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Gyros are among the most beloved culinary gifts that Greece has bestowed to the rest of the world. They remain a popular street food in the Mediterranean, and gyro stands and sit down restaurants are also a dime a dozen stateside since the 1970s. You can always spot a gyro joint by the sight of its characteristic vertical spits of meat manned by chefs shaving thin slices off to pile into a soft, pillowy pita with veggies and tzatziki sauce. While the professional equipment and preparation of gyro meat might seem complicated or unattainable for home cooks, it’s certainly possible to make gyros at home with common appliances, widely available cuts of meat, and spices and seasonings you likely have in your pantry.
We consulted a chef to guide us with pro tips for making restaurant-quality gyros at home. In an interview with Tasting Table, Samuel-Drake Jones, executive chef at Hudson VU Rooftop Lounge and Hudson Local, gives three detailed tips that start at the grocery store or butcher and end in your oven. Jones will share helpful insight on the best type of meat to use for homemade gyros, the best way to season homemade gyros, and a home-friendly method for cooking gyro meat that doesn’t require a vertical rotisserie spit.
The best type meat for homemade gyros
The 4 popular cuts of meat used in gyros are traditionally lamb, beef, pork, and chicken. Every type of meat encompasses numerous cuts, each with specific fat-to-muscle ratios that affect tenderness and flavor. For homemade gyros, chef Jones says, “The goal is to have meat that stays juicy and flavorful when roasted on a vertical spit or grilled.” Both of these dry cooking methods pose a risk of drying out meat. The traditional rotisserie method requires low temperatures and long cooking times, so you need to look for cuts of meat that benefit from low and slow cooking.
As lamb is perhaps the most widespread gyro meat that you will always see on a spit, chef Jones doesn’t break with tradition, stating “A leg of lamb is a classic for traditional gyros, as it is rich, tender, flavorful and can be cooked for a long time without drying out.” Leg of lamb is an affordable cut of meat that’s known for its versatility, and you can buy it with or without the bone. It’ll become ultra tender and flavorful with a low and slow cooking method.
That said, lamb has a gamey flavor that isn’t for everyone. So Jones says, “If you prefer chicken, thighs are the best choice as they similarly maintain their juiciness after a long cooking time.” We follow chef Jones’ advice by using chicken thighs in our recipe for easy chicken gyros.
The best way to season homemade gyros
Just as each type of meat has a distinct flavor, the way to season each type of meat for gyros also changes depending on which type of meat you’re using. That said, chef Jones recommends a general formula that includes “a blend of garlic, oregano, rosemary or thyme, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, lemon juice or red wine vinegar, and olive oil.” A more basic seasoning blend that you need to use for traditional tasting gyros is salt, pepper, garlic, onion, and paprika.
The vinegar or lemon juice is key to tenderizing a tougher cut of meat like beef or lamb while also bringing a punch of tangy brightness. You can build upon the traditional base or pick and choose from the list of seasonings as chef Jones does; “The specific herbs and spices should be adjusted based on the meat: Lamb benefits from rosemary and a hint of allspice or cinnamon; beef pairs well with paprika and red wine vinegar; chicken works best with lemon, oregano, and thyme.”
If you don’t have a bulk section for spices or a stocked spice pantry at home, you can also buy gyro seasoning blends like this pack of Edora Gyros Greek Style Seasoning. Of course, the best way to infuse flavor and tenderize meat while ensuring that it won’t dry out during cooking is a marinade. Jones says, “Marinate the meat for at least a few hours or, even better, overnight for full flavor.”
How to cook gyro meat at home
Since most households don’t have a vertical rotisserie, the final tip from chef Jones is the best way to cook the meat at home. He opts for one of the most common kitchen appliances of all: an oven! There are two methods that chef Jones recommends for oven-baking gyro meat for the juiciest results.
The first is the loaf tin method, which we use in our recipe for loaded gyro fries. According to Jones, the steps for this method are as follows: “Combine seasoned ground meat (often lamb and beef), pack it into a loaf tin, and bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for about an hour, then remove it from the tin, slice it and either pan-fry or broil the slices to crisp them up.” The tin will lock in all of the moisture from the marinade as it bakes, and the compact loaf of gyro meat will slide easily out of the pan. A loaf is also conveniently compact and firm for effortless slicing.
In the time it takes the oven to warm up to a broil, you can rest the meat, remove it from the tin, and slice it before sliding it back into the oven to crisp up. Alternatively, you can swap the tin for a baking pan for what chef Jones calls “the sheet pan method, where you layer marinated meat slices on a tray and roast at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, finishing under the broiler to get those caramelized edges.”
