Have you ever seen the Luke Bryan and Jimmy Fallon song about how to pronounce Gyro? Well I am linking it because its hilarious! Go watch it and giggle.

I grew up in Georgia and live in Florida now, and let me tell you, southerners seem to really struggle hard with how to pronounce gyro, and I have to assume that issue goes beyond the south.

Regardless of how you have been pronouncing gyro, or mispronouncing gyro all these years, we maybe can agree, if you ever had a gryo pre vegan, they were delicious!

One of our favorite local restaurants is a place in Jacksonville Florida called Wafaa and Mikes. It is a Mediterranean restaurant attached to their family auto shop. And that alone probably tells you the food is amazing. Wafaa used to run the the restaurant and Mike ran the shop. Over the years other family members have taken the reigns, and now Wafaa’s son- in- law, Alabed, runs Wafaa’s. I could go on for days about this man’s genius. His food is delicious and so creative. And most importantly for us, he offers PLENTY of vegan options on the regular menu, and normally even creates a vegan special similar to the regular special they are offering. If you are ever in Jax you must go try this place. Seriously!!

I say all of this because I want the world to know about Wafaa and Mike’s, but also it is because of them that I ever made vegan gyro meat to begin with.

Several years ago we were chatting, and Alabed asked if I could create a meat for a vegan Mediterranean taco special he was going to be running. Side note, Mediterranean taco special is hands down my favorite special he does. So I said of course, and attempted to make a vegan gyro meat. This was early on when I had really only made some basic seitans and my vegan brisket was one of the few seitan recipes on my site.

Over all for an early seitan creation, the gyro meat was good, and then I never made another.

Why?!?! I don’t know really. I loved gyros before going vegan, but I also love a good falafel, or vegan grape leaves, or a hummus wrap, so when I do eat Mediterranean I am not usually pining for a gyro….until recently when out of nowhere I was?1?!?! Who knows why or what spurred it, but I suddenly really really needed a giant vegan gyro with EXTRA tzatziki. So I decided to give gyro meat another go.

This time I did things a bit differently. I didn’t want to just use my go to tofu vital wheat gluten base. This meat needs more texture since traditional gyro meat is beef and lamb combined. So I decided to also toss in some jackfruit for hopefully more texture. Beyond that I kept it pretty basic with traditional gyro spices, did my regular foil wrap bake, but this time added a simmer before the bake to get some extra flavor in there…..and once again you have a pretty beginner level, easy peasy, delicious seitan recipe.

This gryo meat will keep in the fridge in an air tight container for 10 days or can be frozen for up to 6 months. I often slice up my seitans and freeze half for later. Toss the seitan on the counter to thaw, and weeknight dinner just got that much easier.

Also I love to encourage anyone who has never tried their hand at setian to just TRY IT. Most of my seitan recipes and so simple and pretty forgiving. Be sure to read my troubleshooting notes below the ingredients list to see easily solvable, common issue with any seitan. It will save you some heartache down the road.

So, there you go, a simple way to make vegan gyro meat, and a song to help you pronounce it correctly. All in one blog post. Thats what I am here for y’all. And don’t forget to go see Alabed at Wafaa and Mike’s in Jax if you are ever in town. Best hummus, falafel, chickpea tacos, and unsweet tea you will ever have. EVER!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups vital wheat gluten
20 oz can jackfruit in brine ( not in syrup)
8 oz (half block) super firm/high protein tofu (the kind in the vacuum sealed package with little liquid)
1/4 cup corn or tapioca starch
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1-2 tablespoons no beef or vegetable Better than Bouillon, or similar bouillon paste or powder
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon neutral flavored oil, like canola or grapeseed ( can use water if oil free)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon dried parsley
2 tablespoons dried marjoram
1-2 tablespoons dried or fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons onion powder
2-3 teaspoons garlic powder
3 teaspoons celery salt
2 teaspoons black pepper

SIMMERING LIQUID:

4 cups water
1 tablespoon Better than Bouillon
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons corn or tapioca starch whisked in a 1/4 cup of water.

