One well-liked lunch item is the gyro. It is a dish wherein meat is set and cooked on a vertical spit and it usually comes with tomatoes, onion, and a generous helping of tzatziki sauce. For a perfect midday meal, get an order of gyros. It’s scrumptious and nutritious since everything in the food pyramid is represented well.
Getting to Know the Greek Gyro
“Gyros” is a Greek term, meaning “spin,” which connotes to how gyros are actually cooked. Pork, veal and lamb are the most common types of meat used when cooking gyros. The choice of meat is stacked on a vertical rotating spit and roasted. Chicken is another common ingredient. The meat is always moist due to the layers of fat in it, while it remains crispy because of the heat. The meat is sliced very thinly from the cone and put inside a pita with tomatoes, onions and tzatziki, a yoghurt, garlic and cucumber sauce.
When cooking gyros, spices are of prime importance. A mixture of paprika, oregano, salt, pepper and garlic is mixed in with the meat. The gyros’ meat flavor generally depends on the preference of the individual cooking it. For instance, aside from the usual blend of spices, there are others who prefer to add parsley, allspice and cumin to their meat.
This is how traditional gyros are done. Nowadays you can find all kinds of fillings. Fried potatoes are popular fillings for gyros in Greece, too. And there are also gyros made with falafel, not meat, for vegetarians. So, gyros are simply flavorful sandwiches. Pickled vegetables, lettuce and mayonnaise are also common substitutes.
Greece offers various types of pita. There are the plain ones, Cypriot and Arabic. Plain pitas are the most common and it has the thickest bread of the three types cited. The Cypriot pita is thinner and it splits in the middle to make a pocket, while the Arabic pita is the thinnest of the three and it’s very crispy.
How it All Began
Generally, people have the mistaken notion that gyros originally came from Greece. This isn’t so. Although the name, pronounced as ‘yee-ros,’ is itself Greek.
Gyros actually come from Turkey. It was created during the 19th century and was originally known as a döner kebab. It was later brought to Greece. In Arab countries, shawarmas are quite popular, which are very much similar to gyros.
The first gyro in the United States was made in Chicago in the mid 1960s. There are some disputes as to whoever made the first gyro in Chicago. According to an article in The New York Times dated July 14, 2009, it was John Garlic who made the first gyro. In any case, how gyros came to the US is not such a big deal because the taste for the dish became widespread, and to this day, it continues being a known and well-liked lunch fare.
How to Make Your Own Tzatziki
While you can put all kinds of sauces on gyro, Greek tzatziki is still the best. Tzatziki sauce is creamy and heavy with garlic flavor, but the taste of garlic and other spices are offset by the coolness of the cucumber.
Tzatziki is an easy and effortless sauce to prepare. It can also be used as a sandwich spread, a veggie dip or a salad dressing.
Recipe for simple tzatziki blend
Mix together 1, 16 ounce container of Greek yoghurt (regular yoghurt is too runny), half of a finely chopped cucumber, and two cloves of finely chopped garlic. Salt and white pepper may be added according to taste. Some prefer to add chopped fresh dill and a little squeeze of fresh lemon for added flavor.
Yes, there are a lot of food choices out there. But gyros are really a step above from all those fast food items. With the exclusion of fried potato fillings, gyros are generally the healthier alternative. Not only that, they are made with the freshest ingredients and are flavored really well. On all accounts, it’s really better than an expensive burger. They’re packed full of flavor and when cooked the real way, over a vertical rotisserie, there’s nothing better.
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