Chicken Spiedies – Is Binghamton’s Best America’s Next Big Sandwich Trend?

If it isn’t, it should be! This incredibly delicious sandwich, invented in central New York by an Italian immigrant named Camillo Iacovelli, breaks all the accepted rules regarding marinating meats, and not only does it work, it’s amazing!

You’ve heard me say on many occasions to be careful when soaking chicken in an acid marinade.  Usually an hour or two is the maximum I recommend, otherwise the meat will actually “cook” in the liquid, much like fish in a ceviche. Here, that’s exactly the idea.

You could almost call this twiced-cooked chicken, except that the food nerds would come out of the woodwork to remind us the meat doesn’t “cook” in the marinade, it becomes “denatured.” Whatever, nerds. All I know is when you grill that "over-marinaded" chicken over a hot, charcoal fire, some serious magic happens.

The term "spiedie" (SPEE-dee) comes from “spiedo,” the Italian word for spit, and simply refers to meat grilled on a skewer. The original protein was lamb, which explains all the mint and garlic in the marinade, which Iacovelli called, “zuzu.”