Homemade Pork Gyros (Authentic Greek Gyro Recipe)

Name: Gyro Meat Recipe (Greek-Style Pork Gyros)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 3 h 5 min
Total time: 3 h 25 min
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 2 pounds pork neck meat, well marbled (1kg) (see note to sub fatty pork shoulder); 1/2 pound pork belly, sliced (227g); 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (60g); 1/4 cup grapeseed oil (60g) (sub canola, sunflower, or peanut oil); 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (15g) (sub red wine vinegar or ACV*); 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon honey (25g); 1 medium red onion (half grated with its juices, half thinly sliced); 1 tablespoon dried oregano (2g); 1 tablespoon sweet paprika (7g); 2 3/4 teaspoons sea salt or pink Himalayan salt (15g); 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper, freshly cracked (4g); 1 teaspoon sumac (2g) (optional but highly recommended); 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more or less as desired (1g); 1/4 teaspoon cumin (0.5g); 2 large garlic cloves, pressed or mashed into a paste (substitute 1 1/2 teaspoons of garlic powder); fresh thyme sprigs (optional but recommended); 1 large Yukon gold potato, halved lengthwise; 8 wooden skewers (see note on oven clearance); 5 cherry tomatoes (or red and green bell peppers); 6 homemade Greek pitas, or other flatbread (recipe coming soon); Homemade tzatziki sauce (recipe coming soon); Sliced tomatoes; Sliced cucumbers; Sliced red onions; Feta, diced (optional but highly recommended); Greek olives, pitted (optional); Homemade French fries (optional, and how our local Greek gyro spot serves them)

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This homemade gyro meat recipe makes incredibly delicious gyros in a regular oven, no rotisserie or professional gyro cone needed. Pork neck and pork belly are marinated in Greek seasonings and spices, then stacked on skewers, wrapped, and slow-baked until tender, then crisped up for juicy, meaty slices just like what you get at a gyro shop.

Two Greek gyro sandwiches in red baskets made with homemade greek pita and tzatziki sauce, gyros meat, feta cheese, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onions, with bowls of roasted tomatoes, extra tzatziki, and roasted gyro potatoes in front.

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Why You Can Trust This Recipe
Why You'll Love This Gyro Meat Recipe
What Is Pork Gyro Made Of?
Best Pork for Gyros: Neck and Belly vs. Shoulder
Ingredients
How to Make Gyro Meat (Pork Gyros in the Oven)
Tips for Tender, Juicy Gyro Meat
Gyro Toppings (For Greek Gyro Sandwich)
How to Serve Pork Gyros
Make-Ahead, Storage, and Reheating
Pork Gyros FAQs
More Mediterranean and Greek Recipes
📖 Recipe
Food Safety

Why You Can Trust This Recipe

Homemade gyro recipe closeup of a pork gyro sandwich in a red basket with bowls of roasted tomatoes, tzatziki sauce, and roasted gyro potatoes.

Gyros have been a favorite of mine ever since I worked at Georgia's (a local Greek restaurant) in college. My favorite items on the menu were always the chicken or pork gyros, souvlaki, the Greek salad, and always extra tzatziki sauce.

Later on, while living in NYC, I found a whole new appreciation (and level) of authentic Greek cuisine at places like Periyali, which is still one of my all-time favorite Greek restaurants.

Now here in Italy, the one (really tasty) Greek restaurant in the historic center where we live is run by two people, so orders can take a while, and if you have it delivered at home, it almost always arrives cold with dried-out meat. So, just like I've done with my favorite Mexican, Chinese, and Japanese dishes, I set out to recreate my favorite gyros at home out of "necessity" and for convenience.

Not only are these homemade gyros super delicious and full of authentic Greek gyro flavor, they're also really easy to make.

Why You'll Love This Gyro Meat Recipe

Greek gyros pork slices tossed in homemade gyro seasoning recipe with spices, oil, and vinegar in a bowl ready to marinate overnight.

How to make gyros at home showing crispy pork gyro meat being sliced off the tower with half the stack still standing.

No rotisserie needed. A DIY gyro stack on skewers bakes in a regular oven and slices just like the real thing.
Authentic Greek pork gyros. In Greece, gyros are traditionally made with marinated pork (chicken is popular too), not the ground beef-and-lamb loaf common in the US.
Tender inside, crispy outside. Pork neck and pork belly baste the stack as it slow-bakes, then the broiler crisps the edges.
Budget-friendly option. Swap in pork shoulder (pork butt) when pork neck or belly is hard to find.
Make-ahead friendly. The pork marinates 12 to 20 hours, so most of the work is done the night before, and you can refrigerate or freeze the sliced meat.
So many ways to eat it. Stuff it into gyro pitas, pile it on a Greek salad, serve it with hummus and Greek pita bread, or eat it with eggs and toast for breakfast.

