There are many different types of gyros in restaurants, but they often differ significantly from the original. In terms of dressing, hot sauce is not included, nor is cabbage, for example. This is due to a very similar Middle Eastern dish, döner, which is similar but different. The names of the two dishes are often confused.
But what is it about gyros that makes them authentic and keeps people coming back?
The most striking difference is the traditional Greek pita, which is the basis of gyros. In its home country, it is lightly charcoal-fried before the other ingredients are added. It is a loaf of bread made from a not too thinly stretched dough, which, unlike its eastern cousin, cannot be rolled out, so it is not filled but the other ingredients are rolled in.
First to the pie tzatziki The secret is the original Greek yoghurt. Its ingredients also include grated snake cucumber and salt, extra virgin olive oil and garlic. If prepared properly, the consistency is so thick that it does not run out of the gyros. It is not usually called by any other name, but if it is, the correct name is not tzatziki dressing but tzatziki salad.
On top are slices of tomato and red onion, followed by the meat roasted on a rotating skewer and finally some grains of baked potatoes. As for the meat, there are many similarities between döner and gyros, as both are cooked on a rotating spit over an open flame and the cooked layer is cut off with a large knife. The difference is that the eastern version is lamb, beef or winged is made from meat, while Greek is made from pork or poultry.
When all the ingredients are on the pie, the dish is folded up on both sides to give it its final shape.
Since there is no dressing, the traditional Greek gyros can be wrapped in paper and you don't have to worry about getting dripping wet while eating it.
If you ask for gyros wrapped in a pie in Greece, don't be surprised if it's pork please, with tzatziki, while if it is chicken, with a thick mustard sauce.
