Gyros

The Greek equivalent of a döner kebab, but made with pork, and much nicer. Also known as Gyro, γύρος.

Rating: (1)Serves: 6Cooking Method: Roast, FryReady In: 24 hours 00 mins Prep Time: 2 hours 00 mins Cook Time: 3 hours 30 mins
LOW
Energy Density
1.4kcal/g
MED
Fat
28g / serving
LOW
Saturates
5.2g / serving
LOW
Sugars
10g / serving
MED
Salt
3.1g / serving
LOW
Fibre
5.3g / serving
Free-from:
Suitable for:PartyPregnancy

Gyros (pronounced gear-ross) is a Greek fast food made with pork, chips, tomato, onion and tzatziki, all wrapped in a Greek-style soft pita-bread, similar to eastern flatbread. The meat is cooked on an upright rotisserie (the word gyros means 'turn' just like the Turkish word döner). Most of us don't have a rotisserie at home, so this recipe attempts to emulate the effect by having some of the meat dry fried (like the top of the rotisserie) and some meat cooked with a lot of juices (like the bottom of the rotisserie). It's quite a long job to get it right, but it's great for parties. Note that gyros should not be confused with souvlaki, where the meat is cooked like a shish kebab - in edible size pieces on individual skewers. Gyros can be served unwrapped on a plate, but is usually served as a wrap.

Preparation

    Pita bread

    1. Mix the flour and salt together and sift onto a clean work surface
    2. Make sure the water is lukewarm and stir in the sugar
    3. Stir the yeast into the water and leave to stand for a couple of minutes
    4. Form a 'well' in the flour and pour the water-sugar-yeast mix into it
    5. Use a fork to push approx ¼ of the flour into the liquid, making sure to leave an intact 'wall' around the edge, and then stir it in gently
    6. Once the flour has mixed in, push a bit more in and repeat the stirring
    7. Repeat 2-3 more times until all the flour and water are mixed together. Don't rush this as the liquid will escape if you aren't careful.
    8. Oil your hands and knead the dough ball until it forms a clammy spongy ball which doesn't leave too much mix on your fingers. Ideally the dough should be stretched and kneaded for around 10 minutes, although 4-5 minutes is usually enough.
    9. Oil a large bowl and place the dough ball into it. Cover with a cloth or towel for at least an hour. The dough should double in size
    10. The dough can be kept in the fridge ready to use for several days

    Pork

    1. Slice the meat into thin slices, then tenderise with a meat tenderiser
    2. Combine the marinade ingredients
    3. Coat the meat slices thoroughly and leave to marinade in a fridge for at least 1-2 hours, and ideally overnight.
    4. Slice a potato and create a base for some wooden skewers
    5. Stack the slices on top of each on the skewers to re-form a joint, ensuring they are still coated in marinade.
    6. Wrap in foil, leaving a little bit of space all around the top and sides. Pour any left-over marinade over the top
    7. Roast in the oven at 170°C for around 3-4 hours
    8. Leave to cool. The meat can now be used immediately, or can be kept for 2-3 days before use.

    The complete gyros

    1. Cut the meat into small pieces (½ x 1 x 3 cm or so)
    2. Put the remaining juices into a pan on a low-medium heat to reduce for around 1 hour
    3. Once the juice has reduced add in approx half of the meat and cook on a low heat until most of the liquid has disappeared, which will take around 30-45 minutes.
    4. Cook some chips (to get greek-style chips, leave the raw chips to soak in cold water for at least an hour before cooking)
    5. Thinly slice some fresh tomato and fresh onion. Soak the sliced onion in cold water for an hour to reduce the sharpness.
    6. Split the dough ball into 6 smaller balls
    7. Oil a rolling pin and roll each dough ball out until it is approx 3mm thick and 25cm in diameter
    8. Use a brush to oil the both sides with olive oil (the rolling pin should have already done most of this for you on the first side)
    9. Dry fry in a hot frying pan. 30 seconds for the first side, and approx 90 seconds for the second side
    10. Dry-fry the other half of the meat until crispy golden-brown bits start to appear, around 10 mins
    11. Mix the 2 lots of meat together
    12. Layer greaseproof paper on top of kitchen roll and put a pita on top, holding in one hand with each side slightly curled in
    13. Layer on 3-4 tbsp of meat, a handful of chips, 5-6 slices of tomato, a handful of sliced onion and finish with 1tbsp tzatziki.
    14. Sprinkle on approx ⅓ tsp adobo seasoning
    15. Wrap the pita around the filling in a cone shape and serve

