I love Greek food. I really do. There’s a restaurant close to my work that serves some of the best gyro meat ever. And Charlotte is also home to Showmars Restaurant, which has incredibly good gyros for a fast-casual dining option- they’re seriously delicious. So, I decided that I wanted to try to recreate the same flavors at home… enter beef gyros.

The other weekend my mom texted me and she said that for dinner she had a skewer of beef (I think?) along with some tzatziki sauce and said it was so delicious. I knew tzatziki sauce was pretty basic – Greek yogurt, cucumber and garlic and sometimes dill. I played around making small batches of the sauce trying to get one that I really liked. I was surprised that I actually preferred the sauce without dill, even though it’s one of my favorite herbs. The main thing I took away from it was the longer you let the sauce sit and meld, the better. I think it can be said with just about every sauce. So if you let it sit in the fridge for at least overnight – a day would be even better, you’ll reap the rewards with a truly flavorful sauce.

I like the fact that I NEED to make the sauce beforehand to let it marinate. I can prep the veggies the day before and then after a busy day at work, I can quickly cook the meat and then whip these up in under 30 minutes and have a hearty Greek meal sitting there begging to be eaten with a side of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Seriously, what could be better after a long work day?

Beef Gyros

2 NY Strip steaks, about 1.5 lbs total, sliced thin
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsps of oregano
4 Greek pitas
1 tomato, cut into wedges
Thinly sliced red onion
1 block of feta cheese, crumbled
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup of tzatziki sauce, below

For the tzatziki sauce:

2 6oz containers of plain Greek yogurt
3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 cup of grated cucumber, drained
2 Tbsps of olive oil
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste

Begin by heating up a skillet over medium-high heat with the oil. Season the sliced steak with salt and pepper and place in the hot skillet. Once the strips are ready to be flipped, take your oregano and crush it in the palm of your hand over the steak to bring out the oils. Flip the steak and continue cooking until the slices are all cooked and brown.

In a cast iron skillet or non-stick pan, heat your pitas so they are lightly browned, but still flexible on both sides. You still want to be able to wrap them.

To assemble, divide the strips of steaks into 4 portions. Place each portion on top of a pita. Top with tomatoes, thinly sliced onion, and feta cheese. Place a heaping spoonful (or more, if you like) of tzatziki sauce on top of each. Wrap the pitas up in parchment and serve, with more tzatziki sauce on the side.

Tzatziki Sauce:

To make the tzatziki sauce, combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Transfer to an airtight container and let sit and meld in the fridge for at least 12 hours – the longer you let it sit, the better it becomes. Don’t try making this the day of, you won’t get the same flavor.