Currently daydreaming about holidays… One thing I’m guaranteed to buy at least three times whenever on holiday in Greece, is authentic Greek Gyros. Honestly, that juicy meat, refreshing tzatziki and handful of cheeky fries all wrapped up in bread heaven (aka Greek pita flatbreads) from that tiny little cafe down a quiet backstreet……. …..I think it’s better than anything you can get at a restaurant.
Who needs to get dressed up and spend a fortune eating out, when you can sit on a plastic chair, eating Pork Gyros and sipping from a can of ice-cold Amstel! …generally with slightly burnt shoulders and sea-water frizzed hair. Ahh, them were the days! We haven’t been to Greece in ages, but I haven’t forgotten that salty, crispy meat. The perfect hangover cure after a few too many cocktails 🙂
What do we need?
Pork - Rolled boneless shoulder of pork (skin on) is a great cut of meat for homemade gyros. There’s usually some marbling of fat in this cut - that will add flavour and tenderness to the meat, and that fatty skin will protect the meat from drying out during slow-cooking. Spices - The spices are mixed to form a rub which coats the pork before being sealed in a hot pan. This sealing process, followed by the slow-cooking process means the flavour really permeates through the meat.
How to make homemade Gyros
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Serve the pork on flatbreads with lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, tzatziki and a few french fries if you like.
Authentic Greek Gyros
Usually authentic gyros is make from skewering heavily seasoned meat (often chicken or lamb, sometimes pork) and cooking it slowly on a rotisserie (gyro actually translates to rotation). Mine is a slightly different approach to get that juicy/crispy/salty taste. But it works!! No need to go out to by a rotisserie! I’ve been making this recipe for years now and it comes out of the recipe box at the start of every summer.
This recipe easily makes 6-8 gyros (or more if you add a few extra fries!). If that’s too much, then freeze some of the meat just after shredding. You can then defrost and continue on with the recipe from there.
Ingredient swaps
Serve the crispy pork and tzatziki as part of a salad bowl with chopped veggies, quinoa, avocado and feta Try crispy lamb instead of pork - I LOVE these Lamb Barbacoa tacos Swap out the veggies for whatever you like - baby spinach, jalapenos, sun dried tomatoes, slices of bell pepper and sliced spring onions (scallions) would all be great additions/swaps Swap out the tzatziki for my tahini shawarma sauce from this chicken shawarma recipe
Watch how to make it:
Oven baked fries Tzatziki Easy Guacamole Greek Potato Hash with feta Panzanella Salad with Saganaki (if you’ve never tried saganaki give it a go, it’s so good!) Creamy Potato Salad Grilled Romaine with Figs, Pear and Manchego Feta and Couscous Stuffed Roasted Romano Peppers
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
