AUTHENTIC GREEK GYRO

Gyros is a classic Greek sandwich. Learn how to make one of the world’s great sandwiches at home. A recipe for Authentic Greek Gyros served in a warm pita with tzatziki sauce.

Ingredients

1 pork tenderloin 400 g
1 medium onion
3 sprigs rosemary
3 sprigs oregano
2 cloves of garlic, crushed whole
5 tablespoons Olive Oil
5 + 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
coarse salt
pepper
1 teaspoon honey
Tzatziki Sauce

Greek pita bread

Directions

Remove the white membrane covering the top side of the meat with a sharp knife. It is very important to remove this membrane because no matter how long you cook it, it will always be tough.
Cut the meat into equal, thin slanted slices that are 0.5 cm thick.
Transfer meat to a deep pan. Thinly slice an onion and add it to the pan.
Discard the stems and finely chop the fresh herbs and add them to the pan.
Add the olive oil, 5 tablespoons vinegar, salt, pepper and honey. Mix with a wooden spoon to coat. (Do not add more honey because it will give too much color to the meat when it is cooking and it will look burned when it won’t be.

Also, when you add the marinade to the meat, you will notice that it will start to turn white. This is because of the vinegar so don’t let it worry you.)
Refrigerate and allow the meat to marinate for 6 hours or overnight.
Let a non-stick pan get very hot over high heat, to the point where it is smoking. When it is hot enough, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and add the meat in 3 batches.

If you overcrowd the pan, the temperature in the pan will drop and the meat will boil instead of brown nicely.
As soon as it has browned on one side, turn over and brown on the other side.
When ready, add 1 tablespoon vinegar and stir.

Remove from pan and continue with the next batch.

Serve with toasted Greek pita bread and tzatziki sauce. Or you can create your own personal favorite!

Place the gyro on the pita bread and add tomatoes, lettuce, potatoes, tzatziki sauce or any other combination of toppings you like!

Tip
The secret is to marinade the meat properly! The vinegar added at the end gives the gyro a very authentic and characteristic flavor so don’t skip it!

Adapted from Akis Petretzikis