Gyros - special deal at Aldi starting next Wednesday

copyright durhamonthecheap - plateful of Gyros goodness

I love Gyros sandwiches, but they are quite pricey if you order them at a restaurant. So I was particularly excited when I saw Gyros kits as a weekly special at Aldi starting this Wednesday, March 28. I stopped by this weekend and Aldi had the kits already in the store. For some reason, they put them in the freezer - I would have definitely preferred to have them stored in the fridge because the tzatziki sauce does not freeze well. But I picked up a package, figuring I would try it out and at $6.99 for 5 sandwiches, the price is really good. So this weekend, we had Gyros. The preparation could not be easier.

I stored the package in the fridge, to allow for the gyros meat, the sauce and the pita bread to thaw. Overnight in the fridge was plenty of time to get everything thawed out. The instructions on the box are for microwave (which I used) or for skillet method. I would recommend the microwave method because putting the Gyros meat in between paper towels gets some of the grease removed that stays behind with the skillet method .

I took a couple of microwave-safe plates, put a couple of pitas on one plate and microwaved them for 20 seconds to get them piping hot. The pita has a nice consistency, fluffy and just thick enough to give you a full-meal size sandwich, but still soft enough to be folded easily.

The Gyros meat is fully cooked and so the microwave is just needed to heat the meat again. The portion size is 5 slices a person and you only need to microwave them for 45 seconds. Again, put them in between paper towels to remove some of the grease.

The tzatziki sauce is nice and rich, with a good balance of garlic and cucumbers as well as some parsley. I stirred it a couple of times since it was frozen and there was some excess liquid. But it turned out to be nice and creamy and was easily spooned on the pita.

The instructions recommend some chopped onion or tomato wedges, but I had a simple bagged lettuce mix at home, so I added some of that to the pita and it turned out great.

copyright Durhamonthecheap - weekly special at Aldi starting 3/28/12

The first picture shows one sandwich. As you can see the portion size is huge; one sandwich is definitely a filling lunch. Calories per sandwich are 540, the sodium is high due to the Gyros and the total fat content of one sandwich is 40%, again due to the Gyros meat.

While I would not recommend a steady diet of Gyros, for people that like me miss Gyros from European or US street vendors, this Gyros sandwich kit provides a nice alternative to the super-expensive restaurant food and it allows you to control portion size and calorie intake. I have actually cut down on the meat that I added to my sandwich and upped the salad content because I do not eat very much meat, so five slices of Gyros meat was too much for me.

Remember: Aldi has this weekly special starting officially 3/28/12, but you may already find it in the stores. The Aldi in Durham, NC has the kits already available in the weekly specials freezer section.