What’s gyros, that meat that tastes so divine while rotating on a spit? Many of you have heard of it but, nevertheless, let’s describe it.
To start with, gyros is something that people all across the world adore. Fatty meat chunks are actually added to a tall, vertical rotisserie that slowly rotates against the backdrop of an electrically powered broiler. The idea is to ensure that the meat cooks slowly, developing a crunchy exterior and a tender, juicy interior. As you begin to cut away the meat’s outer layers, the meat continues to cook and turn, forming another crispy crust.
In other words, avoid going to an extremely crowded place serving gyros if you’re looking for a really good one. No crunchy, crusty gyros are to be found there because if you slice it all the time, there isn’t time to make that crust.
The Origins of the Well-Known Greek Savory Delicacy Gyros
The origins of gyros, currently Greece’s most beloved fast-food dish, are lost to time. It was recently listed by certain guides for traditional food as one of four Greek specialties that have made it into the top 50 foods of the entire globe for 2022.
There are numerous theories regarding the origins and history of the name, which literally translates as “loop” or “round”. Is it merely a Greek take on the widely popular Turkish kebab? Or perhaps it goes back to the days of Alexander the Great when his army was known to skewer and smoke different kinds of meat over an open flame on long swords? Actually, none of the theories can be confirmed.
Greek immigrants from the region of Asia Minor arrived in the 1920s, and the dish — known as gyros today — gained notoriety. Local fast-food restaurants became increasingly well-known all over the 20th century, not just in Athens but throughout Greece and beyond. Greek immigrants from Anatolia made a more Greek-looking version of the Turkish kebab using Greek meat and regional ingredients.
The Meat Kind and Additional Components
Regarding meat variety, in Greece, they make both chicken and pork gyros. Beyond Greece, lamb gyros are cooked as well.
But in our view, the best gyros are made with pork meat (neck or belly).
The Standard Wrap
Gyros is a pita bread wrap, as most of you are aware. Gyros is the Greek word for meat. The flatbread that gyros are wrapped in is called pita. Thus, in Greece, they assert pita gyros when they wish to consume a gyros wrap. Other ingredients that are typically included in the pita gyros are deep-fried potato chips, fresh tomato slices, onion, and tzatziki dip.
Thus, in Greece, they say “pita gyros with everything” (“pita gyro apo ola”) when they’d like to order the customary pita gyros (wrap), which covers the condiments mentioned above.
Additional Condiments
Of course, you can also add other ingredients to your gyros wrap. A variety of meats, such as kebabs and souvlaki, as well as sauces, such as spicy cheese dip and mustard-mayo sauce (which is typically served with the chicken gyros wrap), are options. People adding tzatziki to mayonnaise sauce, mustard, ketchup, and other condiments really makes us want to throw up, in all honesty. If you want to alter tzatziki so much, better then try making whipped feta dip, which poses a richer version of a classic tzatziki.
We always vote for “apo ola” in the conventional manner, and we recommend this to you too!
The Gyros Recipe as a Portion Is Also Served
However, there’s another way that gyros are served in Greece. And that’s on top of a triangle-shaped piece of pita bread in the shape of a meaty pyramid. This will come as a portion with slices of tomato, onion, and tzatziki as garnish. That part of gyros is known as “merida gyros” by the Greeks. Gyros literally means “turn” in Greek. since it never stops turning.
You now understand what it is, how to pronounce it, and how to serve it. Now let’s see how to make it as well.
Gyros Meat Making
All you need to make delicious homemade gyros that tastes just like the ones we buy at the store, at fast food, or put on a weekly menu upon subscribing to the Dinnerly meal delivery services offering customized dishes for ordering:
- A substantial amount of fat is present in this piece of meat, which is why pancetta can be used here to substitute meat. Large pieces of pork, typically from the neck, are used to make store-bought gyros, and they are heavily fatty to keep the meat tender and juicy.
- Let it steep in the marinade for several hours. That explains why gyros are so delicious, in case you were wondering.
After the gyros is marinated and cooked, cut the meat and pancetta pieces in half, then lengthwise into long strips. When you’re ready to wrap the pita gyros, return it to the pan to soak up any leftover juices.
