Greek Pork Gyros Pita (Gyros Souvlaki with Tzatziki and Fries)
Strips of pork tenderloin marinated in olive oil, red wine vinegar, onion, garlic, oregano, thyme, rosemary and honey, seared crisp in a very hot pan and wrapped in an oiled, baked pita with tzatziki, tomato, red onion and fries.
Greek gyros is döner that crossed the Aegean. Wikipedia says that after the 1922 to 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey, the Greeks of Asia Minor brought their version of spit-roasted meat with them, that lamb gyros was in Athens after World War II, and that the Greek version, normally made with pork and served with tzatziki, "became known as gyros". The name means "turn," a translation of the Turkish döner; the older Greek word ντονέρ was criticized as Turkish and gyros was proposed to replace it. In Greece it goes into an oiled, lightly grilled pita with tomatoes, onions and fried potatoes, sometimes with tzatziki, or with ketchup or mustard in the north.
Athenians call the whole wrap a souvlaki. This recipe is from My Greek Dish, the Greek home-cooking site of Eli K. Giannopoulos, which names it the way Athens does: "souvlaki with pork gyros," a pita wrap filled with gyros. Without a spit, it marinates thin strips of pork and sears them in a very hot pan until the edges crisp.
🇬🇷 The original
Strips of pork tenderloin marinated in olive oil, red wine vinegar, onion, garlic, oregano, thyme, rosemary and honey, seared crisp in a very hot pan and wrapped in an oiled, baked pita with tzatziki, tomato, red onion and fries.
🇺🇸 The American version
Chicago pressed beef and lamb into a smooth loaf, then a frozen factory cone, and sliced it into pita with tomato, onion and a thick cucumber sauce. That cone is the gyro most Americans know. See the Chicago-Style Gyro (Home Oven Beef and Lamb Gyro Loaf) recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
A very hot pan, no stirring
Thin strips brown on the outside before they overcook inside, which is the closest a skillet gets to the crisp edges shaved off a spit.
Squeezed cucumber
Salting and wringing the cucumber keeps the tzatziki thick, so it doesn't soak the pita.
Step by step
- Step 1
Mix the pork, garlic, red onion, olive oil, vinegar, oregano, thyme and rosemary by hand, then add the honey. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.
- Step 2
For the tzatziki, blend the olive oil and garlic until no large pieces remain. Grate the cucumber, season with salt and pepper and let it sit 10 minutes, then squeeze it dry in a towel. Stir the cucumber and garlic oil into the yogurt with the vinegar, season and refrigerate.
- Step 3
Bake the fries according to the package, usually 20 to 25 minutes at 425°F. Keep warm.
- Step 4
Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat until very hot. Add the pork and its marinade in one layer (in batches if needed) and sear without stirring about 1 to 2 minutes per side, until browned and crisp outside and 145°F in the thickest strip. Rest 3 minutes.
- Step 5
Turn the oven up to 480°F with a large upside-down baking sheet on the bottom rack. Brush the pitas on both sides with oil, season with salt, pepper and oregano, and bake on the hot sheet about 1 minute, until soft and puffed.
- Step 6
Spread each pita with tzatziki, add pork, red onion, tomato and a handful of fries, roll it up tight and wrap the bottom in paper.
Greek Pork Gyros Pita (Gyros Souvlaki with Tzatziki and Fries)
Serves 4 · 4 wraps · 2 hr 55 min total
Pork gyros
- 1 pork tenderloin (about 1 lb), cut into thin strips
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 1/2 red onion, sliced
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp dried rosemary
- 1/2 tbsp honey
Tzatziki
- 1/2 cucumber
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup plus 1 tbsp (250 g) Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Salt and black pepper
To serve
- 4 pita breads (the thick, pocketless Greek kind)
- 1 tbsp olive oil, plus salt, pepper and dried oregano for the pitas
- 10 oz frozen french fries
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 1 tomato, sliced
- Lettuce (optional)
Method
- Mix the pork, garlic, red onion, olive oil, vinegar, oregano, thyme and rosemary by hand, then add the honey. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.
