Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce.

There is something that is intensely satisfying about sinking your teeth into a perfect bite. A bite that immediately punches your tastebuds with bold flavor, but as you chew there are a myriad of subtle strands of flavor that tease themselves out to the forefront of your palate. These perfect bites can be elusive, but found in the most unusual places, from a grotty little food truck to a haughtily formal fine dining experience. The balance of flavors are exquisite in a perfect bite, and there will be an element of silk, crunch, and succulence mixed with zing. The stupendous thing about this elusive bite is that for any given person, what is considered a perfect bite will differ based on their own personal preferences.

For myself, one of those rare perfect bites appeared a few months ago at alittle hole in the wall place called Munich Gyros. Like clockwork, every two weeks I go for an infusion with my husband manning the transportation side of things. Before head home we grab lunch onat different places. By sheer chance, we found this place. Munich Gyros is in quietly tucked away in a mini strip mall, if you can even consider it that, slightly overshadowed by the iconic Golden Arches. The restaurant is very unassuming when you meander in, tiny, and very much a Mom and Pop type of place. I wondered about the chosen name of the restaurant, as Greek Food and German food are not typically paired together. The name made total sense once you meet the owners, an old school Greek man and his German wife. I ordered a what is called the Chicken Pita, and got the surprise of my life when I took that first bite. Bliss.

Gyros, pronounced "Euro", like in the word "Europe". No Gy-roes allowed!

The pita was fresh, pillowy, and warmly enveloping the rest of the gyro. The onion was thinly sliced and sharp, but not overpoweringly so. Crisp lettuce tangoed with plump, sweet tomatoes, and the chicken and tzatziki sauce were outstanding. The chicken in particular, was tender, wipe your mouth juicy, and had an infusion of spices that were so balanced and unusual. They paired perfectly with the refreshingly savory tzatziki sauce which was creamy and thick - the perfect complement to tie together the gyro.

I knew immediately I had to figure out how to make this at home because I wanted to joyfully consume this on a regular basis. I also wantedcontrol over what went into it, the quality ofingredients and so on. Eating out brings exciting and delicious food to my traveling table, but I never know where those sneaky preservatives and chemicals that like to hide. I lined up the usual suspects for ingredients in my head, all the while trying to figure the puzzle out for the spice combination for the chicken. In thechicken, I had tasted garlic, lemon juice, another acid, oregano, and a few other spies I had a hunch were either allspice or cinnamon or cloves. I also suspected that they most likely marinated the meat in a yogurt based sauce before searing the meat on a flat top rather than grilling the meat. In the tzatziki sauce I could tell there was garlic, lemon juice, and cucumber as well as other seasonings, but not so many as to overwhelm the tartness of the yogurt.

Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce adorned with Lettuce, Tomato, and Onion.

After some trial and error, I came up with these two recipes, and they are pretty much identical to what I had at that little hidden gem. When you bite into the pita, it is slightly sweet from the milk, pillowy, warm, and tender. I used mixed greens and white onions and Roma tomatoes as that is what I prefer in my kitchen, and the combination was crisp, sharp, and sweet - a wonderful little bed for the chicken and tzatziki sauce to nestle down into. The chicken itself is outstanding, and I recommend making the marinade and letting it sit overnight. You could probably shorten the smarinade time to only an hour and get good results, but it will definitely yield better results if youlet the flavors mature overnight. It transforms to a sensational depth of flavor with the long marinade time. Each flavor is detectable, from theacidity from he lemon juice and red wine vinegar, to the warmth of the numeric and cloves to the twang of the garlic. Yet with all those different flavors, hey still harmonize beautifully and not one overpowers the other. The tzatziki sauce is creamy, bright, and luscious spread on top. All in all, this is a gyro for the ages, made by a humble little Korean.

Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce. The sauce is addicting.

Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce

Author: Iris Anna Gohn

Servings: 6

These gyros seem like a lot of work on paper, but it does not take too long if you do everything in stages. While making the Tzatziki sauce and the marinade, mince enough garlic or juice enough lemons for both recipes. Much of the time is actually spent waiting for the chicken to marinade overnight, so you can actually slice your tomatoes and onions and cucumbers for the gyro assembly the night you get the chicken marinating.

