American Greek Gyro

The Best Greek Gyro is Here!

A Greek Gyro is great way to celebrate a food. Not only are they great tacos, they’re 3 times the size of a street taco and, considered by some, much more like a sandwich. The basic shell is a flat bread called, Pita and the meat and filling can vary but traditionally the vegetables are consistently the same; lettuce, tomato and red onion. The one thing that is absolutely irreplaceable, however, is the Tzatziki Sauce and it is the secret sauce added to every gyro.

Greek Gyro Meat

Believe it or not, an authentic Greek Gyro isn’t made with Beef and Lamb or even Veil, for that matter. Recipes that have those mixed meats originated outside of Greece. The Greeks use a an intensified marinated pork that cooks rotisserie style. This enables the cook to trim a just little bit off the outside at a time for each Taco as the rest of the meat continues to cook towards the middle. The meat is sliced thin to begin with, so the trimmings from the outside tend to be very tender. And, thanks to the Marinade, very tasty.

In this recipe, I use a 1/2 pound steak cut from a Beef Chuck and 2 quarter pound Lamb Chops cut from a shoulder and I run the cuts through a meat grinder, using a large die. This gives me 1 lbs of ground meat to marinate.

Greek Gyro Marinade

Though the mixture of Ground Beef and Lamb can be very tasty, it isn’t enough flavor to stand alone in a Greek Gyro. A marinade must be added. The marinade I used in my Pork Gyro recipe works great in this one is well. The only real difference is that I cut the ingredients down because there’s less meat to season. Also, marinating the meat itself for a time isn’t necessary. You can cook it as soon as everything is mixed in and incorporated.

Greek Gyro Ingredients:

1/2 lbs Beef Chuck Steak, ground
1/2 lbs Lamb Chops, ground

Marinade
1/4 Red Onion, grated
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tbsp cup Olive Oil
2 tbsp White Wine Vinegar
1 tbsp Rosemary
1 tbsp Oregano
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste

Toppings
Tzatziki Sauce, Click Here for Recipe
Baby Spinach or Lettuce
Tomato, diced
Red Onion, diced

Depending on your filling, you Should be able to get 6-8 Gyros from this recipe.

Tzatziki Sauce

The Best Tzatziki Sauce

This Greek Tzatziki Sauce recipe is about as good as it gets and it can be used for many different recipes. My personal favorite is with Greek Gyros, just like the recipe I posted last week. I promised you I would show you how to make this secret sauce so that you could finalize your own personal experience making these your self and I’m making good on that here today. This sauce is sweet, creamy and full of flavor. It’s exactly what every home cook needs in their refrigerator on a regular basis because it pairs so well with meats, seafood, vegetables and baked goods like Pita Bread, Pretzels and Bagels.

The Secret to Tzatziki Sauce

In my opinion, there are a few key ingredients that gives Tzatziki Sauce its unique and authentic taste. Greek Yogurt is one of them. It’s very rich, creamy and doesn’t taste much like American or other foreign yogurts. White Wine Vinegar is the other ingredient that gives this recipe it’s flavor. Not only is it added to the yogurt, it’s added to the grated cucumber with a pinch of kosher salt so it can marinate and release the juice that needs to be strained before it’s added to the sauce. Dill is the herb that really enhances the flavor as well, so feel free to add as much as you like because Tzatziki Sauce is usually swimming with it.

Tzatziki Sauce Ingredients:

1 Cucumber, grated & juiced
1 pinch Salt and Pepper
1 tbsp White Wine Vinegar, mix with cucumber
1 cup Greek Yogurt, Honey flavored is best
1 Garlic Clove, minced
3 tbsp Olive oil
2 tbsp White Wine Vinegar, mix with yogurt
1 tbsp Dill

Be sure to strain the cucumber juice after marination is complete and follow the instructions in the Tzatziki Sauce video recipe.

Pork Gyro – Greek Tacos with Pita Bread

The Best Pork Gyro

I have found that the best Pork Gyro is made by Greek’s in sub sandwich style shops with fresh toppings and thinly sliced marinated meat cooking in a rotisserie. Now all you need is some fresh baked Pita Bread, some Tzatziki Sauce and you’re good to go. And that’s exactly what I aim to provide you hear in this recipe. A great Greek marinade that will enhance the natural flavor of the pork or lamb, if you prefer, and the best way I know how to make this professional sandwich in the comfort of your own home that will taste like you’re in the heart of the motherland itself, guaranteed.

Pork Gyro Marinade

The Greek flavor in a great Pork Gyro is going to derive from the marinade and this marinade can be used with lamb as well. But any roast is only as good as the seasoning it’s paired with. So you’ve got to break the ingredients down and realize what gives it its originality and its authentic flavor. I have found that the secret lies in the white wine vinegar and the juice that comes from the grating of a sweet red onion. This secret is known to not only the Greeks but to the Persians as well. Then spicing it up with some freshly chopped garlic, a few herbs and some salt and pepper, takes it the rest of the way.

Pork Gyro Meat Cooked in a Rotisserie

This Pork Gyro recipe does not have to be cooked in a Rotisserie, but I find that it really mimics the style you will find in any great Gyros Restaurant because the meat can be sliced off around the outside and served as it continues cooking towards the middle. So it makes it fun for small parties and barbecues even though you aren’t technically grilling, I don’t think anyone will complain because these are amazing. Plus you’re going to want to learn how to make the Greeks secret sauce called, Tzatziki Sauce. This recipe is not only good with Gyros but a variety of other cooked meats, seafood or used as a dip for vegetables and baked goods like Pita Chips, Bagels and Large Pretzels or Pretzels Bites.

Pork Gyro Ingredients:

2 lbs Pork Roast, shoulder or butt thinly sliced
Pita Bread

Pork Gyro Marinade
1 Red Onion, grated
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/3 cup Olive Oil
1/2 cup White Wine Vinegar
1 tbsp Rosemary
1 tbsp Oregano
1 tbsp Smoked Paprika
1 tsp honey (optional)
Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste

Toppings
Red Onion, chopped
Tomatoes, sliced
Baby Spinach
Click Here for Tzatziki Sauce Recipe

Be sure to follow the instructions in the Pork Gyro video recipe tutorial.