Crispy Pork Gyros

My favourite recipe for Crispy Pork Gyros – including how to get that perfect crispy-on-the-outside and tender-on-the-inside meat!

Currently daydreaming about holidays…

One thing I’m guaranteed to buy at least three times whenever on holiday in Greece, is authentic Greek Gyros.

Honestly, that juicy meat, refreshing tzatziki and handful of cheeky fries all wrapped up in bread heaven (aka Greek pita flatbreads) from that tiny little cafe down a quiet backstreet…….

…..I think it’s better than anything you can get at a restaurant.

Who needs to get dressed up and spend a fortune eating out, when you can sit on a plastic chair, eating Pork Gyros and sipping from a can of ice-cold Amstel!

…generally with slightly burnt shoulders and sea-water frizzed hair. Ahh, them were the days!

We haven’t been to Greece in ages, but I haven’t forgotten that salty, crispy meat. The perfect hangover cure after a few too many cocktails 🙂

What do we need?

Pork – Rolled boneless shoulder of pork (skin on) is a great cut of meat for homemade gyros. There’s usually some marbling of fat in this cut – that will add flavour and tenderness to the meat, and that fatty skin will protect the meat from drying out during slow-cooking. 

Spices – The spices are mixed to form a rub which coats the pork before being sealed in a hot pan. This sealing process, followed by the slow-cooking process means the flavour really permeates through the meat.

How to make homemade Gyros

Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.

1. Mix together the spices and roll the pork joint in the spice mix. Seal the pork on all sides in a hot oven-proof pan with a little oil.
2. Add garlic and stock to the pan. Bring to the boil, place a lid on and place in the oven to cook for 2 ½ – 3 hours – until the meat is tender.
3. Remove the meat from the oven, place on a chopping board, remove and discard the rind, then shred the meat using two forks.
4. Fry the shredded pork in a hot frying pan with a little oil and a pinch of salt and pepper until golden and crispy.

Serve the pork on flatbreads with lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, tzatziki and a few french fries if you like.

Authentic Greek Gyros

Usually authentic gyros is make from skewering heavily seasoned meat (often chicken or lamb, sometimes pork) and cooking it slowly on a rotisserie (gyro actually translates to rotation).

Mine is a slightly different approach to get that juicy/crispy/salty taste. But it works!! No need to go out to by a rotisserie!

I’ve been making this recipe for years now and it comes out of the recipe box at the start of every summer.

This recipe easily makes 6-8 gyros (or more if you add a few extra fries!). If that’s too much, then freeze some of the meat just after shredding. You can then defrost and continue on with the recipe from there.

Ingredient swaps

• Serve the crispy pork and tzatziki as part of a salad bowl with chopped veggies, quinoa, avocado and feta
• Try crispy lamb instead of pork – I LOVE these Lamb Barbacoa tacos
• Swap out the veggies for whatever you like – baby spinach, jalapenos, sun dried tomatoes, slices of bell pepper and sliced spring onions (scallions) would all be great additions/swaps
• Swap out the tzatziki for my tahini shawarma sauce from this chicken shawarma recipe

Watch how to make it:

More Street Food Inspired Recipes

• Crispy Chicken Burger with Honey Mustard Coleslaw
• Homemade Poutine
• Sticky AND Crispy Asian Chicken Wings
• Crispy Fish Tacos with Pico De Gallo
• Pad Thai
• Crispy Fried Chicken
• Gua Bao (Pork belly Bao buns)

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5 from 12 votes

Crispy Pork Gyros

By Nicky Corbishley

My favourite recipe for Crispy Pork Gyros - including how to get that perfect crispy-on-the-outside and tender-on-the-inside meat!

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 3 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 3 hours hrs 50 minutes mins

Servings: 6 Gyros

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Greek

Ingredients

• ▢ ½ tsp celery salt
• ▢ 1 tsp ground cumin
• ▢ ½ tsp garlic salt
• ▢ 2 tsp ground coriander
• ▢ 1 tsp dried oregano
• ▢ 1 tsp dried thyme
• ▢ 1 tsp paprika
• ▢ 1 tsp salt
• ▢ 1 tsp black pepper
• ▢ 1.8 - 2 kg (4 - 4.5lb) boneless rolled pork shoulder joint with rind
• ▢ 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic peeled and minced
• ▢ 3 cups hot chicken/pork/vegetable stock (use bouillon for gluten-free)

To Serve:

• ▢ 6 warm Greek pita breads
• ▢ 1 shredded lettuce I use O'So Sweet variety
• ▢ 16 cherry tomatoes quartered
• ▢ 1 small red onion peeled and thinly sliced
• ▢ Tzatziki - try my homemade tzatziki
• ▢ small portion approx 150g/2 cups cooked french fries (optional)

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F (fan).
• Sprinkle the celery salt, cumin, garlic salt, ground coriander, oregano, thyme, paprika, salt, and black pepper on a chopping board. Roll the pork joint in the spice mix so that all the meaty sides are well covered (no need to cover the rind - as that will be discarded eventually anyway).
  ½ tsp celery salt, 1 tsp ground cumin, ½ tsp garlic salt, 2 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1.8 - 2 kg (4 - 4.5lb) boneless rolled pork shoulder joint with rind
• Add 2 tbsp of the oil to a large oven-proof pan or dutch oven and heat over a medium-high heat. Add the pork and sear the meat on all sides, except the rind side.
  3 tbsp vegetable oil
• Add the garlic and stock to the pan. Bring to the boil, place a lid on and place in the oven to cook for 2 ½ - 3 hours – until the meat is tender and will flake with a fork.
  4 cloves garlic, 3 cups hot chicken/pork/vegetable stock
• Once the meat is cooked, take it out of the oven and carefully remove it from the pan using two forks. Place on a chopping board and carefully remove and discard the rind.
• Shred the meat using two forks.
• Heat the remaining oil over a high heat in a large frying pan and add the pork plus a pinch of salt and pepper.
• Fry, turning a few times during cooking, until golden brown (about 6-8 minutes). You may need to do this in two batches, depending on the size of your pan.
• Place the pita breads on plates or parchment (if wrapping up). Top with lettuce and tomatoes, then arrange the pork on top. Sprinkle on red onion slices and a few french fries if you like.
  6 warm Greek pita breads, 1 shredded lettuce, 16 cherry tomatoes, 1 small red onion, small portion approx 150g/2 cups cooked french fries (optional)
• Spoon on a tablespoon or two of tztaziki, then roll up the gyros and serve.
  Tzatziki

Video

Notes

Can I make it ahead?

You can slow-cook the pork ahead of time, then shred, cool, cover and refrigerate for up to two days.

Then fry the pork as per the recipe when you're ready to make the gyros.

Can I freeze it?

You can slow-cook the pork ahead of time, then shred, cool, cover and freeze. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator, then fry the pork as per the recipe when you're ready to make the gyros.

Nutritional Information is approximate, per serving - including the Greek pitta breads, salad and fries, but excluding the tzatziki.

Nutrition

Calories: 991kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 66g | Fat: 59g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Cholesterol: 215mg | Sodium: 1859mg | Potassium: 1295mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 891IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 165mg | Iron: 6mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this recipe? Leave a comment below!

This recipe was first posted in November 2017. Updated June 2020 with new photos, tips and video

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