You can absolutely use store bought pitas for convenience sake, and I hear there are some fairly decent ones out there. I chose to use this recipe for fresh pitas, and if you have the time, I highly, highly suggest you take the two hours it takes to make them fresh. Again, much of the time is going to be spent letting the dough rise, so it’s pretty quick to get the dough going in a stand mixer and then maybe a half hour to bake them on the skillet.

Lastly, I actually think that red onions are a better complement to this dish and the flavors, but white onions were all I had on hand. I gave a suggestive list for things to put into the gyro when you serve it, but feel free to adjust and swap out toppings to your preference. Omit the onions if you abhor them, or sprinkle some Feta cheese on top for an extra taang. Or if you like it pretty plain, just the chicken and tzatziki in pita will be delicious as well.

Ingredients:

For the Tzatziki Sauce:

1 Cup Plain Greek yogurt
1 Cucumber, peeled, seeded, grated, and juices squeezed out
1 Tsp minced Garlic
1 Tsp Red Wine Vinegar
3 Tsp fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 Tsp Sea Salt
Fresh ground Pepper to taste

For the Chicken:

2 1/4 Tsp minced Garlic
2 Tsp Red Wine Vinegar
3 Tbsp fresh Lemon Juice
2 heaping Tbsp Plain Greek Yogurt
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbsp dried Oregano
1/4 Tsp ground Coriander
1/4 Tsp ground Turmeric
1/4 Tsp ground Cinnamon
1/8 Tsp ground Cloves
1/2 Tsp Sea Salt
Fresh Cracked Pepper, to taste
1 1/4 pounds Chicken Thighs, boneless, skinless

To Serve:

Pita bread
Thinly sliced Red Onion
Tomato Slices
Cucumber Slices
Lettuce
Feta Cheese Crumbles
Lemon Wedges (optional)

Directions:

For the Tzatziki Sauce:

Prep all your ingredients. Juice your lemons, taking care to keep seeds out, nd store the juicier a cup. For the cucumber, cut the ends off, peel all the green parts off, and cut it down the middle lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and discard. Grate, or use a food processor, to chop the cucumber very fine but not completely pulverize it. Squeeze out all the water using your hands and a paper towel or very thin cheesecloth.
In a small bowl, combine the Greek yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, minced garlic, and salt. Grind your Peppermill a few times, then taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed. Cover and store in fridge until ready for use. This can be eaten after a half hour, but the longer it sits, the more the flavors will marry and the yogurt tang is not quite as pronounced.

For the Chicken:

In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, garlic, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, cloves, salt and pepper. Taste, and add a little more salt and pepper if needed.
In a large Ziplock bag, place the chicken thighs and pour the marinade into the bag. Squeeze out extra air and carefully close the top, then gently massage the marinade into the chicken, making sure each piece is thoroughly covered. Place in fridge and let marinate for a minimum of 1 hour, overnight is best.
When ready to cook chicken, preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add a small drizzle of olive oil and place the chicken in the pan, careful not to overcrowd it. You may need to cook chicken in two batches.
Drop heat just a touch, and sear chicken on the first side for about 4-5 minutes, depending on how thick the chicken pieces are. Flip and continue to sear for another 4-5 minutes or until juices run clear and internal temperature has reached 160 F.
Let chicken rest for 5 minutes once done cooking in the skillet. Do not skip this step!! I know it’s tempting to just start slicing away, but letting the meat rest will allow the chicken to redistribute the juices and it will be nice and juicy. Otherwise ,you run the risk of tough, dry chicken.

To assemble the Gyros:

Tear off a piece of parchment paper. It should be maybe 9-12 inches wide. You’re going to use this to wrap your gyro in, otherwise you end up with a huge mess. There is a reason restaurants serve Gyros wrapped!!!
On your parchment paper, lay your pita down. Spread some of your Tzatziki sauce down the center, then layer on top the lettuce, tomato, onion, whatever other vegetable you are using.
Layer in the sliced chicken meat, and drizzle some more Tzatziki sauce over the chicken.
To wrap the Gyro, leave half the Gyro over the edge of the parchment paper. Fold it like a taco, , then fold the bottom part of the parchment paper up. Slide the Gyro towards the end of the parchment paper that is closest to your dominant hand (my right hand), and wrap the shorter end over the Gyro and tuck it under the Gyro. The longer end of the parchment paper can now be rolled over and tucked under the whole package to hold in your Gyro!