How to Make Gyro Sauce

The most common sauce for gyros is the Greek tzatziki sauce or cucumber dip. Tzatziki is simple to make and can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week before use. If you have Greek yogurt available locally, the rich yogurt is perfect for this sauce. If the Greek version isn't available, use any plain yogurt.

Things You'll Need

• 16 oz. plain yogurt
• Cheesecloth
• Colander
• 1 medium cucumber, peeled and finely chopped
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 6 mint leaves, finely chopped
• 1/8 tsp. sea salt
• Pita bread
• Prepared gyro meat

Instructions

1. Line a colander with cheesecloth. Empty the yogurt container into the center of the cheese cloth. Pull up the four corners of the cheesecloth and tie together. Hang the yogurt ball from the kitchen faucet to drain for 1 hour.

2. Combine the cucumber, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, mint leaves and sea salt in a mixing bowl. Chill the ingredients while the yogurt drains.

3. Unwrap the yogurt ball and combine with the cucumber mixture.

4. Place prepared gyro meat on pita bread, top with tzatziki sauce, roll the pita like a wrap and serve.

Tips & Warnings

• You can drain the yogurt in a colander lined with a paper towel if you do not have cheesecloth. Change the paper towel several times during the draining process to wick moisture out of the yogurt. Cut this recipe in half for less gyros or double it if feeding a crowd.

References

• Greek Recipes, MIT University
• Doner Day, Recipe for Doner, Cornell University (PDF)