Lately, I’ve been on a chicken gyro spree. About ten months ago, Fatima and I attended my cousin’s wedding. It seemed like 2019 was the year all of my cousins got married. Maybe the universe knew we wouldn’t be seeing each other for a long time, so it gave us some extra family time. Since my out-of-state family was in town, some of my cousins decided to visit us in the city and we went on a hunt for chicken gyros.
My cousin-in-law is greek and now lives in the south. She knew Astoria was the greek capital of New York and couldn’t wait to get a taste of home. She asked where to find some gyros and we went on a hunt. However, we were pronouncing gyro differently. She was saying ‘yee-roh’ and we were saying ‘gy-ro’. I had no idea the correct way to pronounce the food was ‘yee-roh’. Needless to say, I had no idea what food she was looking for, so we were just walking around.
She pointed to a place called Gyro World and that’s when we got on the same page.
Chicken Gyros err ‘yee-rohs’
The place was great, we loved the food, and I learned to love a gyro with everything, including french fries. A few weeks after my cousins left, I had a taste for a gyro. I went back to Gyro World for another. By the next time I wanted a gyro, I wanted to switch it up. I went to a place called Pita Pan and that’s when I fell in love. Their chicken gyros were delicious. I’ve been going there ever since.
At some point, we made meatball gyros. They were delicious. However, last weekend I wanted to switch it up so I made them with chicken. Oh-my-gosh, yes! While I’ll still be going to Pita Pan, my chicken gyros were pretty damn good.
So what did we do? Marinate the chicken. Make everything the day before. Let the flavors come out. After looking through a few recipes, I accumulated ingredients for the chicken. It’s so important to marinate the chicken ahead of time in order to keep it juicy and flavorful. Put the work in the day before and kick back when all you need to do is cook the chicken.
Mediterranean Chicken Gyros
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Loading...Ingredients
- Tzatziki
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup cucumber, grated
- 1 tsp garlic, grated
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Mediterranean Chicken
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into pieces
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp oregano
- Cucumber and Tomato Salad:
- 1 cup cucumber, diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 cup red onion, diced
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- Kosher salt & black pepper to taste
- Store-bought frozen french fries
- Flatbread
Instructions
Tzatziki Sauce
Combine Greek yogurt, grated cucumber, grated garlic, olive oil, dill, salt, and pepper. Stir in lemon juice. Taste and adjust flavors as needed. Cover and place in the fridge for a few hours or overnight (longer the better!).
Cucumber Tomato Salad
Before you cook the chicken, make the cucumber salad first. Combine diced cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, and parsley in a small bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and place in the fridge.
Mediterranean Chicken
Combine yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and oregano in a medium bowl. Add chicken and stir until evenly coated. Cover, place in the fridge, and marinate for at least four hours or overnight. Again, make this the day ahead!
Cooking the chicken: Heat a cast-iron grill pan or skillet to medium-high heat. Sprinkle with canola or vegetable oil. Add chicken and cook for 5 minutes on each side until cooked through. Chicken should have a dark golden sear on each side, too. Remove from the pan and loosely cover with aluminum foil to let the chicken rest.
Gyro Assembly
Turn the oven on according to the directions on the bag of french fries. Cook the french fries as described. Once done, remove fries from the oven, turn the oven off and place flatbread on the rack until warmed through. Remove flatbread to plates. Place 1/2 cup of chicken down the middle of each flatbread. Scoop tzatziki over the chicken, then cucumber salad, and top off with fries. Wrap up and dig in!