Ingredients:
- pork neck meat, 500 grams
- onion, 1 small (cut in 4)
- green bell pepper, ½ (cut in 4)
- large garlic cloves, 3 (chopped)
- red wine vinegar, 80 ml
- water, 250 ml
- dried oregano, 1 tablespoon
- the juice out of half a lemon
Instructions:
- Set oven temperature to 250°C/482°F.
- Place the marinade and meat (pancetta) into a medium-sized baking pan.
- Simmer for 45 minutes to one hour. Allow the pancetta to cook mostly on one side. After that, flip it over and cook the other side as well. In this manner, you achieve a lovely golden-brown crust on one side, while the other remains juicier and more tender, akin to a rotisserie-cooked gyros.
- Before slicing, allow the meat (pancetta) to cool for a few minutes. Next, cut the pieces into long strips after cutting them in half.
- When you’re ready to roll your gyros wrap, return it to the pan to maintain its warmth.
Tzatziki Making
Tzatziki is traditionally prepared at least one day in advance of consumption, both to help the tzatziki’s overall flavor and to allow the garlic to cool down. Because the tzatziki is preserved by the garlic, it keeps well and you can even make more than you need. This recipe calls for a quick-to-make, immediately usable tzatziki.
It’s actually not that much to make, just enough for the pita gyros. The way this differs from traditional tzatziki is that everything is combined all at once. However, if you’d rather make tzatziki the old-fashioned way and have some leftovers, below is the recipe.
First of all – it doesn’t count as a sauce! The reason we’re stressing this point so much is that we hear the term “tzatziki sauce” so frequently, and we wanted to let you know that it’s not that. It’s the dip because it’s creamy and thick. Don’t get us wrong; you’re free to prepare it however you please, but we’re going to demonstrate how to make authentic Greek stuff right now.
Tzatziki is incredibly easy to make. To make it, you just need five to seven ingredients and a little mixing. Tzatziki is traditionally made by hand to prevent yogurt chunks from remaining inside. Recall that real Greek yogurt, which comes in many forms – some are to avoid, some are not – is thick, not thin. This recipe makes a large bowl (enough to serve as a dip for four people), and you can whisk the yogurt before adding the other ingredients. By doing this, you can ensure that the yogurt is extremely lump-free and smooth.
There’s a further matter that demands to be explained at this point. Get ready for a lot of garlic! A good tzatziki has a lot of garlic in it; it burns so intensely in your mouth. But don’t worry, pita bread will come to the rescue! Before serving, tzatziki should ideally sit in the refrigerator for a few hours. In this manner, the flavors have more time to meld together and the garlic cools down a little. Before serving, leave for at least eight hours or overnight for optimal effects.
Ingredients:
- full-fat and strained Greek yogurt, 250 grams
- coarsely hand-grated cucumber, 100 grams
- garlic cloves, 1 (grated or pressed)
- olive oil, 2 tablespoons
- red wine vinegar, ½ tablespoon
- salt (to taste)
- ground pepper (to taste)
Instructions:
- Pour the Greek yogurt into a large mixing bowl and use a hand whisk to blend it until it’s very creamy and smooth. ensuring that it is free of lumps.
- Using your hands, squeeze the grated cucumber to extract most of the water. Add to the mixing bowl with the Greek yogurt after that.
- Incorporate the remaining components into the mixing bowl and thoroughly blend.
- Allow the garlic to cool slightly by refrigerating it for at least three hours before serving. or, better still, overnight. Serve this dip immediately with some pita bread or rustic handmade bread if you enjoy raw garlic!
Pita Bread Making
And no, we’re not talking about making it from scratch (though you can, if cooking truly appeals to you). All you need is a non-stick pan, a little olive oil, and some store-bought pita bread (either frozen or refrigerated – pita bread can be stored both ways). Your pita bread is ready to roll after cooking it for one to two minutes on each side.
Remember: Avoid overcooking the pita bread. It must be pliable to facilitate effortless rolling.
Ingredients:
- instant yeast, 2 teaspoons
- granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon
- warm water, ⅔ cup (warmed to about 100 degrees but not hot to the touch)
- warm milk, ½ cup (warmed to about 100 degrees but not hot to the touch)
- extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon
- salt, 1 teaspoon
- bread flour, 3 cups (426 g)
Instructions:
- Using a sizable bowl or the bowl of an electric stand mixer with a dough hook attached, thoroughly mix the yeast, sugar water, milk, oil, salt, and one cup of flour.
