For our final meal of the week we had a classic street foot of Greece- the Gyro. Pronounced like “yee-roh” (Greek for spin) this savory wrap is traditionally filled with a grilled meat (lamb or beef), tzatziki sauce, sliced tomato, and red onion wrapped inside pita bread. The sandwich did not become mass produced like it is now until the 1970s as American tourism quickly made it a fast food. It is now popular in the US especially in New York City.
It does originate from Greece, however it is believed to be very similar to the Turkish döner kebabs. The term gyro refers to the method the meat is traditionally cooked, rotating vertically on a spit. The Turkish kebabs are cooked in a similar fashion and alike ingredients. We were unable to achieve that, however we broke out our little Colman grill and got the job done. We used sirloin tips for our meat of choice, yum!
AuthorPaigeCategoryCooking every countryDifficultyBeginnerPronounced like “yee-roh" (Greek for spin) this savory wrap is traditionally filled with a grilled meat (lamb or beef), tzatziki sauce, sliced tomato, and red onion wrapped inside pita bread. The sandwich did not become mass produced like it is now until the 1970s as American tourism quickly made it a fast food. It is now popular in the US especially in New York City. Gyros originate from Greece, however it is believed to be very similar to the Turkish döner kebabs. The term gyro refers to the method the meat is traditionally cooked, rotating vertically on a spit. The Turkish kebabs are cooked in a similar fashion and alike ingredients.
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line deep cooking pan with foil and drizzle oil. Combine all ingredients in bowl. Form ground meat mixture into a loaf (if not using ground meat skip this step) and place into pan.
If deciding to grill skip above step and grill marinated meat to desired doneness.
2. You want to cook your loaf until center reaches recommended temperature for the type of meat you've chosen. This can take roughly 45 minutes to 1 hour.
3. Slice meat into roughly ¼ inch thick slices, slice red onion and tomato (just as much as you want to add to sandwich). Warm the pita bread and lay down as much tzatziki as desired followed meat, red onion, tomato. Serve immediately!
Ingredients
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line deep cooking pan with foil and drizzle oil. Combine all ingredients in bowl. Form ground meat mixture into a loaf (if not using ground meat skip this step) and place into pan.
If deciding to grill skip above step and grill marinated meat to desired doneness.
2. You want to cook your loaf until center reaches recommended temperature for the type of meat you've chosen. This can take roughly 45 minutes to 1 hour.
3. Slice meat into roughly ¼ inch thick slices, slice red onion and tomato (just as much as you want to add to sandwich). Warm the pita bread and lay down as much tzatziki as desired followed meat, red onion, tomato. Serve immediately!
As for the tzatziki sauce it is a refreshing combination of Greek yogurt (make sure its plain!), shredded cucumber, lemon juice, and herbs. This sauce can be found in cuisine along the Balkans and the Middle East along with Greece with slightly different preparations. We were glad to use our nifty shredding attachment to make this step even more of a breeze!
AuthorPaigeCategoryCooking every countryDifficultyBeginnerTzatziki is a refreshing Greek sauce made up of a blend of herbs, lemon juice, yogurt, and cucumber. It pairs well in sandwiches/burgers, on top of meat, as a dip, or even on baked potatoes!
1. Peel cucumber and cut in half lengthwise removing all seeds with a spoon. Grate cucumber to coarse bits and mix with scallions and 1/2 tsp sea salt combining well.
2. Take cucumber mixture and place in a cheese cloth or dish cloth to strain out excess liquid.
3. Return cucumber to bowl and mix in the remaining ingredients. It should yield roughly 3 cups of sauce. Serve on a sandwich, on top of meat, as a dip, or even on a baked potato!
Ingredients
Directions
1. Peel cucumber and cut in half lengthwise removing all seeds with a spoon. Grate cucumber to coarse bits and mix with scallions and 1/2 tsp sea salt combining well.
2. Take cucumber mixture and place in a cheese cloth or dish cloth to strain out excess liquid.
3. Return cucumber to bowl and mix in the remaining ingredients. It should yield roughly 3 cups of sauce. Serve on a sandwich, on top of meat, as a dip, or even on a baked potato!
This meal wasn’t new to us, but that wasn’t going to stop us from making it one of our four. We loved the tender meat with the cooling tzatziki and fresh vegetables. Our only downfall (slight) was the naan bread since I could not find pita bread anywhere! The naan made it VERY filling, but nonetheless it is one of our favorite dinners to make. With that said we rated it 9.5/10 (10/10 with pita). We hope you enjoy Ian’s recipes just as much as we do!