Spiedies

CheriGENERAL

Now that grilling season is in full force I feel compelled to tell you all about our favorite grill food at The Cottage.
Spiedies!

Spiedies, (pronounced “speedies”), are marinated cubes of meat cooked on a skewer. Originally from Italy, this delicacy seems to be found only in the Broome County area of New York State. How and when spiedies came to the Binghamton area, having never been documented, remains a mystery. 


The name spiedie comes from “spiedo,” the Italian word for “spit,” and the sandwich originally was skewered cubes of marinated lamb that were grilled to a crisp and pulled off the spit using the slice of Italian bread that you ended up eating it with.




During the 12 years we lived in upstate New York Spiedies were a “regular” on our menu rotation.  Sometimes we marinated the meat ourselves, and sometimes we bought the already marinated lamb or chicken at the local grocery store.  Occasionally we’d treat ourselves at the Char Pit.  When we had out of town guests/family visiting us, spiedies were served.


In my email inbox today was good news — good spiedie news!  Lupo’s is offering FREE SHIPPING during the month of MAY – on orders of 8+ bottles of marinade.  THAT, my friends, is a good deal!



When you order (why would you not?), you can choose which marinades you’d like to try.  Please try the classic in your selection.  I usually order one or two of the other marinades, but the original/classic is our go to.


What’s the best way to cook a Spiedie?

  1. Marinate meat in Lupo’s Spiedie Marinade for 24 hours for the best flavor.
  2. The best way to cook a traditional Spiedie is with metal skewers. Push 5-7 cubes of your preferred meat onto the metal skewers.
  3. Grill skewered meat for 10-12 minutes rotating as you cook.  Cooking times vary depending on your grill temperature.  
  4. Be sure not to overcook the spiedies.  When you think they’re finished take the largest piece of meat off the grill and cut in half.  When there is no pink in the middle of the spiedie, you’re ready to serve. 
  5. You could also just pull the meat off the skewer using a slice of Italian bread.
Now that I’ve shared all this with you, I have to be honest and say that spiedies are really the best on Felix Roma bread.  Which you can’t buy anywhere but the Binghamton area.
Sorry.  It’s painful, I know.  Believe me, I know.

New York friends and spiedie lovers… this is your time to “weigh in” and speak up for the Southern Tier delicacy!  Do you prefer Salamida’s spiedie marinade or Lupos?  When was the last time you had a spiedie?

Happy Grilling!


*parts of this post were copy and pasted from the Lupo’s website at www.spiedies.com.  Go on over to the website and see what else you can’t live without!