Traditional Greek Chicken Gyro With Tzatziki Sauce

Athena Ann's Note:

Traditional Greek gyro's are hard to come by. This is a hearty meal that only the largest of appetites should try! You can find thin sliced chicken in most supermarkets now, however if you can't find it you can also pound chicken tenders. Also, depending on your skillet you may adjust the amount of oil needed to fry the fries. Finally, if you can't find greek yogurt any plain yogurt will do even though it is not traditional you will still get the same taste!

• Total Time: 55 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 2

• 1 lb thin sliced chicken
• 1 large russet potato
• 2 large pita bread
• 2 cups vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground oregano
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• salt and pepper
• romaine lettuce
• cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 medium red onion, sliced
• 8 ounces plain Greek yogurt
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 medium cucumber, finely diced
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. In a small bowl combine Greek yogurt, garlic, cumin, sugar, cucumber, and salt and pepper. Stir and refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Pound chicken as thin as you can get it. Even if you have purchased the thin sliced chicken you still want to get it as thin as possible. Place chicken in a bowl and combine with vinegar, oregano, paprika, and salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
3. In the mean time, peel you potato and cut into 1/4 inch strips. Place cut potato in cold water for at least 15 minutes. Blanching the potatoes before frying will ensure a crispier fry.
4. In a large skillet heat vegetable oil. Personally, I regulate the temperature by instinct. I let the oil heat up and test it with a drop of water; if the water shoots back I know the oil is hot enough. If you aren't comfortable with this method you want the oil to stay around 360 degrees. When the oil is hot enough drop fries inches Depending on the thickness of your fry and your temperature control your fries will take anywhere from 10-20 minutes. You want your fries to have a deep golden brown. Keep a careful eye on them and flip if necessary.
5. Heat a medium DRY skillet. No oil is necessary to sauté the chicken. Begin to sauté chicken. It should only take about 1 minute on each side depending upon how thinly you pounded it. Let chicken rest under tin foil until you are ready to assemble.
6. You can either toast your pita or microwave it. I prefer to microwave it so it is more pliable (only about 20 seconds). Place 2 heaping tablespoons of the tzatziki sauce and spread over pita. Then place half of the chicken, place mostly in the center, making sure that you are able to fold in the sides. Traditionally, fries are to be placed on top of chicken WITHOUT drying off the oil; however this is entirely up to you. Place fries on top of chicken and top with tomatoes, lettuce, and red onions. Serve with extra tzatziki sauce on the side for dipping.

Reviews

[Chocoholic4ever]

I only used the chicken season portion of this recipe. It is Wonderful!! (Would work well with chicken fajitas as well.) I tried it with another tzatziki sauce recipe I had, but I'll probably try this tzatziki recipe next time. I'm not a big fan of romaine lettuce, so I used baby spinach in my gyro. Then I made a salad out of the leftover chicken for lunch the next day--Great leftovers! And Great with or without tzatziki sauce.

[Andi of Longmeadow Farm]

I also just made the chicken and with the tzatziki sauce and it was terrific! The spices are perfectly paired with this, and I can see using this recipe a lot during the summer, because it is so easy and so tasty~ I used a hot paprika, which was the perfect accent for the chicken.. Thanks for posting, Made for PAC Spring 2012

[Tim964]

I didn't make the fries - just the chicken and tzatziki sauce. Flavor was fantastic. We ate these on low carb tortillas with lettuce, tomato and green onion. Will make this part of the normal rotation.