Pork Gyros

Pork Gyros
Gentl and Hyers for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Rebecca Bartoshesky.
Total Time
1 hour, plus marinating
Rating
4(1,314)
Comments
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This lemon-bright and paprika-dusted pita filling is based on memories of the gyros served at Kalimera Souvlaki Art in Melbourne, Australia, one of the best Greek restaurants in a city that supports a great number of them. I've cooked it here in the oven, but the preparation would take well to the grill. However you prepare it, serve the crisped meat with warm pita, cucumbers, tomatoes and onion, tzatziki sauce, hot sauce, French fries, mint leaves, really whatever you like. 

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings
  • pounds pork shoulder
  • Juice of 2 lemons
  • ¼cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 8cloves garlic, peeled and minced
  • 1medium-size tomato
  • 2medium-size yellow onions, peeled
  • 1tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon smoked or sweet paprika
  • 1tablespoon kosher salt
  • 2teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
  • tablespoons fresh oregano leaves, approximately 5 sprigs
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

586 calories; 46 grams fat; 13 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 23 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 10 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 34 grams protein; 680 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    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 ½-inch slices.

  2. Step 2

    Make the marinade. In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, ¼ 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.

  3. Step 3

    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.

  4. Step 4

    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.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,314 user ratings
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Comments

This is a recipe for gyros not marinated roast pork shoulder. Would have been helpful you listed the pita, cuke, onions, tomato, tzatziki in recipe ingredients, plus a link to the tzatziki recipe.

This was a huge hit with my family. A few notes: When it was time to cook, I mixed in slices of a very large onion (not a medium-sized) and cut the onion into 16ths, not quarters -- so we had slices. Onions were amazing; would add more next time. Served with a yogurt- lemon juice-dill sauce, sliced cukes, cherry tomatoes and mint. Only adjustment to the marinade recipe was to reduce the salt a bit (2 tsp instead of 1 Tbs); I would add 1/4 tsp back in next time. Highly recommend!

I made this recently and it was very tasty - especially the marinade. Instead of buying a whole pork shoulder and slicing it I bought pre-sliced pork-shoulder from my local asian grocery store that was intended for Korean BBQ. Much easier than slicing it yourself!

Still not sure how big the meat slices should be.

I thought this was more work than it was worth. Fun recipe, but many steps from top to bottom. If you have the time, go ahead, but for me the payoff wasn't worth the effort (and I'm not a guy who flinches at the site of a complicated recipe).

I made this recently and it was very tasty - especially the marinade. Instead of buying a whole pork shoulder and slicing it I bought pre-sliced pork-shoulder from my local asian grocery store that was intended for Korean BBQ. Much easier than slicing it yourself!

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