What Is Pork Gyro Made Of?

Gyro ingredients for a homemade Greek gyro recipe marinade in a bowl showing olive oil, white wine vinegar, honey, grated onion, garlic, and spices before mixing.

reek gyros pork slices tossed in homemade gyro seasoning recipe with spices, oil, and vinegar in a bowl ready to marinate overnight.

Traditional Greek gyros are thin slices of marinated meat, most often pork, usually well-marbled cuts like pork neck, butt, or shoulder layered with pork belly, stacked on a vertical spit and shaved off as the outside crisps. The ground lamb-and-beef gyro meat served in many American restaurants is a Greek-American version and a different recipe.

This gyro meat recipe is the authentic Greek pork kind marinated in a mix of typical gyro meat seasoning, made with a stack of skewered slices to create a DIY gyro meat cone tower that bakes in your oven.

Best Pork for Gyros: Neck and Belly vs. Shoulder

Six photo collage comparing pork neck whole and sliced, pork butt whole and sliced, and pork belly whole slab and sliced showing the best cuts of pork for homemade gyros.

The cut you choose decides how tender and juicy your gyro meat turns out. No matter what cut you use, it's still delicious. Here's how the options compare.

Cut	Texture after baking	Best for
Pork neck + pork belly (recommended)	Most tender and juicy, slightly bouncy, with crispy fatty edges	The most authentic gyro shop texture
Pork shoulder or pork butt	Delicious and well seasoned, but firmer and less juicy	A budget option, or when neck and belly are hard to find
Pork loin or tenderloin	Too lean, dries out over a long bake	NEVER recommended for this method

Pork neck is beautifully marbled, and pork belly adds fat that naturally bastes the whole stack as it bakes. If you use shoulder, choose the fattiest, most well-marbled piece you can find. My first test batch with lean pork shoulder was perfectly seasoned, but it wasn't as tender or juicy as gyro meat should be.

Ingredients

For the Gyro Meat

Pork neck. Well-marbled pork neck is the star (even more marbled than what I was able to find in the photo directly above). Fatty pork shoulder or pork butt works as a budget swap.
Pork belly. Thin slices layered between the neck add fat and juiciness. For a smoky pork gyro, swap in thick-cut bacon. If you can't find pork belly, or just can't afford it, leave it out and instead look for the most well-marbled neck you can find. This recipe is still super delicious without.

For the Marinade (Gyro Meat Seasonings)

Extra virgin olive oil and grapeseed oil. Half and half. Canola, sunflower, or peanut oil can replace the grapeseed.
White wine vinegar. Just a splash for brightness. Red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar work too.
Honey. Balances the vinegar and helps the edges caramelize.
Red onion. Half is grated with its juices into the marinade, and half is sliced. Use whatever onions you have (white, yellow, or even shallots all work).
Garlic. Pressed or mashed into a paste, as I've done. Garlic powder works in a pinch (the substitution amounts can be found in the recipe card).
Spices. Dried oregano, sweet paprika, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and a little cumin.
Sumac. Optional but highly recommended for its tangy, fruity tartness and somewhat lemony flavor.
Sea salt or pink Himalayan salt. It seasons the meat all the way through.
Fresh thyme sprigs. Optional, but recommended. I like to lay the sprigs on top of the meat to just perfume it with a subtle background note, but you can remove some of the leaves and add them directly to the marinade if you want a more thyme-forward flavor.

For Assembling the Gyro Cone Tower

Yukon gold potato. One large potato, halved lengthwise and set flat side down, holds the skewers upright and keeps the meat out of the pan juices. But I highly recommend adding at least 1 more halved potato to the bottom of the pan (if not 2 more) because these make a super delicious side dish!
Skewers. Four to 8 wooden skewers total (either 2 or 4 poked into each potato half). I like to add extra so there's never any doubt about it tipping over, but a total of 4 works just fine. Trim them if needed so the assembled tower fits in your oven with plenty of clearance.
Cherry tomatoes. A few on top of the tower roast in the juices. You can also add green or red bell peppers if you like.
Parchment paper and foil. To wrap and seal the stack.
Meat mallet or rolling pin. To pound out the pork neck evenly.

Full ingredient measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

How to Make Gyro Meat (Pork Gyros in the Oven)

Step 1. Slice and pound the pork. Pound the pork neck slices to an even ¼-inch (6mm) thickness, stopping before the meat tears or gets too thin. Slice the pork belly about ⅛ inch (3mm) thick, similar to thick-cut bacon, if it isn't already.

Pounding pork slices to an even quarter inch thickness to help tenderize them and help them cook evenly before stacking them on a homemade gyro meat cone.