- Add the rest of the flour gradually until the dough becomes soft. It will become a ball and pull away from the bowl’s sides, but it will still feel a little soft to the touch. The dough should be soft and smooth after 4–5 minutes of kneading.
- After putting the dough in a bowl that has been lightly oiled, cover it with plastic wrap that has been oiled. Give it about an hour to double in size.
- The dough should be divided into six or eight equal pieces. To make the dough pieces easier to roll out, cover them with a cloth or wrap them in plastic and let them rest for ten to fifteen minutes.
- Roll the dough, one piece at a time, to a thickness of about 1/8 inch and a diameter of about 7-8 inches on a counter that has been lightly oiled or dusted with flour.
- Preheat an electric griddle to 300 degrees, or medium heat in a skillet. Cook the flatbread for two to three minutes on the first side, or until it bubbles and puffs up, once the griddle or skillet is hot. Using a pair of tongs, turn it over and continue cooking until the other side becomes spotty and golden. Look for the ideal heat that will cook the flatbread in no more than two to three minutes on each side. If the skillet isn’t hot enough, the bread may turn out dry (and won’t bend easily) from being overcooked.
- Place the flatbread on a plate or a clean kitchen towel-covered surface. Continue with the remaining dough, rolling out two pieces at a time to fit on my electric griddle. Stack the warm flatbreads on top of each other and cover with the towel.
- With excellent results, the flatbread can be prepared, cooked, cooled, and frozen. Although it is best served the day it is prepared, it can, if necessary, be gently reheated the following day.
Ensure Everything Is Ready
Having all of the components for the pita ready to go is something else you really must do. Suppose you hold the pita on the baking parchment and you have to run to get the potatoes or onions?
Therefore, before you begin wrapping it up, make sure you have everything you need. If not, this will be the part of making pita that involves cursing.
Wrap It Altogether
Parchment paper is typically used to wrap pita gyros (this is where the tricky part of making gyros comes in). The challenge with using parchment paper to wrap it is that you have to press it firmly to keep it together. Additionally, you must know how to tuck the parchment paper into the pita wrap from the bottom.
To fully understand how this is done, you must perform it several times. It doesn’t happen all at once. It takes some getting used to, much like rolling a cigarette (which is why you should make more – we joke!). But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with our solution. Try using aluminum foil either by itself or on top of the parchment paper if you’re having trouble with it. Everything will remain neatly wrapped thanks to it. For those who prefer a more hands-on approach, here’s the detailed method for using parchment paper in the traditional manner. Just use the aluminum foil if you’re not.
A 10-Step Guide for Wrapping a Pita Gyros
- Place the pita bread directly on the edge of a piece of parchment paper that you have taken.
- Spoon a generous amount of tzatziki onto the pita bread.
- Place a few gyros pieces in the center.
- Add two tomato slices, a few potato chips, and a small amount of onion. Add paprika, salt, and pepper for seasoning. Add some freshly chopped parsley on top.
- Seal the pita bread by pressing all the ingredients together. Apply more pressure towards the bottom to create a small cone shape.
- To cover the pita gyros, tightly fold the parchment paper corner.
- Tightly wrap the parchment paper around the pita gyros until you reach the paper’s corner.
- To compress the paper, pull the corner away from the pita gyros and outward. Next, wrap the corner as well, holding it in place.
- Create a stripe by folding the extra parchment paper at the bottom of the pita gyros.
- In the direction of the pita gyros’ bottom, fold the stripe inward. Tuck it in firmly once you’ve reached the bottom of the pita gyros.
Ingredients for the gyros wraps:
- pita flatbreads, 4
- medium-sized potato, 1 (peeled and cut into chips)
- tomato, 8 (large slices)
- small onion ½ (sliced)
- fresh parsley (chopped)
- sweet paprika powder (to taste)
- salt & pepper (to taste)
- parchment paper sheets 20 x 32 cm or 8 x 12 inch, 4
- frying oil
- olive oil
Feel Greece in your own home by making gyros this way!
