Chicken Gyro Wraps

About This Recipe

The gyro is Greece's most famous street food export: seasoned meat, traditionally cooked on a vertical rotisserie, sliced thin and wrapped in warm pita with tzatziki and fresh vegetables. This home version marinates chicken thighs and sears them hard in a skillet, chopping them into gyro-style strips afterward. Getting a good char on the chicken is what stands in for the rotisserie's crisp edges, and warming the pita separately means everything comes together hot and fresh rather than assembled ahead and gone soggy.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 700 gboneless chicken thighs
• 0.33 cupolive oil
• 3 tbspfresh lemon juice
• 4 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 2 tspdried oregano
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1 tspfine sea salt
• 4pita breads
• 1 cuptzatziki
• 1tomato(diced)
• 0.5red onion(thinly sliced)
• 1 cupshredded lettuce

Instructions

1. 1

   Marinate the chicken

   Combine olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, cumin, and salt. Marinate chicken at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.

2. 2

   Sear the chicken

   Heat a skillet over high heat and cook chicken 5-6 minutes per side until charred and cooked through.

3. 3

   Rest and slice

   Let the chicken rest 5 minutes, then slice into thin strips.

4. 4

   Warm the pita

   Warm pitas in a dry skillet or oven for about 1 minute per side until soft and pliable.

5. 5

   Assemble the wraps

   Spread tzatziki on each pita, top with chicken strips, tomato, red onion, and lettuce.

   Don't overfill — a tightly rolled wrap holds together much better than an overstuffed one.

6. 6

   Roll and serve

   Roll tightly, wrapping in parchment or foil if serving on the go, and serve immediately.

Variations

• •

  Use pork instead of chicken for a more traditional Greek gyro flavor.

• •

  Add crispy fries inside the wrap, a common addition in Greek gyro shops.

• •

  Make it a bowl instead of a wrap by serving everything over rice or greens.

Storage

Store components separately; cooked chicken keeps 3 days refrigerated, and pita is best warmed fresh right before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions