Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce

Okay...I admit it. I have a serious crush on Greek food. I don't know what it is, but I am just enamored with it. Particularly tzatziki sauce. Is there anything as delicious? Who knew that a cucumber could be such a marvelous thing.

The other day I had myself a Greek Chicken Flatbread sandwich from Quiznos and it made me start thinking about this recipe. I found it on Pinterest (where else?) and it is heaven. Honestly, I'm pretty sure I ate about 1/2 of the tzatziki sauce with a spoon. Yum! If I had all of the ingredients at my disposal right now, I'm pretty sure this is what I'd be having for dinner. It ranks up there with some of my favorites...like the Grilled Flanksteak with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce.

The best part...it's really not that difficult. It does take time to prepare, but most of it is waiting...not doing. I'm totally okay with that kind of recipe.

The picture doesn't do these babies justice. I'm pretty sure it would look better if I had been reasonable on the amount of tzatziki I added. Whatever. Delicious. Trust me when I tell you that you won't be able to get enough of this.

Here's What You Need :

Tzatziki :

16 oz. plain yogurt
1 cucumber peeled & seeded
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tbsp. lemon juice
Olive oil

Chicken : 

4 cloves garlic, smashed
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. plain yogurt
1 tbsp. dried oregano
Salt & pepper, to taste
1 1/4 lb. chicken pieces

Other :

8 large pitas
2 medium tomatoes, sliced and seeded
1/2 red onion, sliced
4-6 oz. crumbled feta

Here's What You Do :

Strain yogurt using cheesecloth over a bowl. Refrigerate and let it sit for several hours to drain the moisture. This is typically a giant pain in the butt. I'm still working on an easy way to complete this step. But even in my completely jacked up manner it came out just fine. I guess what I'm saying is...don't fret. Just get some water out of it and you're fine.

Tzatziki : Shred the cucumber. You want this fairly fine. Wrap in a paper towel and squeeze to remove moisture. Mix with 16 oz. strained yogurt, garlic, vinegar, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Drizzle with olive oil. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. The longer the better...it's basically a marinade...a delicious, delicious marinade.

Chicken : Combine garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, oil, yogurt, oregano, salt & pepper. Whisk until mixed well. Add the chicken pieces and mix to coat. Cover and refrigerate for one hour.

Cook chicken under broiler. (You can also grill if you prefer.) Let rest for 5 minutes. Cut into strips.

Heat pitas. (I pulled mine into pockets, but you can just use the fill & fold method.) Top with chicken, tzatziki sauce, feta, tomatoes & onions. I'm thinking about adding kalamata olives next time. I'm also currently drooling, but that's beside the point.

If you wind up with extra tzatziki (quite possibly blasphemy and would never happen here) it also works well as a chip dip. Then again, it works just fine on a spoon all by it's little lonesome...