Fire Grilled Pork Souvlaki and Orzo Salad

Orzo Salad ingredients:

1 cup of uncooked orzo (makes approx. 3 cups of cooked orzo)

¾ cup of dried cranberries

1 tbsp of Italian seasoning

½ tsp of salt

½ tsp of black pepper

2 cups of black beans

1 cup of diced green onion

1 cup of cherry or grape tomatoes

1 cup of fresh parsley

¼ cup of olive or canola oil

¼ cup of rice wine vinegar (can use up to 1/3 if you like)

Take 1 cup of uncooked orzo and put in a pot of boiling water.  Bring it back up to boiling for about 6 or 7 minutes till al dente.  Once the orzo is cooked, place it in a colander and rinse with cold water.  Let it sit for a minute.

Take a large bowl and pour a couple of tablespoons of olive or canola oil into the bottom of it.  Then take the orzo from the colander, put it in the bowl and stir it around so the orzo grains get lightly coated with the oil so they won’t stick to each other.  Then place the bowl in the fridge to cool the orzo down. (In winter you can always put it outside or in your garage to start the cooling process.)

Once the orzo is cooled, it’s time to add the rest of the ingredients as listed above.  (The tomatoes are small enough to be added in whole, but you can choose to halve them as you wish.)  Using fresh herbs really adds to the flavor of the salad.  Toss the salad to blend all the flavors together and put it back in the fridge until it’s time to serve.  It lasts well in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Pork Souvlaki ingredients:

Pork roast (I’m using a 4 pound roast in the video)

¼ cup of canola or olive oil

Juice of 2 lemons

1 head of garlic, chopped coarsely

¼ cup of oregano

½ tsp salt

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp black pepper

Marinate the meat for at least 3-4 hours. However, marinating the meat overnight makes it taste that much better.

Cut up the pork roast into cubes and place in a large bowl.  You can purchase meat already cut up, but it will cost more.  You can also use lamb, chicken, turkey, beef or wild game in place of pork.  Pour all the other ingredients over the meat in the bowl and stir to combine.  Place in the fridge for a minimum of 3-4 hours.  If marinating overnight, then place a piece of plastic wrap over the bowl.

Take the meat and thread them on metal skewers.  If you are cooking over a fire, wood skewers just don’t last.  You can cook the meat on each side for 5 minutes, and then one more turn on each side for a minute or two more. I personally endorse welding gloves when cooking over fire.

A secret to cooking kebobs over a fire is to have both lots of coals and lots of flame to get the char on the meat and the smoky flavour throughout.  It crispens up the garlic as well.  Take note of the hotter spots of the fire and move the meat around accordingly for it to all cook through.  Once off the grill, let the meat rest for about five minutes and then it’s ready to serve.

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