- For the tzatziki, blend the olive oil and garlic until no large pieces remain. Grate the cucumber, season with salt and pepper and let it sit 10 minutes, then squeeze it dry in a towel. Stir the cucumber and garlic oil into the yogurt with the vinegar, season and refrigerate.
- Bake the fries according to the package, usually 20 to 25 minutes at 425°F. Keep warm.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat until very hot. Add the pork and its marinade in one layer (in batches if needed) and sear without stirring about 1 to 2 minutes per side, until browned and crisp outside and 145°F in the thickest strip. Rest 3 minutes.
- Turn the oven up to 480°F with a large upside-down baking sheet on the bottom rack. Brush the pitas on both sides with oil, season with salt, pepper and oregano, and bake on the hot sheet about 1 minute, until soft and puffed.
- Spread each pita with tzatziki, add pork, red onion, tomato and a handful of fries, roll it up tight and wrap the bottom in paper.
Adapted from Eli K. Giannopoulos, "Homemade Greek Pork Gyros Souvlaki", My Greek Dish (no date shown), 4 wraps. We follow it as written: pork tenderloin strips marinated at least 2 hours (ideally overnight) in olive oil, red wine vinegar, red onion, garlic, oregano, thyme, rosemary and honey; a very hot nonstick pan with the marinade, about 1 minute per side; tzatziki of grated, salted and squeezed cucumber, garlic blended with olive oil, yogurt and red wine vinegar; pitas brushed with oil and seasoned, baked about 1 minute at 250°C (480°F). The recipe lists oregano but leaves it out of the method; we add it to the marinade, as a reader comment suggests. We make half the tzatziki (the recipe makes 5 to 6 servings), and the pork weight (about 1 lb), the fries amount and the 145°F check with a 3-minute rest are ours. The fries inside the wrap follow Wikipedia's description of the Greek gyros pita; My Greek Dish lists them as optional. My Greek Dish. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (2)
Tips
- My Greek Dish says a plain yogurt or a mustard and mayonnaise sauce can stand in for tzatziki.
- Partly freeze the tenderloin 20 to 30 minutes to slice it thin and even.
- Bake rather than fry the pitas for a lighter wrap, as My Greek Dish suggests.
- For the classic street look, wrap the bottom half in parchment and twist it closed.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Greek gyros came from the döner. Documented (Wikipedia): the name is a translation of döner, and the dish arrived with Asia Minor refugees after 1922.
- Gyros reached Athens with the 1922 refugees. Disputed timing: Wikipedia gives the 1920s population exchange and also says lamb gyros in Athens after World War II was likely brought by immigrants from Anatolia and the Middle East.
- Real Greek gyros is pork. Documented for Greece and Cyprus (Wikipedia), with chicken sometimes; beef and lamb cones are the American and other foreign versions.
- Fries go inside the pita. Documented as standard in Greece (Wikipedia; My Greek Dish says most Greeks eat them that way).
- A gyros pita is a "souvlaki." Documented as Athens usage (Wikipedia, My Greek Dish); see Pork Souvlaki for the Thessaloniki side.
Every other kebab
İskender Kebab (Bursa Döner over Pide with Tomato Butter and Yogurt)
Rib-eye marinated in milk, garlic, red pepper and thyme, rolled into a log, frozen and shaved paper-thin like döner, then piled on cubes of pide under a hot butter and tomato sauce with thick yogurt and blistered peppers on the side.
Adana Kebab (Hand-Kneaded Ground Lamb Skewers)
Ground lamb kneaded with salt, cumin, sumac and Urfa pepper until sticky, pressed flat around wide metal skewers and grilled hard over charcoal, then served on warm lavash with sumac onions, parsley, tomatoes and pickled peppers.
Berlin Döner (German Döner Kebab in Flatbread with Cabbage and Döner Sauce)
A log of ground beef and lamb seasoned with onion, garlic, yogurt, paprika and pul biber, frozen and shaved thin into a hot pan, then stuffed into toasted Turkish flatbread with white and red cabbage, lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber and a garlicky yogurt and mayonnaise döner sauce.
Pork Souvlaki (Greek Lemon-Oregano Pork Skewers with Tzatziki)
Cubes of pork loin marinated in olive oil, red onion, garlic, lemon, red wine vinegar and Greek oregano, grilled hot on skewers and served on grilled pita with a thick, garlicky cucumber tzatziki.
