2022-06-30 I started the tzatziki the night before the stream. The shredded cucumber was pressed between paper towel, and left to chill above the rest of the tzatziki sauce. I also made equal batches of pork and chicken for the souvlaki.
Build order for today:
- get the pita dough started
- soak the souvlaki skewers in water
- start the gyro loaf
- prep the souvlaki, gyro, and salad veggies
- cook the souvlaki on the BBQ/grill/pan/oven
- cook the pitas
- mix the cucumber into the tzatziki
- assemble the salad
- assemble the gyros
- serve and om nom nom
Tzatziki
Ingredients
- 1.5 cup plain, full-fat Greek yogurt (make your own!)
- 2-3 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp vinegar (plain, red/white wine, balsamic)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp minced fresh dill (dried also works)
- 1/2 large cucumber, shredded, and squeezed dry
Instructions
- Shred the cucumber, and drain through fine mesh sieve, or squeeze in a tea towel until very dry. Cover, and chill overnight.
- In a separate bowl, combine everything else except the dill, cover, and chill overnight. If you're using dried dill, include it here.
- Stir everything together before serving.
Gyro Marinade
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp yogurt
- 1.5 tbsp oregano
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp lemon juice (approx 1 medium lemon)
- 3 large minced garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Mix well, and placec in a large freezer bag along with 1.5 - 2 pounds of meat (deboned chicken thigh, pieces of pork 2-3" across and 1/2" thick, etc.. Mixing up another small batch of the marinade is pretty quick to do if you think you need more.
- Let sit in fridge for minimum 2 hours, preferably 24 hours.
Gyro Loaf
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped or shreddeed
- 2 lbs ground lamb ( see below )
- 1 tbsp finely minced garlic
- 1 tbsp dried marjoram ( or oregano )
- 1 tbsp dried ground rosemary
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Process the onion in a food processor for 10 to 15 seconds and turn out into the center of a tea towel. Gather up the ends of the towel and squeeze until almost all of the juice is removed. Discard juice.
- Return the onion to the food processor and add the lamb, garlic, marjoram, rosemary, salt, and pepper and process until it is a fine paste, approximately 1 minute. Stop the processor as needed to scrape down sides of bowl.
- Place the mixture into a loaf pan, making sure to press into the sides of the pan.
- Place the loaf pan into a water bath and bake for 60 to 75 minutes or until the mixture reaches 165 to 170 degrees F.
- Remove from the oven and drain off any fat. Place the loaf pan on a cooling rack and place a brick wrapped in aluminum foil directly on the surface of the meat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees F.
- Slice and serve on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, chopped onion, tomatoes and feta cheese.
Notes
I tried beef-pork mix, which worked just fine, but needed a ton more seasoning. I assume you can use pretty much any ground meat. You'll need to add more fat (olive oil, bacon grease, duck fat, etc.) if you're using lean meat, especially bison.
Instead of the brick, you can use something else that's heavy and will press down while the loaf is cooling (nesting loaf pans are a great option for this, and I weighed mine down with a cast iron pan on top).
Souvlaki
Ingredients
- 1.5 tbsp oregano
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 3 cloves minced garlic (2 tsp)
- 2 tbsp vinegar (any type works, I like red wine and balsamic)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 lb meat, cut into 1" cubes See #1 below
- 1" chunks of onion, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini are all optional, but this is traditionally all meat. If you use veggies, alternate meat&veg while assembling the kebabs.
Instructions
- Mix well, put all ingredients into a freezer bag.
- Let it marinade in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours, preferably a full day.
- Soak bamboo skewers for minimum 30 mins (pref 3-4 hours), or use metal skewers.
- Optional veg - have fun with the assembly (pieces of onion or peppers are great), but don't mix different types of meat - the cooking times vary, and you don't want burned or undercooked meat.
- Cook on a grill/BBQ med-high heat, 5-7 minutes for beek&pork 6-8 minutes for chicken, turn once halfway through.
- OR - 1 minute per side (top and bottom, not 4 sides) in a pan on medium-high heat, then suspend the skewers in an oven-safe dish and bake in a preheated 350F oven for 10-12 minutes.
- OR - bake suspended on an oven-safe dish at 450F for 30 minutes, turning over after 15 minutes.
- Regardless of method, you do not want the souvlaki touching, you do not want to mix different meats on the same skewer, check to make sure internal temp is a minimum of 165F, and veggies are optional.
- Serve with a Greek salad, on a pita with tzatziki, on a bed of rice, beside some lemon potatoes, or on a platter with other finger food or a meat platter or meze.
Notes
- Do not mix different meats on the same skewer because they need different cooking times.
Pita
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 tsp active yeast
- 3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- In a bowl, stir the warm water and yeast together. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes
- Add everything else, and knead for 8-10 minutes. When the dough pulls cleanly away from the bowl, it's kneaded enough.
- Put the dough in a clean bowl (if needed), lightly coat with more olive oil, cover, and let rest in a warm area for an hour, or until doubled in size.
- Gently punch the dough down to deflate it.
- Divide the dough into 8 pieces.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece out into rounds approx 8-9" diameter, and 1/4" thick.
- Warm a skillet (preferably cast iron) to medium-high heat. Drizzle olive oil, and wipe off any excess.
- Cook a pita round for 30 seconds, or until bubbles form.
- Flip and cook 1-2 minutes, until large spotted circles form on the bottom.
- Flip again and cook 1-2 minutes - this is when the pita should puff up.