Upstate Spedies Recipe

Spiedies ( Spiedo=Italian for spit ) are a type of sandwich made from pieces of marinated and spit (grilled ) lamb, beef, chicken, pork, ( venison ) served in a sandwich roll and drizzled with more of the marinade. The origins of the famous recipe were made famous by an Italian family who immigrated to the Binghamton N.Y. area in the late 1920s. Although the recipe is indicative of the Binghamton/Endicott/Johnson City area, spiedies are found in some other cities in New York State as well as other states. It is thought that mint, included in the original recipe was first used for lamb and then later, pork and chicken recipes evolved. There are quite a few recipes for spiedies to be found on the Net. There are also a few brands of bottled spiedie marinade found on supermarket shelves. Lupos and State Fair are two brands I have used before.

Basically, spiedie marinade is a type of tasty Italian dressing/marinade and in a pinch even a good quality of Italian salad dressing could be doctored up or substituted.

Combine all the above marinade ingredients and place in a covered non metal container. Let flavors blend several hours ( shake or stir occasionally ) or overnight.

Use the marinade for chicken breasts, steak etc. I place cubed boneless chicken / boneless steak in separate ziplock bags and let the meat marinade at least overnight or even for a few days if desired. (Or you could marinade whole chicken breasts, steaks etc.and then grill and cut ). Grill or skewer grill pieces of meat ( it may be hard to test for doneness since the meat will be pink because of the red wine content.) until done but not overcooked Place meat in the bread and drizzle with more marinade ( not from the marinated pieces of meat but fresh unused marinade from the container ) if desired.

My family loves some mayonnaise spread on the bread. Then sauteed peppers, onions and mushrooms.Then the meat and some more vegetables.

Note: other optional variations: I do sometimes like to add shredded lettuce and sometimes thin sliced tomatoes and onions ...

The meat can also be placed in pita bread or flat bread to be wrapped. Other condiments as well as melted cheese are always an option.