Levantine Beef Shawarma (with Tahini Sauce and Pickles)
Paper-thin flank steak marinated in onion juice, yogurt, vinegar, lime, garlic and a toasted shawarma spice blend, seared hard in lamb fat with tomato, onion and parsley, and wrapped in warm bread with tahini sauce and pickles.
Kabab Koobideh (Persian Ground Lamb and Beef Kebabs)
Ground lamb and beef kneaded with grated, squeezed onion, salt, pepper and saffron until it turns to paste, molded in long ridged kebabs on wide skewers and grilled fast over hot coals with whole tomatoes, served with lavash, rice and herbs.
Seekh Kebab (Spiced Lamb Skewers with Mint Chutney)
Ground lamb and lamb fat ground smooth with onion, green chiles and cilantro, seasoned with garlic, ginger, roasted cumin, garam masala and Kashmiri chili, pressed onto skewers, roasted in a very hot oven with butter and finished with chaat masala, lemon and mint chutney.
Yakitori (Japanese Chicken and Scallion Skewers with Tare)
Bite-size chicken thigh threaded with pieces of Tokyo negi on small skewers, broiled hot and brushed three times with a homemade tare of soy sauce, mirin, sake and brown sugar reduced to a glossy glaze.
Chicago-Style Gyro (Home Oven Beef and Lamb Gyro Loaf)
Ground lamb and beef salted ahead, puréed with onion, garlic, oregano and bacon into a springy sausage-like loaf, baked low, sliced thin and broiled crisp, then piled into soft pita with a yogurt, mayonnaise and garlic sauce, tomato, onion and cucumber.
New York Halal Cart Chicken and Rice (with White Sauce)
Chicken thighs marinated in lemon, oregano, coriander and garlic, seared and chopped, piled on turmeric and cumin rice with shredded iceberg, tomato and buttered pita, and drowned in a tangy white sauce of mayonnaise, yogurt, vinegar and black pepper, with hot sauce on top.
Backyard Beef Kebabs (Steakhouse-Style Sirloin, Mushroom and Onion Skewers)
Cubes of sirloin tip and cremini mushrooms marinated in olive oil, Worcestershire, soy sauce, lemon, Dijon, garlic, brown sugar and black pepper, threaded with chunks of red onion and seared hard over a hot charcoal fire.
Sheet-Pan Chicken Shawarma (with Chickpeas, Peppers and Tahini-Yogurt Sauce)
Bone-in chicken thighs rubbed with a shawarma-style spice mix, lemon and garlic and roasted at 475°F on one sheet pan with red onion, chickpeas that turn crunchy and red peppers added late, then spooned over rice with a lemony tahini-yogurt sauce and herbs.
Meatballs of the World
Italian-American Meatballs
Big, tender meatballs braised for an hour in red sauce over spaghetti. The one most Americans grew up with.
Pallottine (Abruzzo Meatballs)
Tiny meatballs, smaller than a marble, tossed right through square spaghetti alla chitarra. No bread at all.
Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
Small, soft meatballs browned in butter, in a cream sauce made from the same pan, with lingonberry jam on the plate.
Danish Frikadeller
Pork meatballs shaped with a spoon and fried slowly in butter, crusty outside and soft in the middle.
Königsberger Klopse
German meatballs that are never fried: poached, then served in a creamy white sauce with capers.
Spanish Albóndigas in Almond Saffron Sauce
The tapas bar classic: small meatballs in a golden sauce thickened with fried almonds and bread.
Mexican Albóndigas with Chipotle and Mint
Soft meatballs with rice and fresh mint inside, simmered in a smoky tomato and chipotle broth.
Izgara Köfte (Turkish Grilled Meatballs)
Small, flat meatballs kneaded hard, rested cold, and charred on a hot grill pan.
Lion's Head Meatballs
Big, soft pork meatballs, stirred into a sticky paste, fried to set, then braised in a savory sauce.
Chicken Tsukune
Japan's chicken meatball: kneaded sticky, grilled on skewers, glazed with sweet soy tare, dipped in egg yolk.