Gluten-Free Chicken Gyros

Cherie ♦ July 9, 2009 ♦ Leave Your Comment

Early this year we discovered Romio’s Pizza in Seattle. I immediately fixated on the gluten-free chicken gyro. As it had been 6+ years since I’d last enjoyed a gyro, I was in heaven. Ecstasy. It took just that one trip to turn me into a chicken gyro glutton. I began to invent reasons for travel to Seattle – and of course, a visit to Romio’s. Though I always walked away with a bit of an upset tummy (I don’t do too well with onions and I’m pretty certain it’s in the tzatziki sauce or cooked with the chicken) I never faltered in my desire for one of those gyros. Though the chicken was always very dry, it was such a different fare than I was used to ordering at a typical restaurant, I was willing to overlook this.

However, the last time I ate there, I ended up pretty sick. Cross-contamination is my best guess. A shame as I really *really* love that place. But being ill for the remainder of the day put an immediate stop to my ongoing love affair with that tasty gyro. And I resigned myself to a life bereft of the scrumptious gyro.

Until last night when I created the chewy and versatile fry bread. While chowing down on the indian taco, I had an A-HA! moment. This bread was eerily similar to the bread used for the chicken gyro that I love so much.

Once I realized that, all I thought about last night and all day today was a chicken gyro. Moist chicken. Chewy bread. Tangy and tart tzatziki. Dinner couldn’t come soon enough.

I found a recipe for chicken gryos but being me, I used that as a basic guide and added my own unique twist on things. Because my chicken was frozen and we didn’t get back from the grocery store until 6 – marinating the chicken for a few hours was out of the question. So I improvised and it turned out so well, this is how I’ll do it from now on.

After quickly defrosting the chicken pieces in the microwave, I cut them into smallish chunks and put them into a vacuum seal bag along with my marinade. Vacuum sealed the bag and let it sit in the frig for 15 minutes while I prepared the other parts of the meal. Meanwhile, I started a saucepan with some water and got it boiling. Once it was ready, I added the bag and boiled 10-15 minutes. The result was chicken that was moist and chewy and just laden with the flavors of the marinade. So much better than the dried out pieces of chicken at the restaurant.

The recipe I was pseudo-following called for dill and oregano. I’m sure they meant dried but fresh is always best so I went out shopping for the real thing. You just cannot go wrong with fresh herbs. The baby dill was delightfully savory and aromatic. Delicious.

These gyros are very simple to make, but take some time. Between the marinade, the tzatziki sauce, cooking the chicken, and frying the bread it’s a bit of work but most definitely worth every solitary minute. I promise.

The best part about this? My new favorite meal is cheaper and so much better than what I’ve been ordering for the past months. I have a feeling this particular recipe will be on the meal plan quite frequently…

Gluten-Free Chicken Gryos
serves 4

4 pieces of fry bread, slightly cooled

1 pound chicken, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup lime juice
1 tsp mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
fresh oregano
fresh dill
2 tsp chopped garlic
red onion (if desired), sliced

Tzatziki Sauce
1 cup plain yogurt
fresh dill
fresh oregano
1 Tbl chopped garlic
large cucumber, chopped
red onion (if desired), chopped
2 Tbl lime juice

Combine 1/2 cup lime juice, mustard, oil, garlic and chopped fresh oregano and dill (tablespoon or so of each – depending on your taste). Whisk well to mix and add to chopped chicken. Marinate for 1-2 hours, drain and discard marinade, and cook in frying pan until cooked through. OR if you have a vacuum sealer, add marinade and chicken to a bag, remove air and seal and let sit for 15-20 minutes before boiling bag until chicken is cooked. Let chicken sit until ready to use and then drain and discard juice.

To make tzatziki sauce: combine all ingredients and let stand in frig to let flavors meld.

Assemble gyros: place 1 piece of bread on a piece of waxed paper and add 1/4 of your chicken and several red onion slices (if desired). Spoon on tzatziki sauce and fold bread in half, using wax paper to hold the shape.

Enjoy. Messy, fabulous! The best kind of food.