The Seasonings You Need To Use For Traditional Tasting Gyros

Defining what makes a traditional gyro is hard enough, so nailing down the exact spices and seasonings you need for the best version can be a big challenge. Gyros, both in their Greek and American forms, are hard to trace and come in several different forms. The original Greek version appears to have evolved from Greek-Turkish refugees and is usually made from pork. Meanwhile, the history of the American gyro is a tale of many competing stories, but which ends with the popular beef-lamb combo we know today. From there, you get all of the local variations of spices that naturally come from family-run restaurants. But if you explore the world of gyro recipes, some common threads emerge that can get you close to that classic gyro taste.

Whether your gyro meat is chicken, pork, or beef and lamb, the foundation of most gyro recipe spice blends is salt, pepper, garlic, onion, and paprika. The garlic and onion are sometimes fresh or sometimes in powder form, depending on whether you'll be marinating the meat or just mixing the spices directly into the ground mixture. While those are the only for-sure basics, being a Greek food, there is also usually some mix of dried herbs as well. Dried oregano is the most common by far, but some versions also add in rosemary, marjoram, and thyme, or some combination of all of them. If you want to get close to the flavor of your favorite gyro place, those are the basics.

While the core mixture of onion and garlic with herbs and paprika should be all you need, there are a few other additions that can add to the Mediterranean flavor of gyros. To balance out the pungent herbs, you'll also find earthy, warming spices. Cumin is the go-to here, with its pungent nutty flavor adding a lot of depth to the gyro meat. But if you want to really go for it, you can try other options with complementary profiles like coriander, nutmeg, and even cinnamon. Finally, you can wake everything up with a little cayenne as well, but this is less traditional.

No matter which mix of seasonings you use for your gyros, the one thing to be wary of is overpowering the meat. The mixture of beef and lamb is plenty flavorful with just basic spices, and the rich taste of browned meat only needs to be complemented by the spices. So if you want to make your own gyros, start off with the basics first: garlic, onion, paprika, and oregano with your salt and pepper. You can also use a pre-made seasoning blend like Pappa Gyros Greek Seasoning Blend. You may find it a little lacking compared to your memory and toss in some extra herbs or cumin to get closer in future iterations. The thing about traditional dishes like gyros is that there is never one exact right way to do them — the tradition is in evolving on what came before you.