Easy Chicken Spiedies

Chicken Spiedie Salad

I have a feeling that if you aren't from upstate (central) New York, have never visited the area or do not love someone who is from there, you have no idea what I'm talking about when I say "spiedies." 


First, so you don't mispronounce the name and get all embarrassed when you talk to your friends about these, "spiedie" is pronounced "speedy." I won't get into the history and all - you can Google that on your own time. But I thought it was important you know that we're talking about an Italian-inspired meat dish that hails from New York and, once you get past the marinade stage, is speeeeed-ie to throw together.


Once I mentioned chicken spiedies to the husband last week, there was no turning back. His heart was set on spiedies. So I started Googling and looking for the perfect recipe.


Do you want to know a secret? I've never had a spiedie before.


OK, I lie. I've had homemade spiedies before. (Da used to buy the marinade and make spiedies for dinner.) But I've never had one from an actual New York restaurant that specializes in spiedies. So there's a chance I'm not a good judge on this recipe. 


Luckily we have the husband.


First off, we both thought this resulted in a good dinner - and one that was especially easy to throw together. Once I got beyond the 24 hours plus of marinading, the chicken cooked in a skillet super quick.


I ate my chicken bites on a bed of romaine, and the husband had his on a roll with a side of homemade fries. (Does he have a good wife or what?) I honestly didn't have any complaints about the flavor of this dish, but the husband did comment that he didn't think this tasted like the spiedies he remembers. He thought perhaps I should have used apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar.


Next time, Husband.


Yes, next time I'll use a different vinegar and maybe even marinate the meat for another day. I didn't let ours rest the full three days as the recipe instructed, nor did I cook 5 lbs. of chicken. But I thought I'd show you the exact recipe so you can make your own conclusion.


Overall, I recommend giving spiedies a try. If not for the fact that you need a quick and easy chicken dinner, then just whip up some spiedies and think about someone you love in New York. That's what we did.


(If you're thinking that this post means we strayed from this week's menu plan, it doesn't. We had barbecue skillet chicken as planned - and it was delish. But I was much too lazy to upload those photos tonight. Tomorrow's another day.) 

The husband's sandwich kind of fell apart and didn't photograph that well. Oops.

Chicken Spiedies
Second-place winning recipe by Donna Przybysz, Endicott, N.Y., titled Doc's Old-Fashioned Chicken Spiedies

5 pounds chicken, cubed
2 cups olive oil
1/2 cup distilled vinegar
juice of 2 lemons
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
2 tablespoons crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons sweet basil
4 tablespoons oregano
6 mint leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Marinate for three days.