Chicken Gyros on a Charcoal Spit

Method

1. Marinate overnight in yoghurt

   Yoghurt does two things: the acid tenderises gently without the chalky texture lemon alone produces, and the milk proteins help the surface brown. Twelve hours is right, twenty four is fine.

2. Stack, do not thread loosely

   Lay the thighs flat and stack them on the spit skin side out, pressing each one down hard onto the last. You are building a solid cylinder, not a row of separate pieces. Gaps are where it dries out.

3. Cook indirect and slow

   Coals banked to the sides, drip tray underneath, target around 165°C (325°F). Ninety minutes with the motor running. Direct flame will burn the paprika long before the middle of the stack is anywhere near done.

4. Shave the outside, return the rest

   Once the outer layer is deeply coloured and crisp, take a long sharp knife and shave it off in thin strips onto a tray. Put the stack straight back on to crisp the newly exposed surface. This is how gyros is actually served, in waves.

5. Check the core if you are serving it all

   If you are cooking the whole stack through rather than shaving in rounds, the centre needs to reach 80°C (175°F). Thigh benefits from going past the safe temperature, unlike breast.

Notes worth knowing

• Skin on, every layer. The rendering skin between the thighs is what keeps a stack this size moist over ninety minutes.
• Half a raw onion or a lemon jammed on each end of the spit stops the stack sliding and helps it hold shape.
• Serve with proper chips inside the pitta. It is not a garnish, it is how it is eaten.

Common questions

Can I make gyros without a rotisserie?

Not really as a stack. You can get close by cooking the marinated thighs flat over two zone heat and slicing them thin, which tastes right even though the texture is different.

Why is my gyros dry?

Usually breast instead of thigh, skin removed, or a stack with gaps in it. Thigh, skin on, packed tight.