How Long Does It Take to Cook Greek Gyros on a Spit Roaster?

Greek gyros meat stacked on a rotisserie spit cooking over hot charcoal coals.

If you don’t know what gyros is, it’s a traditional Greek dish consisting of meat slowly roasted on a spit roaster. 

Achieving that authentic, mouth-watering result doesn’t need to be complicated. Our customers are always asking how long it takes to cook Greek Gyros, so we’ve put together this guide to help you on your spit-roasting journey. 

Cooking Time: From Start to First Carve

Once you’ve placed your marinated meat on the spit roaster, you can expect the first carve to be ready in about 90 minutes. This timeframe is ideal for ensuring that the outer layers of the meat are perfectly cooked and ready to be sliced off, revealing the tender, juicy layers beneath.

However, this timing assumes that you’ve allowed the meat to come up to room temperature before roasting. Placing cold meat directly from the fridge onto the spit can significantly increase cooking time. We recommend letting the meat sit out for about 30 minutes prior to roasting, allowing it to reach an even temperature throughout.

First carve of gyros meat from a rotisserie spit using an electric knife over charcoal coals.

Subsequent Carves: Every 45 Minutes

After the first carve, the cooking process becomes more streamlined. As the meat continues to rotate and cook, each subsequent carve can typically be done every 45 minutes. This timing allows the next layer of meat to cook thoroughly while maintaining the juicy, flavourful profile that makes gyros so delicious.

Additional Tips for Perfect Gyros

  • Marinating Matters: The key to great gyros is in the marinade. Allow your meat to marinate for at least 24 hours before roasting to ensure it absorbs all the rich flavours and maxamise the flavour profile. We highly recommend the Flaming Coals Greek Gyros seasoning for marinating. 

Raw chicken pieces coated in seasoning and marinade prepared for chicken gyros in a tray.

  • Even Skewering: When threading the meat onto the skewer, ensure that it is evenly distributed. This prevents uneven cooking and makes the carving process much smoother.

Stacked marinated gyros meat evenly threaded onto a rotisserie skewer on a cutting board ready for cooking.

  • Temperature Control: Keep an eye on the temperature of your coals. For gyros, you want a steady, moderate heat to ensure the meat cooks evenly without burning the outer layers. Use an instant-read thermometer to check the protein's current temperature.

Checking internal temperature of rotating gyros meat on a spit using a digital meat thermometer.

  • Gyros Discs: Using Gyros discs makes life easy, just load up the meat, and clamp them together to allow carving with ease. We have them to suit 8-10mm square skewers, as well as 22mm and 28mm round skewers. Check out the full range of gyro discs here.

Close up of stacked gyros meat rotating on a spit between holding discs, showing crispy caramelised outer layer.

Stay Connected for More Expert Tips

We hope this guide has given you valuable insights into cooking Greek gyros on a spit roaster. For more expert advice, tips, and tutorials, check out our YouTube channel below!

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by: Sasha Halabi