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Best Homemade Chicken Gyros recipe

Homemade Greek Chicken Gyro recipe

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  • Author: Eli K. Giannopoulos
  • Prep Time: 15 min
  • Cook Time: 90 min
  • Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
  • Yield: 8 souvlakia with pita and tzatziki 1x
  • Category: Main
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: Greek

Description

The best homemade Greek chicken gyro recipe with fluffy pita breads and creamy tzatziki sauce for you to recreate this authentic Greek delight from scratch!


Ingredients

Scale

For the chicken gyro marinade

  • 800g/ 28 oz. boneless chicken thighs (or mixed thighs and breasts)
  • 1 onion cut into rings
  • 1 red pepper cut into rings
  • 1/3 of a cup olive oil
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • 2 tsps smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • salt and freshly ground pepper

For the tzatziki sauce

  • 1 cucumber
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/4 of a cup olive oil
  • 500g of yogurt (18 ounces)
  • 12 tbsps of red wine vinegar
  • a pinch of salt

To serve

  • 8 pita breads
  • olive oil
  • 12 tsps dried oregano
  • 1 tomato, sliced
  • 1 red onion, sliced
  • fried potatoes (optional)
  • romaine (cos) lettuce (optional)
  • paprika
  • salt and freshly ground pepper


Instructions

For the chicken gyro

  1. To prepare this chicken gyro recipe, start by preparing the marinade for the gyro. In a large bowl, combine marinade ingredients and stir well.
  2. On a cutting board, place a piece of plastic wrap over the chicken thighs and pound until about 1 1/2 cm thick with a meat mallet or heavy pan.
  3. In another large bowl combine chicken thighs and marinade, stirring well to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to one day.
  4. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
  5. Skewer the chicken thighs individually on a spit (make sure to skewer them pretty tight). In between the chicken pieces skewer the onion and peppers.
  6. Bake for about 1- 1 and 1/2 hour, until internal temperature reaches 165°F (75°C)
  7. Let it rest for about 8 minutes and then carve slices with a sharp knife.

For the tzatziki sauce

  1. In the meantime prepare the tzatziki sauce for the chicken gyro. Pour in a blender the olive oil and grated garlic and blend until combined.
  2. Remove the skin and seeds of the cucumber and grate it into a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and leave aside for 10 minutes. Wrap the grated cucumber in a towel and squeeze, in order to get rid of the excess water.
  3. In a bowl, add the cucumber, the blended garlic and oil, the yogurt, 1-2 tbsps of red wine vinegar, a pinch of salt and blend, until the ingredients are combined.
  4. Store the tzatziki sauce in the fridge and always serve cold.

To serve

  1. Prepare the pita breads. Preheat the oven to 250C. Use a cooking brush to oil the pita breads on both sides and season with salt and oregano. Place a large oven tray (upside down) at the bottom of the oven and place the pita breads on top of the tray. Bake for 2-3 minutes.
  2. Chicken gyro is usually served wrapped, like a sandwich. Spread some tzatziki sauce on the pita breads and top it with the chicken gyro, some slices of red onion, some sliced tomato and fried potatoes and wrap.
  3. For an easier version of this traditional Greek souvlaki with chicken gyro recipe you can serve with Greek yogurt or some mustard and mayonnaise sauce. Enjoy!

 



Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 souvlaki with pita and tzatziki
  • Calories: 445kcal
  • Sugar: 6.2g
  • Sodium: 2976.5mg
  • Fat: 17.3g
  • Saturated Fat: 4g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 12g
  • Trans Fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 42.9g
  • Fiber: 4.9g
  • Protein: 32.3g
  • Cholesterol: 102.1mg

Keywords: Chicken gyro recipe, Greek chicken Gyro marinade