Greek Pork Gyros Recipe (Oven Method, No Rotisserie)

The obstacle to gyros at home is obvious: you do not own a vertical rotisserie. What is less obvious is that you do not need one, because the two things the rotisserie actually does can both be reproduced.

It cooks a stack of meat slowly so the fat renders down through it and bastes everything below, and it lets you shave off the cooked outer layer while the inside carries on. The domestic version stacks marinated slices on a skewer standing in a tin, roasts it as one piece, then slices it thin and gives the strips a hard flash in a hot pan to get the crisp edges.

That second step is what most home versions skip, and it is the one that makes the difference. Roasted pork sliced thin is nice. Roasted pork sliced thin and then crisped in its own fat is gyros.

Key preparation steps

1. Slice pork shoulder thin and marinate overnight.
2. Stack the slices on a vertical skewer, packing tightly.
3. Roast slowly until cooked through and browned outside.
4. Rest, slice very thin, then crisp the strips in a hot pan.

Which cut and how to slice it

Pork shoulder again, and for the same reason as souvlaki: it has the fat running through it that a long roast needs. A boneless shoulder joint of about 1.5 kg is right.

Slice it across the grain into pieces about 5 mm thick and roughly the size of a playing card. Chilling the joint in the freezer for forty minutes first makes this far easier, because firm meat slices cleanly and soft meat drags.

Uneven slices are fine. What matters is that they are thin enough to stack tightly with no big air gaps, because gaps are where the stack dries out.

Building the stack without a rotisserie

Stand a long metal skewer upright in a small deep roasting tin. A halved onion or potato sitting on the base makes a stable foot for it. Then thread the marinated slices on flat, one at a time, pressing each down onto the last.

Pack it hard. The stack should be dense and compressed, roughly cylindrical, with no daylight through it. Loose stacks dry out and fall apart when you slice.

Alternatively, and slightly easier, layer the slices tightly into a loaf tin, press down with something heavy, and roast that. You lose the browned exterior surface area but the slicing is simpler.

Why you must crisp the slices afterwards

On a real rotisserie the outer layer is shaved off at the moment it is browned and hot, so every strip has crisp surface on it. A home roast gives you a browned exterior and a great deal of pale interior, so slicing straight from the oven gives mostly soft meat.

The fix is a very hot dry pan. Slice the rested meat as thinly as you can, then throw the strips into the pan in a single layer and leave them alone for a minute or two. They release their own fat and the edges catch and crisp.

Do this in batches, just before serving, and season again at this stage. It takes three minutes and it is the whole difference.

Building the wrap

Same order as souvlaki, and the order is not arbitrary. Warm thick pocketless pita, brushed with a little oil. Tzatziki straight onto the bread as a moisture barrier. Then the hot meat, tomato, raw onion and a handful of chips.

Paprika over the top, a squeeze of lemon, and wrap tightly in greaseproof paper so it holds together while it is eaten.

Leftover meat keeps three days and reheats well in a pan. It is arguably better on day two because you crisp it fresh each time.

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