One well-liked lunch item is the gyro. It is a dish wherein meat is set and cooked on a vertical spit and it usually comes with tomatoes, onion, and a generous helping of tzatziki sauce. It is the ideal lunch food as the dish represents all the food groups. Plus, it’s satisfying, too.

What are Greek Gyros?

The word in itself comes from the Greek word for "spin", and this is what it does. Pork, veal and lamb are the most common types of meat used when cooking gyros. The choice of meat is stacked on a vertical rotating spit and roasted. Another common meat used is chicken. The meat remains moist and crispy because of the added layers of fat and the continuous application of heat. The meat is thinly shaved from its vertical spit and placed inside a pita. Tomatoes, onions and tzatziki – a sauce made of yoghurt, garlic and cucumber – are then added.

A blend of spices also plays an important role in gyros. For a flavorful meat, spices - oregano, paprika, garlic, salt and pepper - are utilized. Yet individuals can make their own special blend of spices. Some use parsley, allspice or cumin together with other spices.

This is a traditional gyro. The modern gyros, however, come with your choice of filling. Fried potatoes are popular fillings for gyros in Greece, too. And there are also gyros made with falafel, not meat, for vegetarians. It’s really just a sandwich then. Other common filling substitutes are: pickled vegetables, lettuce and mayonnaise.

Greece offers various types of pita. There are the plain ones, Cypriot and Arabic. Plain ones are regularly used and very common. But these are also the thickest of the three mentioned. Cypriot is thinner and splits to make a pocket, while Arabic pita is crispier and flatter.

How Gyros Came to Life

Though the name gyros - pronounced as ‘yee-ros’ – is a Greek word, gyros in general are not of Greek origin, as many may believe.

Turkey can lay claim as being the birth place of gyros. It was created during the 19th century and was originally known as a döner kebab. It was later brought to Greece. Gyros are very much like the shawarma, which is a favorite dish in the Middle East.

The first gyro in the United States was made in Chicago in the mid 1960s. Although there are some arguments about who made the first gyro in Chicago, a July issue of The New York Times identifies this person as John Garlic. Yet how the gyros came to the US is not really an issue because a lot of people soon offered gyros. Up to this day, gyros have remained a favored lunch item.

Preparing Your Tzatziki

Even though there is a wide selection of gyro dressing these days, the Greek tzatziki is still the most popular. Tzatziki sauce is creamy and heavy with garlic flavor, but the taste of garlic and other spices are offset by the coolness of the cucumber.

Tzatziki is simple and easy to make. It can also be used as a sandwich spread, a veggie dip or a salad dressing.

Recipe for simple tzatziki blend

Just blend 16 ounces of Greek yoghurt with half of a finely cut up cucumber, and two cloves of finely chopped garlic. Using Greek yoghurt is better as the regular ones are too soft. Salt and white pepper may be added according to taste. Some prefer to add chopped fresh dill and a little squeeze of fresh lemon for added flavor.

Many eateries offer fast and delicious meals. Yet, compared to a two-dollar burger, gyros taste much better and are quite healthier, if you do pass over the fried potato filling. There’s nothing like well-prepared and beautifully seasoned meat on a vertical rotisserie. Then rolled in a pita with all those wonderful fillings.