Chef Dimitra
Aegean Island Katsiki sti Souvla (Κατσίκι στη Σούβλα)
Aegean Easter goat on the spit, lean and full-flavored, turned slowly over charcoal and basted with lemon, oregano, garlic, and good olive oil.
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Northern Greek Grill-House Spalombriza (Σπαλομπριζόλα)
Created by
Thessaloniki psistaria steak, thick beef shoulder salted early, grilled hard over charcoal, and finished with lemon, oregano, and green-gold oil. The fat is the point.
Main Dishes
Greek
BBQ
Outdoor Dining
Game Day
1 hr
Active Time
20 min cook•1 hr 20 min total
Yield4 to 6 servings
Northern Greek grill-house spalombriza is beef shoulder steak treated with respect, not dressed up: thick cut, good marbling, its fat left on, then charcoal, salt, oregano, lemon, and oil. In the psistaria around Thessaloniki and Greek Macedonia, this is food ordered by weight and eaten hot from a shared platter, with bread dragged through the green-gold juices.
The method that decides it is the fire: hard heat first to char and wake the fat, then a calmer side so the shoulder finishes without drying. Chuck has worked for a living, so it gives flavor, but it needs slicing across the grain after its rest. Do those two things and the steak eats generous instead of stubborn.
I don't put garlic, wine, mustard, or a heavy marinade here. That would be another plate. This one is Λίγα και καλά, a few things and good ones: the right cut, the right salt, good olive oil, and patience enough to let the meat rest before the lemon hits it.
The most useful notes in my grilling notebook are often this plain. Buy the steak well, don't trim the fat, don't drown it before the fire. A recipe written down is a recipe saved, even when the recipe looks like meat and coals.
Spalombriza comes from σπάλα, shoulder, and μπριζόλα, steak; in Greek butchery it names a shoulder or chuck steak before it names a recipe. The cut is sold across Greece, but the northern psistaria version belongs to the twentieth-century grill house and hasapotaverna, where customers chose marbled cuts by weight and the cook sent them to charcoal. Its plain finish, salt, oregano, lemon, and olive oil, keeps the butcher's cut visible rather than burying it in a marinade.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
well-marbled beef chuck steaks (spalombrizes)
Quantity
4 steaks, about 450g each
3-4cm thick, bone-in if available, fat left on
coarse sea salt
Quantity
18g
extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil
Quantity
75ml
15ml for brushing, 60ml for the ladolemono
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1 tsp
dried Greek oregano
Quantity
2 tsp
rubbed between your fingers, divided
fresh lemon juice
Quantity
30ml
lemon
Quantity
1
halved for grilling
flaky sea salt (optional)
Quantity
1 tsp
for finishing
country bread (optional)
Quantity
1 loaf
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| well-marbled beef chuck steaks (spalombrizes)3-4cm thick, bone-in if available, fat left on | 4 steaks, about 450g each |
| coarse sea salt | 18g |
| extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil15ml for brushing, 60ml for the ladolemono | 75ml |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1 tsp |
| dried Greek oreganorubbed between your fingers, divided | 2 tsp |
| fresh lemon juice | 30ml |
| lemonhalved for grilling | 1 |
| flaky sea salt (optional)for finishing | 1 tsp |
| country bread (optional)for serving | 1 loaf |
Equipment Needed
- •charcoal grill with a 45cm grate or larger
- •long metal tongs, 30cm
- •instant-read thermometer
- •warm serving platter
Instructions
- 1
Salt the Steaks
Pat the spalombrizes dry and leave every seam of fat in place. Sprinkle the coarse salt over both sides and the edges, then rest them uncovered for 45 to 60 minutes. In a hot kitchen, do this in the refrigerator and bring them out while the coals are lighting.
If the butcher offers lean shoulder steaks with no visible marbling, choose another cut. The fat is not trimming. It is the flavor. - 2
Make Ladolemono
Whisk 60ml of the olive oil with the lemon juice and 1 tsp of the oregano until the dressing looks cloudy and lightly thickened. Taste it. It should be bright, not sour enough to bully the meat.
- 3
Set the Fire
Light a charcoal grill for two zones, one fierce and one calmer. When the coals are covered with gray ash and you can hold your hand 10cm above the hot side for about 2 seconds, scrub the grate clean. Put the lemon halves cut-side down near the edge until browned, then set them aside.
- 4
Grill Hard
Brush the steaks with the remaining 15ml olive oil and season with the black pepper. Lay them over the hot side and grill for 3 to 4 minutes, until the fat starts to blister and the underside is darkly marked. Turn and grill for 3 minutes more. If a steak has a thick fatty edge, hold that edge over the coals with tongs for 1 minute.
- 5
Finish Controlled
Move the steaks to the calmer side and continue turning every 2 minutes until the center reaches 58-60°C for juicy medium, about 10 to 14 minutes total for a 3-4cm steak. The fire is the method that decides spalombriza: hard enough to render and char the fat, controlled enough that the shoulder doesn't tighten before the center is ready.
If dripping fat makes flames climb, move the steak aside for a few seconds. Sooty bitterness is not char. - 6
Rest the Meat
Transfer the steaks to a warm platter. Spoon over 2 tbsp of the ladolemono and rest for 8 to 10 minutes. Resting is how you keep the cutting board from drinking the steak.
- 7
Slice and Serve
Slice the meat across the grain into thick strips, keeping any bone on the platter for the person who knows what to do with it. Spoon over the remaining ladolemono, squeeze the grilled lemon halves over the top, and finish with the remaining oregano and a little flaky salt if you like. Serve at once with country bread.
Chef Tips
- •Sourcing wins. Ask the butcher for spalombriza from chuck or shoulder, cut 3-4cm thick, with visible white fat seams. If the steak is lean and tidy, leave it there. Λίγα και καλά: one good marbled steak is better than four polite dry ones.
- •Don't marinate it overnight. Lemon before the fire can make the surface tight and bitter at the charred spots. Keep the lemon for the ladolemono and the grilled halves.
- •If you cook on gas, preheat the grates until they are truly hot and keep one burner low for the finishing side. You want char and rendered fat, not a gray steak with grill marks painted on it.
- •Serve it as the grill houses do: fried potatoes, horiatiki only when tomatoes are in season, olives, and bread. On fasting days, this isn't the table. Cook gigantes, horta, mushrooms, or octopus instead.
Advance Preparation
- •Ask the butcher a day ahead for 3-4cm spalombriza; thin steaks overcook before the fat renders properly.
- •Salt the steaks 45 to 60 minutes before grilling, or up to 8 hours ahead uncovered in the refrigerator.
- •The ladolemono can be whisked up to 4 hours ahead and kept at room temperature; whisk again before spooning it over the meat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 250g)
Calories
760 calories
Total Fat
59 g
Saturated Fat
20 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
38 g
Cholesterol
210 mg
Sodium
1800 mg
Total Carbohydrates
2 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
55 g
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