Greek Recipes
How to make Authentic Greek Gyro Meat
Greek gyro is one of my favorite street foods in Greece. Walking the streets in Greece and smelling the low-cooked meat on the spits that line the streets is truly a smell I wish I could bottle up and put inside a candle. Gyro is filled with your favorite toppings, like fresh tomatoes and house-cut olive oil-fried French fries. With juicy, flavorful meat and creamy tzatziki, you seriously cannot go wrong.
Greek gyros trace back to the Ottoman Empire’s doner kebab, which was brought to Greece by refugees. With pork, lamb, and beef becoming common meats in Greece at the time, they adapted the vertical rotisserie method and combined these slow-cooked meats with flavors of tzatziki and fresh veggies that were abundant, like tomatoes and onions. This adaptation of the dish is now a popular street food in Greece and has spread globally.
There are definitely keys to making authentic Greek gyro and here’s what goes into it…
🍖 The Meat
The meat in a Greek gyro is key to the perfect wrap. It’s comprised of thinly sliced layers cooked on a vertical rotisserie. Lamb was historically prevalent when it comes to the Greek gyro but pork has become the more common option used in Greece because it’s more readily available and less expensive. You can also find variations that use beef, or utilizes a blend of all three meats.
The preparation of the meat is key and it all comes down to the seasoning. To prepare the perfect meat you use a blend of herbs and spices such as oregano, garlic, and thyme for that gyro flavor. The slow, vertical roasting allows the meat to self-baste in its own juices and fat, and the results are a deliciously, tender and flavor meat with a crispy exterior.
🧂 The Spices
Authentic Greek gyro is made with a variety of aromatic spices. In most Greek cuisine, you’ll find oregano, so that’s of course, an essential for gyro meat. On top of the oregano, you’ll find both dried and fresh garlic, cumin (to give it some warmth) and often you’ll also find thyme, marjoram, pepper, and rosemary. Every chef has their own combination of spices but generally it’ll consist of a variation of these spices which come together for the perfect flavors to add to the gyro meat.
🥙 The Bread
Pita bread has a big job in the Greek gyro as it’s the vessel for all the delicious toppings and gyro meat. Pita for a gyro wrap is chewy, and pocket-like that allows it to cradle the meat, sauce, and ingredients without falling apart. To me, there is just nothing better than fresh pita bread. You can make it so easily at home too. Here is my 2-ingredient pita recipe that uses a pan and here is my pita pocket version made in the oven.
🍅 The Toppings
A Greek gyro can have any toppings your little heart desires, but the authentic way to enjoy an authentic Greek gyro is simple – tomatoes and onions. The tomatoes add a fresh, sweet acidity and the onions add a sharp, pungent bite. These toppings not only add taste but also pair so well with the tender meat and soft pita. You can also sometimes find a few fries tucked inside your gyro to add a starchy component.
If you are looking to get even more creative with your toppings you can add crumbled feta cheese, olives, and cucumber.
🧴 The Sauce
The sauce on a Greek gyro is usually tzatziki, which really elevates your entire wrap. This sauce is made with yogurt, cucumber, garlic, and dill. It is a really refreshing addition to the warm meat and crisp veggies. The tzatziki also helps bind the ingredients together, and that first bite of your authentic gyro is going to taste like heaven with the mesh of all the delicious flavors.
How to make authentic Greek gyro meat at home
Now, here is the question you have probably been asking as you read this post: How do I make authentic Greek gyro meat at home? I recognize we don’t all have giant spits in our backyard that we can load up with meat to cook authentic gyro meat like they do back home in Greece, but there is a much easier way to do this right at home using your oven (or BBQ). All that is required is this skewer that you can buy right on Amazon. This skewer allows you to cook your meat on a vertical spit that is much smaller than a traditional one so you can fit it right in your oven at a low temperature.
I have a few different recipes you can use to make your own authentic Greek gyro meat at home:
- Crispy Pork Gyro Recipe
- Greek Gyro Meat (using beef & lamb)
- Greek Chicken Gyros
If you don’t have a skewer to recreate the authentic experience a home, you can also make a grilled version or you can make a spin on Greek gyro meat in a loaf pan.
Tips & Tricks
- Meat: You can use beef, lamb, or chicken for your Greek gyros, or you can use a combination of any of these meats.
- Marinade: To really let the meat absorb the flavor, let it marinade in the fridge for at least a few hours.
- Tzatziki: Homemade tzatziki vs. store-bought is superior. If you’re already going through the effort of making homemade gyro, then you can take 5 minutes more to make homemade tzatziki. Follow my recipe for homemade tzatziki here.
- Onions: Squeezing the excess liquid from the onion is vital. This prevents the gyro meat from becoming watery.
FAQ
Although both are cooked on large spits, you’ll find different flavor profiles in these dishes. Shawarma is usually marinated with cumin, cardamom, turmeric, cinnamon, and cloves, where Greek gyro is usually marinated with spices like oregano, garlic, and thyme. Toppings and sauces differ as well.
Gyro and souvlaki are both staples in the Greek cuisine but they do differ. Souvlaki is marinated meat grilled on a skewer and served on a skewer where gyros are oven served in a pita and cooked on a large rotisserie.
You can use whatever you prefer on Greek gyro but hummus, hot sauce, and garlic sauce all work nicely if you want something other than tzatziki.
The word “gyro” is pronounced yee-row.
