Souvlaki Me Pita (aka meat pieces in pita bread)

Okay, I have to believe that most of you reading this have had a souvlaki sandwich, or maybe the more popular version in America-the gyro sandwich. Or…at least some form of sandwich that involves stuffing pita bread and wrapping it up! If not, well you need to try it…it is wonderful.

A VERY popular fast/street food in Greece is souvlaki or gyro sandwich. What is the difference between souvlaki and gyro? It’s in the way the meat is prepared and cut.

Souvlaki is made with pieces/chunks of seasoned meat (normally pork or chicken but you can use beef or lamb, as well) put on a skewer and grilled, then you put it on your pita, pull out the skewer and top it with your favorite traditional ingredients, such as tzatziki (that lovely cucumber yogurt sauce), sliced raw onions, fried potatoes, a mayo sauce and/or tomatoes.

Gyro is also usually pork or chicken but can be beef or lamb, too. You layer the meat on a rotisserie and then slowly cook and then shave the meat off, and like the souvlaki in pita, you can top it with the same yummy ingredients listed above.

My favorite version is the pork souvlaki in pita. In Greece, the pork used is a little fatty, but when they grill it the fat crisps up and tastes SOOOO good, especially when they dip it right at the end in a lemon, olive oil, oregano marinade…oh, so yummy. Of course, if you prefer to limit fats in your diet you can use pork tenderloin or any leaner type of meat. But for me, it’s okay to indulge in fat every so often 🙂 .

And since we are also talking about pita, let me tell you the two kinds. There is the oven baked and the hot pan cooked types. I prefer the pita bread that is cooked on a hot surface, such as a cast iron skillet. It’s softer, spongier and pulls apart nicely when you take that yummy bite…it is more like the pita you find in Greece…in some stores it is actually called Greek Pita.

The other type of pita is the oven baked version. This one is the one that usually forms a pocket and it is great if you want to stuff it. This is also the one you mostly find in stores. It’s a lot firmer and chewier when you take that bite. If you can find both in your store, go for the Greek version. If not, that sandwich will still taste wonderful with the baked version!

So, since I usually cook for A LOT of people (Greek families are huge, with a million cousins with the same name…yes, if you have seen “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” or have visited Greece, you know this is true!) Anyway, since I cook a whole bunch of meat I just forego the skewering portion and grill the chunks on a grill or in a cast iron skillet until done to the appropriate internal temperature (depending on your meat) and then turn up the heat just a little to get the pieces a little crispy on the edges. If you prefer, you can also broil your pieces in the oven, but make sure you are checking on them and turning the pieces every few minutes.

Okay, for today, we are going to make pork and chicken souvlaki in pita. You remember all the toppings I listed above that you can pile onto your sandwich, well, you can use any combination, but traditionally, the pork souvlaki in pita has tzatziki, onions and tomatoes on it and the chicken version has a mayo based sauce, onions, tomatoes and fried potatoes piled onto it and then wrapped up. Crumbled feta would also be good in any of these! Use your instincts, follow your heart 🙂 .

Also, if you want a nice tender piece of meat, when you bite into it, make sure you marinade the meat for at least 3 hours, overnight is even better. The lemon and the salt breaks down the meat and makes it tender. If you only have 30 minutes then that is okay…the flavor will still be there but the meat may not be as tender. Alright, let’s do this!

You just need:

• 1 pound of boneless pork belly, pork tenderloin, or pork shoulder steak (or your preferred cut), cut into about 6/8 inch cubes
• 1 pound of boneless chicken breast or chicken tenderloins (or if you prefer dark meat then boneless thighs), cut into about 6/8 inch cubes (if you have no choice, or time, you can get a rotisserie chicken and cut it up too)
• 2 lemons, juiced and divided in half (about 6 tablespoons total)
• 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, divided in half
• 1 tablespoon of dried oregano, divided in half
• 2 teaspoons of salt, divided in half
• 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, divided in half
• 8 pieces of pita bread (store bought or make your own pita)
• 1 small red onion
• 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
• 2 roma tomatoes, cut in half and sliced into half moons
• 1 cup of tzatziki sauce (store bought or make your own tzatziki)
• 1 cup of mayo
• 1-2 tablespoon of ketchup
• 2-3 teaspoons of sriracha sauce (depending how hot you like it)
• 1 large russet potato, peeled (or not) and cut into French fries
• Salt, to taste
• Paprika, to taste
• 1 more lemon, if needed for meat when its cooked
• 8 pieces of parchment paper, wax paper or foil
• 8 toothpicks

Steps:

1. Take your meat and put each type into a separate gallon zipper storage bag.
2. Add half of the lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper to each of the bags.
3. Make sure you get all the air out of each bag and then close them. Smoosh (I think that is a word) the meat around in the marinade and then set in refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
4. In the meantime, make your tzatziki if making it from scratch and set in frig so the flavors meld. Link to recipe here.
5. Next, make your mayo sauce by mixing the mayo, ketchup and sriracha together, set in frig.
6. Mix your sliced onions and parsley together and set aside in frig.
7. Set your cut potatoes into cold water to hang out until you are ready to fry them.
8. Pull out your meat (yeah, that sounds weird) and bring to room temperature for 15 minutes.
9. Drain any liquid left from the bags into a small sauce pan and bring to a boil on low heat.
10. Start heating your oil to fry your potatoes.
11. Heat your big skillet (iron or non stick preferable) then add a tablespoon of olive oil.
12. Throw in your pork pieces first and try to separate the pieces so they are not touching too much, cook until done. Remove, cover with foil and set aside until ready to use.
13. Next, throw in your chicken pieces into the pork oiled pan and cook until done. Remove, cover with foil and set aside until ready to use.
14. Once both of your meats are done, take that extra marinade that was simmering and pour half of it onto each meat. If there was no marinade left then just squirt 1/2 of a lemon juice onto each meat.
15. In the meantime, fry your potatoes. When done set on some paper towels to absorb the extra oil. Season with salt, to taste.
16. Set up your station and you are ready to assemble! Take a piece of pita, add about 6-8 chunks of pork, sprinkle pork with paprika and top with 2-3 tablespoons of tzatziki, onion/parsley mixture, and tomatoes. Roll it up in foil, wax or parchment paper, stick it with a toothpick and voila, give it a try.
17. OR, take a piece of pita, add about 6-8 chunks of chicken, sprinkle chicken with paprika and top with 1-2 tablespoons of mayo sauce, fried potatoes, more mayo sauce, tomatoes and onions and roll it up.
18. OR, just do whatever combination you want. You can even just cut the pita and eat everything meze like (appetizer like) 🙂 .

Kali Orexi!