What the heck is the difference?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyros: Gyros or gyro from Greek γύρος 'turning', a calque of Turkish döner) is a rotisserie meat, or by extension the pita sandwich it is usually found in. In addition to the meat, there are also various salads and sauces inside the pita. The most common fillings are tomato, cucumber and onions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souvlaki: Souvlaki is a traditional Greek fast food, traditionally consisting of either pork or lamb; chicken is rarely used. The word souvlaki comes from the Greek word "Souvla" which literally means "skew, prick". The name is used to refer in a variety of recipes. I think the former is more commonly consumed when you're drunk.
Growing up in Halifax we would make a pilgramage to Bash Toulainey's in the North End just to get a 'Nair and was especially important after barhopping... Still one of the first stops i make when I get home.
There is a fast-food type joint in Bayville, NY called the Souvlaki place. Right near the beach. They make an excellent souvlaki with a choice of a white or red sauce. After a hard night of drinking, nothing like a couple of Souvlaki's with red sauce before going to bed. Ummmmmmm. Dom
Gyros are made from minced meat, Souvlakis are supposed to be made from whole meat. As such, a proper souvlaki is on a skewer, perhaps with pita on the side, while a Gyro would be served on pita bread with cukes, 'maters, yogurt sauce, etc.. Now, if you wanna rock your world, get a shawerma. Beats souvlaki and/or gyro hands down.
How do you prepare your lamb? I cook mine as shaslik/shishlik Don't bother with the lamb-sex jokes, you filthy animals!
Just like it's spelled. We prepare the lamb by cutting its throat and hanging it from its hind legs to bleed it, and then we remove the pelt with all the wool attached. My father and I open up its belly and remove all the organs, etc, clean it out very well, use oil and spices on the interior of tthe lamb. We run the bar though its rear end (insert jokes here) and out the front right underneath the jaw, and we use steel wire to sew up the belly very tight to keep the juices in, and rub mild spices and a little olive oil on the exterior, and then put it on the spit frame over hot coals for about 4-5 hours, depending on the size. my mom and I also clean out all the organs, including running a lot of water through the intestines, and we will make traditional dishes of cooked organs, one of which is called kokoretsi, which I love, but a lot of you city folk would shy away from.
This may be my 1st post in off topic...this thread is hysterical...probably b/c I am in Greece right now (actually currently on an island called Naxos) with my family (wife/2 kids). My wife is Greek (I am a mutt...Irish, German, English, Austrian, etc...) and we see her family just outside Sparta every other year...she may have to jump in on this thread! I personally look forward to starting my day with Tiropita and a Frappe...filo dough cheese pie and some sort of jacked up ice coffee that is awesome. Other favorites I have grown to like are Vlita (zesti greens with olive oil) with Feta, Taramasalata (some sort of fish egg spread), Moussaka, and much more...
I was with a Greek girl for many years. Although I never got sprayed with Windex, her family was, shall we say, interesting! Gyros is a processed blend beef and lamb. Souvlaki has the meats remaining seperate...kinda like shawerma. For all the lucky Chicagoans here...go to the Greek Islands and order Saganaki for me!
My mom got this recipe from her godmother, we call it "Mom's Moonshine". It is very sweet and tasty, and is made with lots of ouzo, sugar and pommegranite left to ferment for a few months. But it will sneak up on you.
Donair is usually mutton, it twirls around on a stick for about five hours. Then they put it in a pita and add all this stuff to it. Some people here in Calgary got E.coli from eating Donair. Slouvaki, is where they take a piece of pork or lamb or chicken and put it on a skewer and grill it in olive oil. They warm up a pita, and place the meat into the pita. Then put Taziki sauce, lettuce, tomatoe, onion into the pita. They wrap it, and you usually get some source of salad with it.