DRY RUB:

1-2 teaspoons marjoram
2 teaspoons onion salt
1-2 teaspoons rosemary
1 teaspoon each black pepper and salt
a few teaspoons of oil or spray oil

TROUBLE SHOOTING THIS RECIPE:

*I used high protein tofu in a vacuum sealed package and this what I strongly advise using. It is much firmer than regular firm tofu and has less moisture and a more chewy texture. If you opt to use regular firm tofu you will need to press it first and remove as much liquid as possible. You may need to adjust the amount of water in the recipet as well. Add the water last, adding just enough to accomplish a firm dough.

*If you do not like foil, you can wrap this seitan in parchment then foil. The foil then won’t touch the food and you can reuse it several times, limiting foil waste. It does need a tight wrap and to steam in the oven inside the foil.

*I do NOT hava a GLUTEN FREE suggestion for this recipe. It is a vital wheat gluten based recipe and I do not have a suitable replacement for the VWG.

*If you find your turkey has A LOT OF LITTLE HOLES, and a more BREAD LIKE TEXTURE this can be caused from under kneading the dough, BUT more likely cooking the seitan at too high of a temperature, or for too long. Check your oven’s temperature with an oven thermometer. Your oven may just be cooking hotter than it registers. Also gas and electric ovens tend to cook differently. If you do not have an oven thermometer you can reduce the heat in your oven by 25 degrees, and keep the seitan covered for 60 minutes and open for 10-15.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Begin by adding the drained jackfruit to a food processor with the regular blade and blend until minced up a bit. (This is all the bits of jackfruit! Everything in the can besides the liquid!)
Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.
Add all of the remaining ingredients and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. You just need to mix until the dough has come together. Just a minute or so.
Once you have a smooth but firm dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute. Cut dough in half, forming TWO kind of oval shaped loaves with the dough. It is hard to get one giant loaf to cook through with the recipe. Trust me, I tried.
Fill a large pot or dutch oven with 4 cups of water and all of the simmering spices BUT NOT THE STARCH. Bring the liquid to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer. Add the 2 seitan loaves to the liquid. Allow the seitan to simmer 15 minutes then flip. NOW ADD THE STARCH slurry and allow the loaves to simmer another 20 minutes. Thickening the liquid forms a kind of gravy that will coat the seitan in the seasoning before baking. Preheat oven to 350 degrees while the seitan simmers.
Take 2 pieces of aluminum for about 3x bigger than the loaf of dough, and lay them out flat. Coat the foil in spray oil or wipe it down with any oil you have. Sprinkle half of coating seasoning in the center of one piece of foil. Place the loaf on the seasoning and roll it around using some tongs. Repeat with the other loaf. The goal is to fully coat the loaf in the seasoning!
Place the loaves back in the center of the pieces of foil and fold up the sides, pinching at the top to seal them up, then twist the ends to fully seal the foil.
Place on a baking sheet and put in the oven on the middle rack. Bake sealed for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes carefully open up the foil, and continue baking for another 30 minutes. (bake times vary depending on oven, if holes are present in loaf after slicing, look at troubleshooting notes above.)
Remove finished gyro meat and let cool at room temp. Seal the foil back up and place back in the fridge over nigh or at least 8 hourst to rest. You can also let it rest unwrapped on a wire cooling rack. This step is important to get the texture we are trying achieve. If you try and serve it before it rests it will not be nearly as firm. LET IT REST…THE SEITAN MUST REST!!!!! (if you choose not to let it rest, don’t come round leaving sassy comments about the texture being off, you have warned)
Once the gyro meat has been in the fridge over night, you can remove it and slice it to serve. It should at this point be firm enough to slice using a mandolin or a sharp knife. Store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 10 days.
Serve with pita, tzatziki, lettuce, tomato, mint, cucumbers or however you like. You can heat sliced gyro meat in a lightly oil pan for a few minutes before making a wrap If you like

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