    Notes

    • You can just buy the tzatziki and/or the adobo seasoned salt premade from the supermarket but I prefer to make my own

    Ingredients

    • Pita bread
    • 500g flour
    • ½ tsp salt
    • 7g dried yeast
    • 2tsp caster sugar
    • 275ml water
    • 60ml olive oil
    • Pork
    • 1kg pork joint
    • 2 tsp adobo seasoning
    • 2tsp sweet smoked paprika
    • 1 tsp ground black pepper
    • 1 tsp dried rigani
    • 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
    • 4 tbsp olive oil
    • 4 tbsp water
    • 1 lemon
    • 2 tsp garlic powder
    • 2 tsp onion powder
    • ½ tsp mustard
    • 2tsp cumin
    • 2tbsp honey
    • The complete gyros
    • 1kg potatoes (500g of chips)
    • 3 tomatoes
    • 1 large onion, sliced
    • 2tsp adobo seasoning
    • 6tbsp tzatziki

    Equipment

    • Knife
    • Chopping board
    • Garlic crusher (optional)
    • Roasting pan
    • Kitchen foil
    • Bowl
    • Rolling pin

    Nutritional Facts

    • Serving size: 652.7g
    • (37% / 46%)   Calories: 918kcal
    • (51%)Total fat: 28g
    • (26%)   Saturated fat: 5.2g
    • (54%)   Unsaturated fat: 18.9g
    •     Mono: 16g
    •     Poly: 2.9g
    • (38%)   Cholesterol: 114mg
    •   Trans Fat: 0g
    • (37%)Total carbohydrates: 111g
    •   Starch: 0g
    • (33%)   Sugars: 10g
    •     Sucrose: 2.6g
    •     Glucose: 1.3g
    •     Maltose: 0g
    •     Lactose: 0g
    •     Fructose: 1.3g
    •     Galactose: 0g
    • (21%)   Fibre: 5.3g
    • (114%)Protein: 57g
    • Salts
    • (62%)   Sodium: 1.2g
    • (58%)   Potassium: 2g
    • Minerals
    • Calcium: 11%
    • Iron: 48%
    • Zinc: 58%
    • Magnesium: 41%
    • Phosphorus: 106%
    • Copper: 78%
    • Manganese: 10%
    • Selenium: 850%
    • Fluoride: 0%
    • Cryptoxanthin: 41mg
    • Lycopene: 22%
    • Lutein: 0.2g
    • Vitamins
    • Vitamin A: 42µg
    • Thiamin (B1): 158%
    • Riboflavin (B2): 58%
    • Niacin (B3): 113%
    • Vitamin B5: 0%
    • Vitamin B6: 123%
    • Folate (B9): 9%
    • Vitamin B12: 42%
    • Choline: 30%
    • Vitamin C: 100%
    • Vitamin D: 6%
    • Vitamin E: 31%
    • Vitamin K: 22%
    •  
    • Arginine: 94mg
    • Aspartic Acid: 81mg
    • Glutamate: 0.1g
    • Glycine: 28mg
    • Proline: 77mg
    • Serine: 21mg
    • Tyrosine: 21mg
    • Alanine: 26mg
    • Cystine: 9mg
    • Amino Acids
    • Histidine: 10mg
    • Isoleucine: 21mg
    • Leucine: 40mg
    • Methionine: 7mg
    • Phenylalanine: 27mg
    • Threonine: 19mg
    • Tryptophan: 6mg
    • Valine: 32mg
    • Lysine: 32mg
    • Betaine: 0mg

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