Quick and easy Greek chicken gyro
QUICK AND EASY GREEK CHICKEN GYRO
A quick and easy Greek chicken gyro recipe. If you have ever wanted to make gyro at home but didn’t have the right equipment you have to try this baked version. You’ll definitely appreciate the flavour and texture of the gyro in the end.
WHAT IS GYRO
Gyro refers to a popular Greek fast-food dish. The word “gyro” means around, which perhaps refers to the fact that the meat spins around when cooking. Marinated meat fillets are typically stacked, cooked over the rotisserie and then strips are cut off. Meat used may be chicken, pork, lamb or even beef. The main objective when choosing meat cuts is for them to be tender and not dry. That is the main reason for using chicken thigh fillets for this recipe instead of chicken breast.
SPICES USED AND PREPARATION
Some very popular herbs and spices used in Greek cuisine include thyme, paprika and oregano. Can’t go past them when marinating meat and especially chicken. They go perfectly together! I used garlic powder in the seasoning mix, however, you may choose to replace it with crushed garlic.
WAYS OF COOKING GYRO
Typically, gyro is cooked on a vertical grill rotisserie in a lot of takeaway shops or horizontally on a BBQ spit. Then pieces of meat are shaved off slowly as each layer browns when the stack is spun around the heat. That process does take some time to make gyro.
I’ve worked on developing my version for some time to make it more accessible – from the spice combinations to the cooking method. My quick and easy Greek chicken gyro recipe simply includes baking the marinated chicken thigh fillets at a high temperature to help crisp up the edges but yet still remain succulent.
ACCOMPANIMENTS
Often the gyro is wrapped in a round pita bread with refreshing tzatziki, tomatoes, onion slices and even fried chips inside. Others choose to add mustard and tomato sauce in place of tzatziki, but the latter seemed to be the most popular choice on a recent poll I did on social media. You may buy tzatziki dip from the supermarket or you can simply create your own. That is done by mixing strained yoghurt, grated cucumber, crushed garlic, salt, extra virgin olive oil and a herb like dill for the Greek version or dry mint for the Cypriot version.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
• 1 kg chicken thigh fillets, skinless and boneless
• 1 tbs of extra virgin olive oil
Seasoning mix
• 2 ½ tsp dry thyme
• 1 ½ tsp dry oregano
• 2 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 ¼ tsp salt
Accompaniments
• Greek pitta bread
• Tzatziki
• Tomato, sliced
• Red onion, sliced
• Potato chips
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven grill (broiler) with fan setting at 240°C. Drizzle the extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle the seasoning mix all over the thigh fillets. Massage the spices onto the chicken and allow the marinated chicken to rest in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight.
2. Lay baking paper on a large oven tray and then place the marinated chicken spread out on the tray. Bake the chicken for 17min on the side that the skin was first and up to 10min on the other side until it browns.
3. After that time remove the chicken on a chopping board and with a sharp knife slice the chicken in strips along the width. Place the chicken back on the baking tray and stir the strips through the juices released for some extra flavour and juiciness. Serve in a pita wrap with the accompaniments listed or add it on a fresh salad of your choice.
