A Gyro sandwich is a Greek dish made by combining meat that has been slow-roasted on a rotisserie and then wrapped in a pita with onions, tomatoes and tzatziki sauce. Gyro sandwiches are not an ancient Greek dish, however; it was invented in the late 19th century and became popular in the mid-20th century.
History
Gyros originally come from Turkey as a dish called "doner kebab." The dish was created in the 19th century and soon made its way to Greece. There are a few different stories about how gyro sandwiches came to Greece. Some say the dish was first brought to Piraeus via Constantinople while other stories insist that Thessaloniki began making gyros first. Regardless of the sandwich's origins in Greece, it quickly became so popular that it was made across the country.
Ingredients
Pork is the most common meat for a gyro sandwich, though lamb and chicken can be substituted based on personal preference. Nearly all gyro sandwiches are made with tzatziki (a yogurt-based sauce), onions, tomatoes and fried potatoes. Different pitas can be used to wrap a gyro, but plain pitas are the most commonly available. Cypriot pitas resemble pocket pitas and Arabic pitas are crispy.
Variations
Many regions in Greece have their own unique variations on gyro sandwiches. Northern Greece tends to use sandwich-style bread rather than pitas for its gyro sandwiches. Thessaloniki offers the addition of mustard, Russian salad (pickles and mayonnaise) or Hungarian salad (bacon and mayonnaise) with its gyro sandwiches. The island of Kos uses chicken as the primary meat but Crete, another Greek island, uses pork. Many restaurants across Greece also use tzatziki sauce with pork gyros but use a mixture of mustard and mayonnaise for chicken gyro sandwiches.
Recipe
A slow-roasted rotisserie gyro sandwich is delicious but you can adapt and make an equally tasty gyro sandwich at home. The trick is to marinate your meat for a couple hours before adding it to a sandwich. Start with thinly sliced meat, a seasoning mix (usually of salt, pepper, oregano and paprika) and white wine vinegar. Layer the ingredients until all the meat has been covered with vinegar and spices and chill for 1 to 2 hours to marinate the meat. Once it's marinated, cut the meat into very thin strips and dry fry it to retain the meat's flavor. Fill the pita with tzatziki, meat and onions and enjoy.
Tags: gyro sandwiches, 19th century, became popular, Greek dish, gyro sandwich
