Snowday = Kontosouvli

On Tuesday, we had the most recent of our MANY snowstorms this winter.  Mr. S was working from home, so we decided to cook something that would cook all day and make the house smell delicious. When we go to Zorbas, one of our favorite Greek restaurants in Baltimore, we always order kontosouvli.

Kontosouvli is usually made on a spit.  Last Easter, we attempted to make kontosouvli at home for the first time.  We bought a electric rotisserie for our grill, marinated the meat and put it on....and left it to cook.  There were flames coming out the sides at times, we were afraid to leave it overnight, and had to wake up early in the morning to turn it back on.  Long story short, it was very time intensive, somewhat dangerous, and not all that fun.  It was tasty, yes, but maybe not worth the cost!

So, our mission, with snow falling from the sky, and the grill buried under the snow, was to find a way to make kontosouvli INSIDE!

So, we did.....and it was DELICIOUS....rivaling our favorite restaurant's dishes!

For the Marinade

• 2 clove of garlic
• 2 tsp dry oregano
• 1-2 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 green pepper
• 1 onion
• 1 or 2 Roma tomatoes
• 4 Tbsp of olive oil
• 6 Tbsp water
• 1/2 c white wine
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

For the Kontosouvli

• 3 1/2 - 4lb pork shoulder, cut into large pieces (it's ok to trim some fat if you want)
• 4 Tbsp Canola Oil or Olive Oil
• 1Tbsp of fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt

Put the ingredients for the marinade in a blender until smooth.  Cut pork shoulder into approximately 2 inch pieces.  Put pork chunks in a bowl or large ziploc back and pour the marinade over.  Marinate the pork for 3 hours (or much longer if you want).

Pre-heat the oven to 265F.   Line a baking sheet with foil and put a baking rack .  Place the marinated pork pieces on the baking sheet, cover tightly with foil and place in the oven.  Bake for 2-3 hours.  Add pieces to a dutch oven, cover and return to the oven at 275F and cook for another 1.5 hours.

Mix the oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

Remove the pork from the dutch oven and put on the baking rack again. Turn on the broiler.  Using a pastry brush, brush the mixture onto the chunks of pork.  Cook the born for 10 minutes, brushing the pork with the lemon mixture every 2-3 minutes.  Turn over and repeat this process on the other side.  Continue until both sides are at their desired crispiness.

Serve immediately with a village salad (Horatiki Salata) - a traditional Greek salad with no lettuce.

Salad:
Chop up cucumbers, peppers, onions, and tomatoes.  Crumble feta on top.  Serve with your favorite Greek dressing.  Ours is Lemon Dill.