Greek Chicken Gyro (Kebab)
Chicken Gyros are made of Perfectly juicy and tasty chicken, wrapped in my soft pita bread with thick and creamy tzatziki made at home.
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
- 1/2 cup (125 g) Greek yogurt (see notes)
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar see notes
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder optional
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- Pepper to taste
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 10 (2 kg) chicken thighs boneless and skinless (see notes)
Instructions
Chicken Marinade
- To make the marinade - To a large mixing bowl add the Greek yogurt, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, garlic, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, oregano, pepper, salt and olive oil and mix using a spoon to combine. Add the chicken thighs and mix to coat in the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to marinade for 2 hours. Overnight if you can!
- To cook - turn your oven broiler (grill function) on the highest setting and allow to heat for 10 minutes. Place the oven tray as far up as it will go. Line a baking tray with foil and place your marinaded chicken on top. Grill for 10 minutes or until slightly charged. Then take out of the oven and turn overusing tongs. Cook on the other side for another 10 minutes or until charged. The safe internal temperature of the chicken should be 75C / 165F. Allow to rest on a chopping board for 10 minutes before using a large knife to chop up into rough pieces.
Fillings
- To prepare the fillings - you want to clean and pat dry your cucumber and tomato. Cut the ends off the cucumber and tomato and then slice in half. Do the same with the tomato. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds from both vegetables as shown in the video. Cut into small cubes and place in a bowl. You want to thinly slice the red onion as well.
Assembly
- To assemble - Place your pita onto a large piece of aluminum foil. Add a good scoop of Greek tzatziki or Greek yogurt onto each pita. Spread around leaving a gap at the bottom and sides. Add the tomato, cucumber, red onion and chopped chicken. Then add the chicken and wrap.
- To wrap your gyro - fold the bottom of the wrap over the filling. Then use one hand to hold that fold while folding over one side of the wrap. Hold those two folds down and fold over the final side. Hold it all down while you repeat this process with the foil to help keep everything in place. Serve fresh!
Video
Notes
Greek yogurt - the Greek yogurt in this recipe helps tenderize the chicken and give it flavor. It also acts as a fat to help cook the chicken and stop it from drying using the cooking method in this recipe. It’s like magic!
Red Wine Vinegar - the vinegar used in this recipe can be substituted with more lemon juice or red vinegar. It helps give the chicken added tang and tenderizes it.
Chicken thighs - I use chicken thighs in this recipe because it helps add loads of flavor. If you can’t get chicken thighs or don’t like them, you can use chicken breast.
Lebanese cucumbers - You can use pretty much any cucumber here. As long as it’s fresh. You want to slice them in half long ways then use a spoon to scrape out the seeds. They hold all the water, and you don’t want that in your gyro, it’ll make them soggy. Slice into batons then cut into cubes.
Tomatoes - same deal here. Any ripe tomato will work here. I used truss tomatoes. Cut the ends off using a sharp knife and then slice in half. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds so you’re left with just tomato. Minus all the watery parts. Slice into batons then cut into cubes. Scooping all the seeds out is optional on both the tomato and cucumber but recommended.
Storage - Chicken Gyro can be stored in an airtight container, in the fridge for a day bust is best eaten when fresh.
Nutrition - is based on per gyro
A note on measurements - all ingredients in this recipe are offered in Australian cup measurements and weight measurements. Weight measurements are created by me, in my kitchen here in Melbourne Australia. The best way to get recipe success is to measure ingredients by weight, using kitchen scales. To access weight measurements, click on the ‘metric’ button in the recipe card located under the list of ingredients.
Nutrition
Calories:654kcal | Carbohydrates:42g | Protein:38g | Fat:37g | Saturated Fat:9g | Polyunsaturated Fat:7g | Monounsaturated Fat:17g | Trans Fat:0.2g | Cholesterol:185mg | Sodium:842mg | Potassium:836mg | Fiber:3g | Sugar:4g | Vitamin A:725IU | Vitamin C:18mg | Calcium:124mg | Iron:4mg
Have you tried this recipe?Tag me on instagram @thescranline!