Greek
Crispy Pork Gyro Recipe
Prep
10 minutes
Cook
1 hour 30 minutes
Yield
4 -6
Get ready to bring the vibrant flavors of Greek street food to your kitchen with this Crispy Pork Gyro Recipe. You'll want to keep this recipe in your back pocket to pair with pitas, salads, potatoes, and more!
This Crispy Pork Gyro Recipe is the ultimate street food classic that this Greek girl always keeps in her back pocket. But here’s the thing – this recipe isn’t just a one-trick pony. Oh no, this versatile gyro meat pairs well with rice, salads, and potatoes and can even be used to make gyros or gyro fries. Trust me, once you’ve got this in your culinary arsenal, you’ll be whipping up Greek feasts like it’s no big deal!
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Crispy Pork Gyro Recipe
- Flavorful: This recipe is so yummy it will transport you straight to the streets of Athens.
- Impressive: Bring the vibrant flavors of Greek street food right to your dinner table, guaranteed to wow your guests!
- Versatile: This Crispy Pork Gyro Recipe is a culinary staple that can be added to many other delicious dishes.
🍲 Ingredients
Pork Shoulder – I use pork shoulder in this gyro recipe because this cut is marbled with just the right amount of fat. This means it stays incredibly juicy and flavorful as it cooks while also crisping up beautifully on the edges. Plus, pork shoulder is more budget-friendly than some other cuts, so you can treat yourself to restaurant-quality gyros without breaking the bank.
Dried Oregano – This is the secret weapon in Greek cooking. Its robust, slightly bitter flavor adds that quintessential Mediterranean touch to this Crispy Pork Gyros Recipe.
👩🍳 How to Make This Crispy Pork Gyro Recipe
- Make the marinade: add all of the marinade ingredients to a medium sized mixing bowl or baking dish and whisk together, set aside.
- Slice the pork shoulder into ½ inch thick slices. Then, place the slices between a folded piece of cling wrap and using a meat tenderizer or rolling pin to flatten into ¼ inch pieces.
- Marinate the meat: add the tenderized meat into the marinade, toss to combine well and put in the fridge to marinate for an least one hour.
- Once the meat has marinated for at least 1 hour, remove from the fridge and preheat the oven to 400F.
- Use a vertical spit (meant for oven use) OR use an onion half as a base and position a skewer or two vertically into the onion like a spit on a sheet pan lined with foil. Thread the pieces of pork onto the skewer, making sure to rotate each piece a bit as you go and the pieces are layered tightly together.
- Bake for 15 minutes at 400F and then lower the temperature to 375F for the remainder of the cooking time. Bake for 1 – 1 hour 45 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 145-150, basting every half hour or so.Let cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing/carving off slices of the pork.
- Make the pork crispy: After carving the pork, set a large frying pan on medium-high heat. When hot, work in 2-3 batches, cooking the pork for about 5 minutes until crispy. Set aside each batch. Once all the meat has been crisped up, season with salt, juice of half a lemon and big pinches of dried oregano before serving.
🪄 Tips and Tricks
- Serve this Crispy Pork Gyro Recipe as a plate with pita bread, Greek Tzatziki Sauce, olives, tomatoes and red onions.
- Use the crispy pork gyro meat to make Gyros or Gyro Fries.
🗒 Variations
As always, you can make this recipe your own. Use the ingredients you have available and adjust the flavors to suit your palate.
- Protein: If you don’t like pork, you can swap it for juicy chicken thighs or lamb shoulder. Each option has a unique flavor profile and a high enough fat content to give you juicy meat with crispy edges. If you are using chicken thighs, you can refer to this recipe: Greek Chicken Gyros (Authentic Cooking Method). Remember that cooking different proteins will require different cooking times.
🗒 Best served with
👝 How to Store Leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
🤔 Common Questions
You can usually find pork shoulder (sometimes labeled as pork butt) at your local butcher shop or in the meat section of most supermarkets – sometimes, you can ask the butcher to cut it to size if needed.
While both are delicious Greek dishes, gyros typically feature meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie, while souvlaki consists of small pieces of meat grilled on skewers. Both are often served with similar sides, like tzatziki, tomatoes, and onions.
Crispy Pork Gyro Recipe
Your Greek mommy that is. 😍 Step into my kitchen to learn how to make yummy Greek food. 🍽️💃
Ingredients
- 2.5-3 lbs pork shoulder
Marinade
- 2 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp pepper
- 4 large garlic cloves, pressed
- 1 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 4 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Make the marinade: add all of the marinade ingredients to a medium sized mixing bowl or baking dish and whisk together, set aside.
- Slice the pork shoulder into ½ inch thick slices. Then, place the slices between a folded piece of cling wrap and using a meat tenderizer or rolling pin to flatten into ¼ inch pieces.
- Marinate the meat: add the tenderized meat into the marinade, toss to combine well and put in the fridge to marinate for an least one hour.
- Once the meat has marinated for at least 1 hour, remove from the fridge and preheat the oven to 400F.
- Use a vertical spit (meant for oven use) OR use an onion half as a base and position a skewer or two vertically into the onion like a spit on a sheet pan lined with foil. Thread the pieces of pork onto the skewer, making sure to rotate each piece a bit as you go and the pieces are layered tightly together.
- Bake for 15 minutes at 400F and then lower the temperature to 375F for the remainder of the cooking time. Bake for 1 – 1 hour 45 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 145-150, basting every half hour or so. Let cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing/carving off slices of the pork.
- Make the pork crispy: After carving the pork, set a large frying pan on medium-high heat. When hot, work in 2-3 batches, cooking the pork for about 5 minutes until crispy. Set aside each batch.
- Once all the meat has been crisped up, season with salt, juice of half a lemon and big pinches of dried oregano before serving.
Notes
- Serving suggestions:
- Serve the crispy pork gyro as a plate with pita bread, Greek Tzatziki Sauce, olives, tomatoes and red onions
- Use the crispy pork gyro meat to make Gyros or Gyro Fries
