I wish I could take credit for this recipe because, OMG, it’s so good, but it comes from Alton Brown (minus the tzatziki recipe). I’m a huge fan of gyros, and this is as close to the real thing you can get by making them at home. The recipe is a little time-consuming, so plan ahead and make sure you give yourself enough time — it’s so worth the effort.
Lamb Gyros
2015-03-23 15:34:19
Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
1 hr 15 min
For the Meat
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon dried marjoram
- 1 tablespoon dried ground rosemary
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the Tzatziki
- 16 oz. plain Greek yogurt
- 1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and grated on a box grater (put in a colander for about 30 minutes to drain extra liquid from cucumber or squeeze with hands)
- 1 clove of garlic, finely grated or mashed to a paste
- Half of a small white onion, finely chopped
- Juice from half of a lemon
- 1 teaspoon of dried dill
- Salt and pepper, to taste
For Serving
- Tzatziki
- Shredded lettuce
- Thinly sliced onion
- Chopped tomato
For the Tzatziki
- Mix together all of the ingredients.
- Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.
For the Meat
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- In a food processor, pulse the onion several times. Scrape them into a tea towel and gently squeeze out and discard as much liquid as possible.
- *Return the onion to the food processor and add the remaining ingredients. Turn on and process until the ingredients have combined into a paste-like mix, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Scrape mixture into a loaf pan, and gently press evenly into the pan.
- Place the loaf pan in a water bath (set it in a 9x13-inch cake pan and add about 2 inches of water to the cake pan), and bake for 60-75 minutes, until the meat mixture reaches 160 to 175 degrees.
- Remove the loaf pan from the oven, and gently pour off any grease.
- Place on a cooling rack.
- Wrap a brick with foil, and place it directly on top of the meat for about 15-20 minutes to compress the loaf and allow it to continue cooking. If you don't have a brick, remove the meat from the loaf pan, wrap it in aluminum foil, and set a heavy cast iron pan on top of it.
- Cut the meat into thin slices.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, and add the slices of lamb. Brown on both sides (about 3 minutes per side).
- Serve in a warmed pita with lettuce, tomato, onion, and tzatziki.
Notes
- *If your food processor isn't large enough for all of the ingredients at one time, divide them all in half and work in two batches.
- *To freeze: Allow loaf of meat to cool completely. Cut in half, wrap each with foil, and place in a resealable bag. Defrost before slicing and browning in pan to serve.
Adapted from Alton Brown
Adapted from Alton Brown
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