Easy Greek Chicken Gyros
The definition of a Gyros, is meat carved from a vertical rotisserie. This recipe teaches you how to emulate that delicious chicken that you might find at high end Kebab shops, like The Athenian, in your own home.
Author: Аorkandtwist/Photo credit to forkandtwist.com
Ingredients
- 5-600 g Boneless and Skinless Chicken Thighs or Breasts
- 1 Large Baking Potato must be a large potato
- 100 g Greek Yoghurt must be pourable, add more if required
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1 tsp Dried Basil
- 1 tsp Dried Dill
- 1 tsp Dried Parsley
- 2 tsp Paprika
- 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 tsp Salt
Instructions
- Prepare The Chicken
- On a clean cutting board and with a sharp knife, trim the chicken of any excess fat, gristle, bones or skin.
- If using Thighs, keep them whole and leave them as is. If using breasts, butterfly them and give them a little pound with a meat hammer or rolling pin to tenderise. Each breast should now be in two pieces.
- The Marinade
- In a dry non-stick frying pan on a medium heat, toast the spices for about 30 seconds - or until the begin to smell extra fragrant. Do not over toast.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the yoghurt, olive oil, salt and spices together until evenly mixed.
- Add the chicken to the mix and ensure each piece is thoroughly coated, best done using a wooden spoon.
- Cover the bowl with cling film and place in the firdge for at least 30 minutes. If you can, leave for 24hrs as this produces the biggest flavour and the most tender meat.
- Cooking
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 Degrees (fan assisted).
- Slice a baking potato lengthways so you have two large oblong slices which are about 1 inch thick. This will be the base for the "tower".
- In the centre of each potato slice, poke a skwer through until it is flush with the bottom side. The thicker the potato, the sturdier the tower (they have a tendancy to fall over). The remaining potato can be added to the pan to be cooked and eaten alongside the chicken.
- Easy Greek Chicken Gyros Tower before cooking
- Place the potato skewers side by side on a baking tray. Cover with a little oil.
- Skewer the chicken so both skewers go through. Ensure the skewers are not stretching the chicken too much, as the chicken will shrink during cooking. This prevents it from becoming unstable.
- Once all the chicken is skewered and the tower is sturdy, place in the centre of the oven.
- TOP TIP - use an oven rack to keep the tops of the skewers in place.
- Bake the chicken uncovered for about 20 mintues, or until golden, brown and some crispy bits have formed. Cover the tower lightly with foil and then resume the baking process for a further 40 minutues or until the inner temperature of the chicken has reached about 80 degrees for Thighs or 70 degrees for breasts (timing will vary - take off roughly 15 minutes for breasts).
- Once cooked to the right temperature. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 mintues. Carve using a sharp knife down the chicken tower, just like the Kebab shops! Enjoy with Rice, salad or make your very own kebab.
