Oven chicken gyros: a yogurt marinade, thighs instead of breast
Gyros without a vertical spit: thigh meat marinated in yogurt with garlic, oregano and paprika, roasted on a rack at 220 degrees and cut into strips. Yogurt tenderises more gently than lemon alone, and thighs forgive a few extra minutes in the oven, which breast never does. Served with pita, a yogurt sauce, tomatoes and chips.
Your own work in that: 30 min.
- Meat marinating 120 min
- Roasting 30 min
- Yogurt sauce 15 min
- Assembling 15 min
Step by step
0 / 6 doneMarinate the meat
Cut the thighs into 3 × 5 cm pieces. Mix the yogurt, oil, lemon juice and zest, crushed garlic, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Turn the meat through it until every piece is coated, cover and refrigerate 2 hours, ideally overnight.
Ingredients: 800 g boneless skinless chicken thighs · 150 g thick natural yogurt · 3 tbsp olive oil · 1 pcs lemon, juice and zest · 4 cloves garlic · 2 tsp dried oregano · 2 tsp sweet paprika · 1 tsp ground cumin · 1½ tsp salt · 1 tsp black pepper
TipYogurt marinates differently from lemon alone. Its acid is weak (around pH 4.5) and works slowly, so it softens the surface of the meat gently. A pure lemon-juice marinade sets the surface proteins within hours and turns the meat mealy; a yogurt one can sit all night.
Every piece coated, two hours in the fridgeSpread on a rack
Heat the oven to 220 °C. Lay the pieces in a single layer on a rack set over a foil-lined tray, spaced apart. Shake off excess marinade: it is the marinade that burns, not the meat. If you are making chips, cut the potatoes into 1 cm sticks, toss with a tablespoon of oil and salt, spread on a second tray and roast on the lower shelf alongside the meat for 30–35 minutes, turning once.
Ingredients: 800 g boneless skinless chicken thighs · 150 g thick natural yogurt · 3 tbsp olive oil · 1 pcs lemon, juice and zest · 4 cloves garlic · 2 tsp dried oregano · 2 tsp sweet paprika · 1 tsp ground cumin · 1½ tsp salt · 1 tsp black pepper
TipThe rack is half the battle. Meat laid straight on a tray sits in its own juices and steams; on a rack hot air circles every side and the pieces brown instead of turning grey.
One layer, spaced, excess marinade shaken offRoast and check the temperature
Roast 25–30 minutes at 220 °C, until the edges are dark and charred. A thermometer in the thickest piece should read 75 °C. Take out and rest 5 minutes.
TipThighs carry more fat and connective tissue than breast and taste best roasted to 75–85 °C, when the connective tissue softens. Breast at that temperature turns dry, which is why thighs are the better choice here.
Dark edges, 75 °C insideMake the yogurt sauce
Grate the cucumber coarsely and squeeze it hard in your fist or through a cloth. Mix with the yogurt, crushed garlic, chopped dill, lemon juice and salt. Chill for a quarter of an hour.
Ingredients: 300 g Greek yogurt · 1 pcs cucumber · 1 clove garlic · ½ bunch dill · ½ pcs lemon, juice · ½ tsp salt
TipCucumber is 96 % water. Unsqueezed, it thins the sauce within fifteen minutes and instead of thick tzatziki you get a milky soup that runs out of the pita.
Cucumber squeezed dry, then the yogurtCut the meat into strips
Cut the rested meat into 1 cm strips. Scrape the juices left on the board back over the meat. Warm the pitas for 2 minutes in the oven or in a dry pan.
Ingredients: 4 pcs pita or flatbreads · 2 pcs tomatoes · 1 pcs red onion · 4 pcs lettuce · 600 g potatoes for chips
1 cm strips, board juices back on topAssemble
On a warm pita lay lettuce, meat, tomato wedges, thin onion rings, a spoon of sauce and a handful of chips if you made them. Roll into a cone and wrap in paper. Eat straight away, while the pita is warm and the meat juicy.
Lettuce, meat, tomato, onion, sauce
Before you start
In a pan
Without an oven: fry the meat in batches in a very hot pan, 4 minutes a side, without moving it too often. In batches, because crowded pieces release their juices and stew.
With pork
In Greece gyros is most often made with pork, usually neck: 800 g cut into 1 cm slices, the same marinade, 30 minutes at 220 °C. The fat in the neck melts and bastes the meat as it roasts.
The next day
Sliced meat keeps up to 3 days in the fridge. Reheat in a dry pan for 2 minutes, not in the microwave, which turns the strips rubbery.
