Home Made Gyros

This post is dedicated to making Gyros. If you don't know what a gyro is, Google it. It's one of the best sandwiches/meals I can think of, definitely a personal favorite.

So, this is going to be a really long blog post because we made everything by hand. At some point, Brendan is going to cross post his recipe for pita bread, which he made specifically for this meal. To start with, here's how to make Gyro meat:

To give credit where credit is due, I got this recipe from Alton Brown's show Good Eats, specifically Season 8, Episode 20.

Gyro Meat Step 1: Ingredients

2 lbs of ground lamb
1 tablespoon of marjoram
1 tablespoon of rosemary
2 teaspoons of kosher salt
9" x 5" loaf pan

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

Gyro Meat Step 2: Mix it

Now, if you have a food processor capable of it (I do not, much to my chagrin), you want to mix all of the ingredients together until they're a fine paste. Since I don't have a food mixer that could handle the meat, I kneaded it all together by hand until it looks like this:

Gyro Meat Step 3: Plastic Wrap and Workspace

Suddenly become a Hindu deity and sprout multiple arms so you can manage to lay down two pieces of plastic wrap overlapping by approximately and inch and a half to two inches side by side.

Gyro Meat Step 4: Roll the meat

Shape the meat in to something of a log and place it at the edge of the plastic wrap closest to you. Fold the plastic wrap over the meat, then tug it back towards you to pull it tight, then continue to roll the meat up. When the meat is rolled up, twist the ends to "seal" it like so:

Place it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

Now, let me take a moment to specifically state that this recipe would be much, much better if you had a rotisserie or a propane grill that you could add a rotisserie attachment on. Unfortunately, I don't have either, so here's the oven version of the recipe.

Gyro Meat Step 5: Dishception

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Put the meat in your 9" x 5" loaf pan. Put 1" of water in a larger baking dish, then place the loaf pan in the middle of that dish. This is an important step because it will keep the meat from drying out.

Bake for approximately 60 - 75 minutes or until the meat reads 165 degrees. While your meat is cooking, make Tzaziki!

Now, unlike the Gyro Meat recipe, this recipe is one I discovered on my own through trial and error a few years ago.

Tzaziki
Ingredients:
Cucumber
Greek Gods Greek Yogurt
Garlic Powder
Salt

Step 1: Peel a cucumber

Peel a cucumber and cut it in half length wise.

Step 2: De-seed the Cucumber

Use a spoon and scoop the seeds out of the cucumber.

Step 3: Mince the Cucumber

Finely mince the cucumber.

Step 4: Yogurt!

Man, this is the second time I've mentioned Greek Gods yogurt. I feel like I should be getting a product placement deal... but, honestly, the only reason I keep mentioning it is because it really is just that good.

Step 5: Mix the cucumber and yogurt

 

With a spoon, mix together the yogurt and cucumber.

Step 6: Garlic

Now, you can use minced garlic, sliced garlic, powdered garlic, whatever you like. I like using powdered garlic and I like giving it a pretty fine dusting, as shown above. Also, sprinkle in about half a teaspoons of salt and then mix it all together with a spoon until it looks like so:

Cover it and place it in the refrigerator until it's time to eat. Resist the temptation to eat it with a spoon. Now, back to the meat!

Gyro Meat Step 6: Yes, that's a brick

When your meat reaches temperature, place a foil wrapped brick or other heavy object on top of it. This will help condense the meat and make it a bit tighter, the texture a little better. Let it rest like this for about 15 minutes.

Step 7: Carve the Meat

Slice thin strips off of the outside edges of the meat and use those for your first sandwiches, then slice the rest of the "loaf" in to thin strips.

Assembling a Gyro:

Here we have gyro meat, romaine lettuce, tzaziki and pita bread. Some people like to add tomatoes and onion, some people don't. Make it however you like!

and here's the final product (yes, I really do like tzaziki that much):