Yup, I did it. I finally made gyros….and they were glorious! Yes, that’s right. The gyros in Alton Brown’s recipe were awesome! Vegetarians were telling me just how good this recipe was, and all I did was follow the instructions. Yup, it was easy…although, it did require buying marjoram. If you don’t have any and want some, drop me an email - I have plenty!
On the other hand, I think what really made this meal for me was the faux-gurt. Yup, that’s right - faux yogurt. Soy Yogurt to be specific. When you can’t have meat and milk, have meat and fake food. To those of us who are lactose intolerant, I am sorry, but faux-gurt is not real food. It looked like browning mayonnaise and tasted like congealed…well, let’s not say it. It did not initially look like real yogurt - nor should it. It is soy yogurt. I was simply hoping for something close to the real thing just so we could fake our way through gyros night…and it worked!
Yup, you read that right. I enjoyed it, but know this before you read any further - the tzatziki you make will not taste anything like the tzatziki you’re used to. In fact, it might not taste like much of anything you’re used to. We ended up increasing the amount of cucumber, garlic and vinegar…and it barely made a difference.
On the other hand, the gyro meat (made in a loaf pan) was awesome. Yup, unlike the shawarma massacre of 2009, this actually tasted like the food of memory (and given that of my guests, I was the only one who had ever had it - I was the only one who could comment). I used pita, faux-gurt, cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce, and sriracha (or chiles in vinegar and spices) to give it a little kick. Yup, it was just great.
Trust me, if you like this kind of street food and can’t find a “man in the can” in your city who sells it, make it at home. It’s totally worth it (but if you can, use real yogurt. I promise it will taste better).