Tender beef and pork skewers wrapped in a warm pita, topped with fresh veggies and a tangy Greek yogurt sauce – this healthy Mediterranean inspired recipe is sure to become your new favorite lunch or dinner meal!
Tips for the Perfect Skewers
- The skewers in this recipe are made by combining both ground beef and ground pork. I have found that this combination results in immense flavor and juiciness. You can use just one type of meat, but in this case I suggest using at least 80 percent lean meat and 20 percent fat to avoid the meat becoming dry and tough.
- Do not add a large amount of meat mixture to the skewers; they will take longer to bake in the oven.
- Add an egg to your meat mixture. It acts as a great binder. As a rule of thumb, use one egg per pound of ground meat.
Ingredients
Beef and Pork Skewers
- 1/2 lb ground beef (93/7)
- 1/2 lb ground pork (80/20)
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup yellow onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed
- 1-1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
Mint & Cilantro Yogurt Sauce
- 3 tablespoons of Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons of fresh mint, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons of fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt (or to taste)
Fresh veggies
- 1 cup of English cucumber, diced
- 1 cup of tomatoes, diced
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Salt/pepper to taste
- Optional: pickled red onions
Other
- Greek-style pitas (pocketless)
- Bamboo skewers
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375F.
- Combine all the ingredients for the skewers. Mix well.
- Wrap some meat mixture around your bamboo skewers (wooden sticks). Remember: not too thick. See image above.
- Place them on your baking sheet (preferably one with a rack) and bake for 25 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat is 145F.
- In the meantime, whisk all the ingredients for the yogurt sauce together, adjust to your taste if necessary. Set aside.
- Dice your cucumbers and tomatoes and mix with the remaining ingredients. Set aside.
- To heat up your pitas, place them in the oven for 3 minutes or warm them up in a skillet on the stove over medium heat (1-2 minutes each side).
- Assemble your pita wrap however you desire and take a bit of that deliciousness!
You can customize this dish however you want. I added pickled red onions but these should ideally be made one day in advance. Perhaps you can add some olives, feta cheese or arugula. If you’d like the “recipe” (it’s so easy I don’t even want to call it a recipe) for the pickled red onions that I added to my pita wrap, send me a message on Instagram and I’ll send it over or simply post it on my blog.
