Gyros - the real way

UMMMM Greek food. Apparently Gryos were invented in NYC not in Greece but either way I love them. I didn't realize that in reality this yummy sandwich type things are not made with a lamb leg, flank, etc. Rather they are made with ground meat. So, off I went to find ground lamb, bison, and pork...the combination I wanted to use to make my gyros.

I followed Alton Brown's cooking method found here. I also took ideas from this website, Serious Eats.

Ingredients:

• 4 oz Bison
• 4 oz pork
• 8 oz lamb
• 1/2 onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1-2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Pat the meat pace into a loaf pan and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place the meat loaf into a water bath and into the oven. Cook for about an hour or until the internal temp reaches 160-165 degrees.
3. Remove meat from the oven. Place a brick wrapped in tin foil on top of the meat and let it sit for 15-20 min or until the internal temp reaches 175 degrees.
4. Slice your meat nice and thin. Place on a grill or skillet to brown the edges of the meat.
5. Toss on a pita with Tzataiki, onions and tomatoes.

Makes 4 servings of meat. Calories per serving - 250

Tiropita

My favorite thing to get in Greek restaurants is Tiropita. Unfortunately most Greek restaurants in NYC don't have this AMAZING appetizer. As I decided to make gyros tonight I thought I would try my hand at these little beauties as well. While they looked excellent they ended up not quite hitting the spot. I am used to the cheesy insides being a little cheesier. I guess I will have to try these again.

Ingredients:

• 4 oz fat free feta cheese
• 1 egg
• 5-6 sheets of phyllo dough
• Butter Pam spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Mix the cheese and the egg
3. Lay out phyllo dough. Cut in half length wise. Spray with Pam. Double the dough on top of itself so you now have two layers of dough. Place about 2 tbs of cheese mixture in the corner of the dough. Fold like you are folding a flag, tucking in edges as you go.
4. Repeat until you have used all the filling. Place all the Tiropita on a Silpat or baking sheet. Spray with Pam. Cook for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 5-6 tiropita - calories per tiropita - 50

Chicken Gyros

Annie's Eats is a huge inspiration for me. Yesterday I was looking for a lemon recipe for a friend so I typed "Lemon" into Annie's search function and while I was looking for a dessert one of the links that popped up was this recipe for chicken gyros. I knew at that moment I had figured out what I was going to make for dinner the next day.

So the next day rolled around and sure enough I made these gyros. They were fantastic. I even made the homemade pita also from Annie's blog. I was a little disappointed that Annie's pitas have nice browning and mine did not but I know that Annie is a far better cook than I am so I am just going to have to accept this.
I chose not to make the tzatziki sauce as I don't own cheese cloth and there is a great store bought option available to me at the local grocery store. The rest of the text below is all taken from Annie's blog I just adapted it slightly based on the changes I made.

Ingredients:
For the tzatziki sauce:
16 oz. plain yogurt (not nonfat, if possible)
1/2 hothouse cucumber or 1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press (or finely minced)
1 tsp. white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Extra virgin olive oil

For the chicken:
4 cloves garlic, smashed
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping tbsp. plain yogurt
1 tbsp. dried oregano
Salt and pepper
1 1/4 lbs. chicken pieces (I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts)

To assemble:
Pita bread
Fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
Red onion, sliced thin

Directions:
To make the tzatziki sauce, strain the yogurt using cheesecloth over a bowl. Let strain for several hours or overnight, if possible, to remove as much moisture as possible.

Shred the cucumber. Wrap in a towel a squeeze to remove as much water as possible. Mix together the strained yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and lemon juice. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.

To prepare the chicken, combine the garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, yogurt, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl. Whisk together until mixed well. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and mix well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Cook the chicken as desired. (I grilled mine on a stove top grill) Once the chicken is completely cooked through, transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut into strips.

Heat pitas . Top with chicken, tzatziki sauce, diced tomatoes and sliced onions. Serve immediately. (I cut my pita in half and filled the inside with the chicken, veggies, etc.)

Makes 8-10 pitas. I cut the recipe in half and made 6 pitas - calories per pita (without extras) - 120