Oak-Smoked Greek Pork Gyros with Tzatziki

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A bone-in pork shoulder rubbed with oregano, garlic and lemon zest, then smoked low and slow over oak until it pulls apart with a fork. Wrapped halfway with lemon juice so it stays juicy, then piled into warm pitas with a two-minute cucumber tzatziki. It is a long cook but almost all of it is hands-off — start it in the morning and dinner takes care of itself.

Ingredients

• 5 lb bone-in pork shoulder (Boston butt)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 lemons (zested, then juiced)
• 4 fist-sized oak wood chunks

• 1 1/2 cups full-fat Greek yogurt
• 1/2 English cucumber, coarsely grated
• 1 clove garlic, finely grated
• 8 pita breads

Instructions

1. Pat the pork shoulder dry. In a small bowl mix the olive oil, oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper and the zest of both lemons into a paste, then rub it over every surface of the pork, including under the fat cap. Let it sit at room temperature while the smoker comes up to heat.
2. Set up your smoker for indirect cooking at 250°F (120°C) and add 2 oak chunks to the coals or wood tray. Fill the water pan if your smoker has one. Wait until the smoke runs thin and blue, not white and billowing.
3. Place the pork fat-side up on the grate, away from direct heat. Smoke at 250°F for about 5 hours, adding the remaining 2 oak chunks after the first hour, until the bark is deep mahogany and the internal temperature in the thickest part reads 165°F (74°C).
4. Lay out a double sheet of heavy foil, set the pork in the middle, pour over the juice of both lemons, and wrap tightly. Return to the smoker and cook another 2 1/2 to 3 hours at 250°F until a probe slides into the meat with no resistance and the internal temperature is 203°F (95°C).
5. Leave the pork wrapped and rest it in a cooler or turned-off oven for at least 45 minutes — this is not optional, it is what keeps it juicy.
6. While it rests, squeeze the grated cucumber hard in a clean towel to remove the water, then stir it into the Greek yogurt with the grated garlic and a good pinch of salt. Warm the pitas on the smoker grate for 30 seconds a side.
7. Unwrap the pork over a bowl to catch the juices, pull the meat apart with two forks, discard the bone and any large fat pockets, and toss the meat with a few spoonfuls of the lemony juices. Pile into the warm pitas with tzatziki.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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