restaurants most famous for spiedies today, Lupo's Char-Pit, was established in 1967 by John, Sam and Bart Lupo, in Endwell, New York.

Where to buy in US

There are many restaurants in the Southern Tier, inclucing Lupo's, that specialize in spiedie: Spiedie and Rib Pit, Sharkey's Restaurant, and Brooke's House of Bar-B-Que are some of the more well known. In Atlanta, GA, Dantanna's near Lenox Mall and The Spiedie Grill are listed, and nationally, Spiedini or "Mixed Grill" prepared the spiedie way is available at Olive Garden Italian Restaurant.

Marinade Ingredients - Typical

1 small onion finely minced

2 cups olive oil

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/2 cup red wine or balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves finely chopped

1 tablespoon salt or to taste

2 teaspoons coarse black pepper

5 cloves garlic minced

1 tbls lemon juice

1 teaspoon crushed rosemary leaves

1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

Marinates four pounds of cubed meat.

External links

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