Don't pound it too thin. Paper-thin, torn slices dry out over the long bake, especially if you're using leaner neck meat, or even leaner shoulder or butt, which has less fat and marbling.

Step 2. Make the marinade and marinate the meat. Grate half of the red onion and whisk it, juices and all, into the oil, vinegar, honey, garlic, salt, and spices. Thinly slice the other half of the onion. Add the pork and sliced onion to the marinade, toss to coat every slice, then cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours, and up to 20 hours is even better.

Six photo collage showing how to make gyro meat seasoning with grated onion, oil, vinegar, honey, garlic, and gyro spices then tossing sliced pork in the marinade before refrigerating.

Step 3. Build the base for the gyro meat cone. Line a baking dish with crisscrossed foil and parchment, leaving plenty of overhang. Set the potato halves flat side down in the center, touching, and push four skewers into each half.

Four step collage showing how to make a gyro meat cone base by lining a baking dish with foil and parchment then setting potato halves with skewers in the center to keep it from tipping over while baking.

Step 4. Stack and compress the meat. Thread the first layer of pork onto the skewers, then add the marinated sliced onion on top of it. Stack the rest of the slices, alternating pork neck and pork belly, pressing down firmly every few layers. Once it's built, press the whole stack down to compress, top it with the cherry tomatoes, and pour any leftover marinade over the top.

Four step collage showing how to stack and compress marinated pork slices onto skewers to build a homemade gyro meat cone topped with cherry tomatoes.

Step 5. Wrap and bake. Wrap the stack in parchment paper, then seal it in foil. Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 2 ½ hours, until a fork slides into the center easily.

Gyros recipe pork meat cone tightly wrapped in parchment paper and twisted at the top to hold its shape before baking.

Gyro recipe pork cone encased in aluminum foil as the final layer over parchment, ready to bake low and slow for a tender gyro sandwich.

Step 6. Unwrap, crisp, and broil. Unwrap the stack, spoon the pan juices over the top, and bake 30 minutes more, then broil for 3 to 5 minutes until the edges are crisp and golden.

Gyro wrap pork meat tower unwrapped from foil and parchment after two and a half hours of baking about to be quickly basted with its own juices.

Gyro recipe step showing a spoonful of cooking liquid being spooned over the top of a baked pork gyro cone before putting it back in the oven to crisp up.

Step 7. Rest and slice. Let the stack rest for 10 minutes, then shave thin slices from the outside. Spoon the pan juices over the sliced gyro meat.

Crispy pork gyro meat tower resting on a cutting board before slicing.

Greek gyro meat shaved from the tower on a serving platter with its baking juices pooled around the tender pork slices.

Using a convection oven? Bake wrapped at 350°F (175°C) for 2 ½ hours. After unwrapping, start checking at 20 minutes, since the fan browns the edges faster.

Making a double batch? This recipe easily doubles (and trust me, you'll want to). Bake the wrapped tower 30 minutes longer (3 hours total), then unwrap and bake 30 to 40 minutes more before broiling. A doubled tower is taller, so check your oven clearance first.

Tips for Tender, Juicy Gyro Meat

Choose fatty cuts. Pork neck and belly stay juicy through the long bake, while lean pork turns firm and dry.
Pound to ¼ inch, not thinner. Even slices cook evenly and press together into one stack.

Pork slice pounded too thin and torn showing what not to do when preparing pork gyros recipe meat to avoid dry results. — Pork gyro meat that has been pounded out too thin↑.

Alternate the fat. Every lean layer should touch a fatty one, so the pork belly bastes the neck as it renders.
Press it fairly tight. Compressing the stack fuses the salted slices together, which helps give gyro meat its sliceable, slightly bouncy bite.
Marinate at least 12 hours (even better up to 20). The salt needs time to season the meat through and help the slices bind.
Rest before slicing. Ten minutes lets the stack firm up, so it slices cleanly and holds its juices.
Check your oven. If your oven runs hot or slow, use the fork test or a thermometer. The center should read 175°F to 185°F (79°C to 85°C).

Gyro sandwich recipe closeup of tender pork gyro meat wrapped in a soft Greek pita with tzatziki, feta, tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onions.

Gyro Toppings (For Greek Gyro Sandwich)

Gyro toppings on a plate including Greek olives, feta cheese cubes, fresh dill, sliced cucumbers, grape tomatoes, and red onions for a Greek gyro sandwich.

Homemade tzatziki sauce in a yellow bowl topped with a sprig of fresh dill.

