Gyro’s – an Ancient Greek street food made with pork, were fashioned after Turkish Donair’s, cooked on a vertical spit or a Persian sword over a fire. True Gyro’s are thinly slices of meat cut straight from the cone.
Middle Eastern Shawarma’s, again very similar, are usually made from chicken and seasoned with sumac and za’atar. The constant, no matter the country, is seasoned meat wrapped in bread.
The most common garnishes are tomatoes, cucumbers and onions topped with Tzatziki. The Tzatziki takes a minimum of 3.5 hours to make, so prepare earlier in the day if marinating the pork for only a short time.
Pork Gyro’s
We do not have a vertical spit so adapted this recipe from the New York Times and cook on a sheet pan. During warmer months, use the baking sheet on a barbeque if desired. This makes enough to entertain a crowd.
The meat is really 0 Carbs even with a bit of onion. The CHO comes from the garnishes and serving portions. A 4 lb. bone in shoulder roast trimmed of most outside fat came in at just about exactly 2 lb. of meat for the Gyro’s, once cooked.
Ingredients
- 2 lb. (908 gr) pork shoulder meat after trimmed 0 CHO
- 1/3 cup olive oil 0 CHO
- ½ lemon 2 TBSP fresh lemon juice 0 CHO
- ¼ tsp. garlic minced 0 CHO
- ½ TBSP paprika 0 CHO
- ½ TBSP cumin 0 CHO
- ½ TBSP oregano dried 0 CHO
- ½ TBSP thyme dried 0 CHO
- ½ TBSP parsley dried 0 CHO
- ½ TBSP rosemary dried 0 CHO
- 1 TSP. salt 0 CHO
- ½ tsp. pepper 0 CHO
- ¾ cup red onion sliced 9 CHO
MEAT – TOTAL CHO 9 CHO
Garnish:
- Lemons slices 0 CHO
- Red Onion (3 CHO/1/2 CUP/30 GR)
- Cucumber (.03 CHO/GRAM) 1.8 CHO/60 GRAMS/1/4 LARGE
- Black Olives (1 CHO/3 OLIVES)
- Tzatziki – (.052 CHO/GRAM) .884 CHO/TBSP/17 GR
- Feta Cheese 0 CHO
- French Fries DEPENDENT ON YOUR PRODUCT
- Pitas DEPENDENT ON YOUR PRODUCT
- Taco Chips Gluten Free DEPENDENT ON YOUR PRODUCT
Instructions
- The most difficult step in this recipe is trimming the pork. Place in the freezer for 30 – 40 minutes to firm up prior to trimming.
- Cut pork into ½ inch slices by 2 – 3 inches long.
- Slice red onion and toss with the pork in a large dish or Zip Lock bag.
- Next mix olive oil, lemon juice, herbs and spices in a small dish. Add to pork and onions.
- Let marinate on the counter for up to 1 hour or in the refrigerator up to overnight.
- Pre heat oven or grill to 400.
- Spread pork onto a large baking sheet and cook for 15 minutes.
- If using the oven, turn on to broil and raise rack to second from the broiler. Broil for 5 minutes. Pork should be cooked. Leave any juices/oil on the sheet.
- If using a grill cook for 20 minutes total and serve piled high with garnishes wrapped in a pita.
