Greek Style Pork Gyros Plate Food

CRISPY PORK GYROS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
• 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).
• 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.
• 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.
• Once the meat is cooked, take out of the oven and carefully remove 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, the arrange the pork on top. Sprinkle on red onion slices and a few french fries if you like.
• Spoon on a tablespoon or two of tztaziki, then roll up the gyros and serve.

GREEK-STYLE PORK GYROS PLATE

Steps:

• Remove the skin from the pork strips.
• In a bowl turn the pork strips in garlic, oregano and a good twist of black pepper - leave to marinade for at least 30 minutes (more if possible).
• Griddle the meat - I used our George Formby "turned out nice again" grill (a wee joke for any ageing brits there). A lot of fat will drain off, the meat needs turning so all sides are well browned and the meat succulent.
• Slice across the strips to give chunks of meat ready to serve.
• Brush the pitas with a little oil and cook in a hot dry non stick frying pan for a couple of minutes each side.
• Assemble to serve: place a good quantity of the meat chunks on a piece of the bread, (a couple of tomato slices would work well here) top with a good dollop of the tzatziki, a good quantity of the thinly sliced red onion and put mustard on the side.
• Serve with chips/fries.
• A little salad garnish is pretty with this, as you can see from my photo, it can look a bit too all-brown.
• Kali orexi! (Bon appetit).

HOMEMADE TRADITIONAL GREEK PORK GYROS

Steps:

• For the brine, place the sugar, salt, in a sauce pan with a cup of water. Simmer on medium heat for 3-4 minutes until sugar and salt have dissolved.
• Fill a large container or pot with the sugar-salt mixture and water. Add the bay leaves, peppercorns, cloves, garlic, and herbs. Stir well. Place the pork in the brine. Make sure it is fully immersed and cover with water. Chill overnight.
• Remove the meat add dry the pieces well with a paper towel.
• In a bowl, mix ½ cup of olive oil, 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 tablespoon dry oregano, 1 tablespoon sumac, 2 teaspoons sea salt, roughly chopped, like fresh thyme, oregano, rosemary, sage and some freshly ground pepper.
• Place meat pieces in a pan and pour the marinade all over. Rub pieces with marinade. Let pork belly sit for 3 hours or overnight.
• Pierce the pork pieces on the vertical rotisserie. Add the pork belly slices between the cutlets. Add half a lemon on top or half an onion. Place meat on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Turn pork around every 30 minutes to ensure even cooking.

PORK GYROS

Steps:

• Put pork shoulder on a plate, and place in the freezer for approximately 1 hour, or until it is firm to the touch. Put meat on a cutting board, and using a sharp knife, remove and discard any skin, then slice the meat thinly against the grain, into 1/2-inch slices.
• Make the marinade. In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, 1/4 cup olive oil and garlic. Using a box grater, grate the tomato and one of the onions into the marinade, then add 1 tablespoon of the paprika, along with the salt, pepper and oregano leaves. Whisk again, then place the sliced pork into the marinade, toss to combine and cover and refrigerate the meat for at least one hour and up to overnight.
• When ready to cook, heat oven to 450. Use the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to grease a rimmed sheet pan. Quarter the remaining onion, add it to the pork and marinade and toss once to combine. Remove the pork and onion from the marinade, and place on the pan, spreading everything evenly across it.
• Put the pork in the oven, and roast until it is browned, crisp at the edges and cooked through, about 30-40 minutes. Check the meat at around 20 minutes to see how much liquid is in the pan. If there is a lot, remove the pan, and pour off all but a few tablespoons. Remove the finished pork from the oven, allow to rest for a minute or two, then chop into bits. (To make the pork even crisper, set a large pan over high heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, then the sliced pork, and sauté until everything curls tight in the heat.) Scatter the remaining paprika over the top of the meat, and serve with warm pita, sliced cucumbers and onions, tomato, tzatziki sauce, hot sauce, French fries, scattered mint leaves, ketchup, really whatever you like.

GYRO-STYLE PORK SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Cut pork chops crosswise into thin slices, place in a large resealable bag.
• Combine olive oil, mustard, lemon juice, garlic and oregano.
• Pour marinade over pork, seal bag and refrigerate for 1 to 8 hours.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl stir together yogurt, cucumber, garlic and dill.
• Cover and refrigerate.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Drain marinade from pork chops and place pork in a single layer on a shallow pan. Roast until crisp, about 10 minutes.
• Open each pita half to form a pocket. Distribute pork among each half.
• Top each sandwich with some chilled yogurt mixture and sliced onions.

GYROS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Process red onion in a food processor until finely minced. Scoop onion into a piece of cheesecloth and squeeze as much moisture from the onion as possible. Return onion to food processor; add garlic and process until the garlic is well integrated. Blend marjoram, rosemary, kosher salt, and black pepper into the onion mixture.
• Gradually blend ground beef and ground lamb with the onion and seasoning mixture by alternately adding small amounts of each meat to the mixture and processing until well incorporated before adding the next batch.
• Firmly pack the meat mixture into a loaf pan, assuring no air pockets are trapped in the meat.
• Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, about 75 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 175 degrees F (80 degrees C). Drain grease and slice thinly to serve.