Homemade Tzatziki sauce (Bright, tangy, cucumbery with lots of dill) (recipe coming soon)
Greek Olives (pits removed)
Cucumbers (small garden-fresh pickling cucumbers, Persian or English cucumbers because their flavor is more concentrated and less watery)
Tomatoes (I prefer quartered sweet grape tomatoes over flavorless hothouse tomatoes because their natural sweetness balances the tang from tzatziki and the feta. In the summer, I also love homegrown Roma tomatoes.)
Sliced red onions (adds flavor and crunch for extra texture)˜
DOP Feta cheese cubes (I like to dice small cubes or crumble the feta so you can taste it in every bite without it overpowering the other flavors)
(Optional) Romaine lettuce (I typically don't add lettuce because I pile on all the other ingredients, but you can definitely add some if you're low on any of the other ingredients)

How to Serve Pork Gyros

Large Greek salad piled high on a serving platter and sprinkled with grated parmesan cheese.

Stack of warm Greek gyro bread ready for serving.

A greek salad with gyro meat on top ready to eat.

Black chickpea hummus in a serving platter (closeup shot) with a well in the middle filled with EVOO and surrounded by sauteed carrot slices, grilled asparagus, seared onion, sundried tomatoes, cornichon pickles, and large green olives with pits.

Top down view of a widemouth Ball jar filled with creamy homemade almond pulp hummus next to a prep bowl of raw almonds.

With a homemade Greek salad. Serve a side salad with gyros.
As a Gyro Bowl. Pile the warm gyro meat on top of a salad for a seriously delicious, protein-packed easy dinner.
Classic pita gyros. Warm pita (recipe coming soon) with tzatziki, tomato, red onion, and fries tucked inside, the way gyros are served in Greece.
With hummus and pita. Serve it with a side of black chickpea hummus, regular hummus, or even almond pulp hummus and Greek pita bread.
Breakfast. Crisp leftovers in a skillet and serve them with eggs and toast.

Front facing view of a gyro with a side of tzatziki sauce showing how tender the gyro meat is.

Make-Ahead, Storage, and Reheating

Make ahead. Marinate the pork up to 20 hours before baking.
Refrigerate. Store cooked gyro meat in a shallow airtight container with its juices and pan drippings for 3 to 4 days.
Freeze. Freeze for 3 to 4 months for the best quality, then thaw overnight in the refrigerator before you reheat in a skillet.
Reheat. Crisp the slices in a hot skillet until they reach 165°F (74°C), per USDA leftovers guidance.

Pork Gyros FAQs

What is pork gyro made of?

Greek pork gyro is made from thin slices of marinated pork, usually well-marbled cuts like pork neck, pork butt, or shoulder layered with pork belly. The slices are stacked, roasted until the outside crisps, and shaved off to serve.

What kind of meat is gyro meat?

In Greece, gyro meat is usually pork and sometimes chicken. In the US, gyro meat often means a ground lamb-and-beef loaf, which is a Greek-American version.

What is the difference between pork gyro and pork souvlaki?

Gyros are thin slices of meat stacked together, slow-roasted, and shaved off of a gyro cone (spit or tower). Souvlaki are kebab-like cubes of meat threaded onto skewers and grilled, so they cook much more quickly.

What is the main seasoning in gyro meat?

Dried oregano, paprika, garlic, onion, and salt are the backbone of gyro seasoning. This recipe also adds sumac for a lemony tang, plus cumin and red pepper flakes.

Can I make gyro meat without a rotisserie?

Yes. Stack the marinated slices on skewers set in halved potatoes, wrap and bake the stack in the oven, then broil it to crisp the edges.

Can I use pork shoulder for gyros?

Yes. Pork shoulder (pork butt) is a great budget option. Choose a well-marbled piece, since lean shoulder bakes up firmer and less juicy than pork neck and belly.

What is a dirty style gyro?

A dirty style gyro is a regional, restaurant-style variation that swaps the usual tzatziki and tomatoes for yellow mustard, onions, and French fries tucked inside the pita.

How long should I marinate pork for gyros?

Marinate the pork in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours and up to 20 hours for the best results.

More Mediterranean and Greek Recipes

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Food Safety

Marinate in the fridge. Always marinate the pork in the refrigerator, never at room temperature.
Cooking the leftover marinade. The marinade poured over the tower before baking cooks with the pork, so it's safe. Don't use marinade that touched raw pork as a sauce unless you boil it first.
Safe temperature. USDA recommends cooking pork roasts to at least 145°F (63°C), then resting at least 3 minutes. This recipe goes well beyond that (175°F to 185°F / 79°C to 85°C) for tender, sliceable gyro meat.
Avoid cross-contamination. Wash your hands, cutting boards, mallet, and knives with hot, soapy water after handling raw pork.
Store leftovers promptly. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and eat within 3 to 4 days, or freeze for 3 to 4 months.
Reheat to 165°F (74°C). Reheat leftovers until they reach 165°F (74°C) on a food thermometer.