Chicken Gyro
I know you thought I said it wrong, but in Greek, you shouldn't pronounce the G in the Gyro. The name comes from the Greek word γύρος which is translated to 'circle' or 'turn', and it derives from the Turkish word döner, also meaning "turn". The history of grilling meat, then cut or slice as the meat keeps cooking comes from the Ottoman Empire, first presented as Döner Kebap. After World War II, the dish was introduced to Athens by immigrants from the middle east. The addition of the Tzatziki made the dish too become known as Gyros. Gyros can be done with pork, chicken, or lamb. I chose chicken here but feel free to take this recipe and change the type of meat to your preference. You know already that pita is my favorite bread, this is just another type of pita. Made with a little bit of olive oil in the dough, grilled, and not attempting to create a pocket. This pita we stuff on top like a taco. Ohhh YASSS.
Ingredients:
For the gyro pita
500 gr white flour
285 ml water
25 ml olive oil
15 gr sugar/10 gr honey
10 gr dry yeast
10 gr salt
For the Tzatziki
300 ml Greek yogurt
Half a bunch of dill, chopped
Half a bunch of parsley, chopped
1 cucumber
2-3 garlic cloves
Salt
Black pepper
Lemon juice from half a lemon
For the chicken marinade
1 kg chicken thighs, boneless & skinless
350 ml Greek yogurt
30-40 ml olive oil
20 ml white wine vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Lemon juice from 1 lemon
15 gr salt
10 gr ground cumin
10 gr ground smoked paprika
10 gr oregano
10 gr black pepper
For the Gyro dish
1 pita
2 tablespoons Tzatziki
1 sliced tomato
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1 chicken thigh
Method:
- For the chicken marinade- simply mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
- Add the chicken thighs and massage them with the marinade.
- Place the marinated chicken in a ziplock bag or a box and place it in the fridge, up to overnight. The chicken will absorb all the flavors of the marinade, results in a very juicy-delicious chicken!
- For the Tzatziki- chop the parsley, dill, and garlic.
- Cut the cucumbers into small cubes.
- Mix all the ingredients of the Tzatziki in a bowl. Keep in the fridge until you serve the gyros.
- For the gyro pita- in a bowl add the water, yeast, and sugar. Mix well.
- Add the flour and mix until you get a homogenous dough. Then add the salt and olive oil, knead them until completely dissolved in the dough.
- Keep kneading the dough on a working surface for an additional 10 min, until you get a smooth sexy dough.
- Round the dough to a ball, place it in a bowl, covered with a towel, and let it rest until double in size.
- That's the time to turn on your grill and set it to 600F or 315C.
- Then- punch the dough and divide it into 140-150 gr pieces. Round each of them into a tight ball and let them rest, covered with a towel, for about 10-15 min.
- Bake the pitas on the grill until you get a nice color on one side, then flip it and do the same for the other side.
- Wrap the pitas with a towel to keep them warm and sexy.
- Grill the chicken.
- Build the GYRO!!!
- Take one pita, spread two tablespoons of Tzatziki, add sliced tomato, some thinly sliced red onion, the chicken, and close with another teaspoon of Tzatziki.
- Wow! YASSS.
- BenGingi.