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Greek gyros are a popular street food, but you can make them at home without a great deal of effort. Learn top gyro cooking tips to recreate this classic dish.

Discover How to Recreate the Greek Street Food Classic Gyros

Learn How to Recreate the Greek Street Food Classic Gyros at Home

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You can't go wrong with Greek food. Luckily, there are plenty of [Greek recipes](https://www.hellofresh.co.uk/recipes/greek-recipes) that serve well as main meals or as [party food recipes](https://www.hellofresh.co.uk/food-box/party-foods) for smaller servings. One of the most popular dishes is the gyro, a classic street food that is admired all over the Mediterranean.

## How to prepare homemade Greek gyros

In Greece, pork and chicken are the most popular choices of meat for gyros. You can find out how to make pork gyros at home with a slight twist —known as kofta gyros— by checking out this [pork kofta gyros and tzatziki recipe](https://www.hellofresh.co.uk/recipes/pork-kofta-gyros-and-tzatziki-6166d8a617254a36ce0c2232).  

Another dish worth exploring is [Greek-inspired oregano pork kofta gyros](https://www.hellofresh.co.uk/recipes/greek-inspired-oregano-pork-kofta-gyros-630e284cda952ef1098cbaa6). Koftas are meatballs, or small patties, but they don't feature in all gyros street food recipes. So, if you want to learn how to make traditional Greek gyros without kofta, read on.

### How to make Greek chicken gyros

In Greek street food settings, chicken gyros will be cooked on a rotisserie, and the meat will be carved off to order. Since most British households don't have a rotisserie, here are the steps you should follow to cook it in the oven:

1. Start by preparing the marinade, which consists of three tablespoons of olive oil, the juice of a whole lemon, two finely chopped garlic cloves and one tablespoon of red wine vinegar. This amount of marinade will be sufficient for 500g of chicken.  
2. Combine the ingredients, adding a generous amount of thyme, smoked paprika and ground cumin to taste (about one teaspoon each is usually sufficient).  
3. Place thinly sliced chicken breast or thigh meat into the marinade, adding salt and pepper.  
4. Allow the chicken meat to marinate for several hours (it is best to cover the chicken and place it in the fridge while this happens).  
5. Take the chicken out of the fridge and allow it to come up to room temperature.  
6. While this is happening, turn the oven on to 200°C.  
7. Place the marinated chicken onto baking parchment, covering a baking tray so that it is well spread out.  
8. Cook the chicken gyros in the oven for 25 minutes until it is cooked through, turning the meat over halfway through the roasting process.  
9. Remove from the oven, serve with tzatziki, cucumber, lettuce, onions, and tomatoes in a gyros pita or flatbread.

### How to make traditional Greek lamb gyros

Pork or lamb gyros can be made in much the same way as described above, but you can also pan-fry the meat instead of oven-roasting it. This is what you need to do:

1. Make the marinade with the same ingredients outlined above, allowing the lamb to absorb their flavours for several hours.  
2. With the lamb at room temperature, put a frying pan on medium heat with enough olive oil to cover the surface.  
3. Add several pieces of sliced lamb to the pan in one go, but don't overfill it. Continue cooking in batches until all the meat is cooked.

The lamb will take about three minutes per side to cook with this method. However, if you like a little crispy texture, you can fry it for a little longer. Then, serve in a gyros pita with the same accompaniments as you would for Greek chicken gyros.

## How to make tzatziki gyro sauce

Whether you have made gyros from chicken, lamb or beef, or followed one of the many [recipes with pork](https://www.hellofresh.co.uk/recipes/meat-recipes/pork) that feature in Greek cuisine, knowing how to make authentic tzatziki will give the food a lift. Tzatziki is a traditional gyro sauce, but it's also used in other aspects of Greek cookery. It is worth learning how to make it, so here's how:

1. Grate half a cucumber and use a kitchen towel to squeeze some of the water out. This will prevent the tzatziki from becoming too thin.  
2. Stir the cucumber into 250 ml of Greek yoghurt, adding two finely chopped garlic cloves and a tablespoon each of lemon juice and olive oil.  
3. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

For extra flavour, add a pinch or two of dried mint. You can also use fresh mint, but do so sparingly and chop it finely before adding it. Now, the tzatziki is ready to serve, but you can keep it in the fridge for up to three days afterwards.

## What goes well with gyros?

Greek fries are traditionally served with gyros, but oven-baked chips are a reasonable substitute. Hummus, olives and dolmades —stuffed vine leaves— are also good accompaniments. Another strong contender not to be overlooked is a traditional Greek salad dressed with olive oil and oregano.

## FAQs

### How do you make Greek gyros?  
Slice and marinate the meat, then bake it in the oven on high heat until it is cooked through. Alternatively, you can batch-cook the meat by frying it on the stove with a little olive oil. Serve in a flatbread with tzatziki, tomatoes, onions and lettuce.

### What is Greek gyros?  
Greek gyros is a street food popular in Greece. It is made with meat blended with Mediterranean herbs and cooked on a rotisserie. The dish is served in a flatbread or pita with tzatziki.

### Are gyros made with lamb or beef?  
In Greece, pork and chicken are the most common meats to use for gyros. However, lamb is also a traditional choice, just much less common. You can make gyros from beef, but this is not traditional.

### What is typical Greek street food?  
Along with gyros, typical Greek street foods include Souvlaki, a type of skewered meat dish, as well as loukoumades, which are small doughnuts with cinnamon or walnuts. Tiropita, a cheese pie made with feta, is another popular street food dish.

### What food is similar to gyros?  
A doner kebab is superficially similar to gyros. However, lamb is more common with doner kebabs, and the serving accompaniments and seasonings differ. Chilli sauce, cumin and paprika are used in doner kebabs, but you won't typically find them in gyros.


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