Lamb Gyro Recipe Authentic Recipes

LAMB GYRO RECIPE

Steps:

• Toast the pitas in a toaster or oven until heated (or use cold bread).
• Slice toppings and prepare tzatziki sauce.
• Cut the gyro meat into thin strands. In a skillet, brown the gyro meat with oil.
• Add meat to pita bread and top with desired toppings.

LAMB GYRO WITH TZATZIKI SAUCE AND SPICY SOUR CREAM SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, toss the cubed lamb with the garlic, thyme, oregano, rosemary, and lemon juice. Coat the lamb completely. Let the lamb marinate for 30 minutes.
• Heat a large, deep skillet over high heat and drizzle in the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season the lamb with 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add the lamb to the skillet and cook until browned on all sides and cooked to medium-rare, about 4 minutes on each side.
• Heat the pita bread in a dry pan or in the microwave for just a few seconds until warm and pliable. On each piece of bread, lay a few pieces of lamb, some tomato slices, lettuce, feta and a spoonful of each sauce. Transfer to a serving platter, fold and enjoy!
• To make Tzatziki sauce:
• In a small bowl, combine the cucumber, mint, dill, lemon zest, and yogurt. Season with salt, to taste, and serve with the gyros.
• Yield: about 2 cups
• To make Spicy Sour Cream Sauce:
• In a small bowl, whisk the sour cream, lemon, and sriracha sauce together until completely blended. Season the sauce with salt, to taste, and serve with the gyros.
• Yield: about 1 cup

TRADITIONAL GYRO MEAT

Steps:

• Place the onion in a food processor, and process until finely chopped. Scoop the onions onto the center of a towel, gather up the ends of the towel, and squeeze out the liquid from the onions. Place the onions into a mixing bowl along with the lamb and beef. Season with the garlic, oregano, cumin, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, black pepper, and salt. Mix well with your hands until well combined. Cover, and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours to allow the flavors to blend.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Place the meat mixture into the food processor, and pulse for about a minute until finely chopped and the mixture feels tacky. Pack the meat mixture into a 7x4 inch loaf pan, making sure there are no air pockets. Line a roasting pan with a damp kitchen towel. Place the loaf pan on the towel, inside the roasting pan, and place into the preheated oven. Fill the roasting pan with boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the loaf pan.
• Bake until the gyro meat is no longer pink in the center, and the internal temperature registers 165 degrees F (75 degrees C) on a meat thermometer, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Pour off any accumulated fat, and allow to cool slightly before slicing thinly and serving.

TRADITIONAL GYROS

Steps:

• Place onion in a food processor and blend until finely chopped. Transfer onion to a piece of cheese cloth and squeeze out the liquid. Place onion in a large bowl.
• Mix lamb, beef, garlic, oregano, cumin, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, black pepper, and salt with the onion using your hands until well mixed. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until flavors blend, about 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Place meat mixture in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped and tacky, about 1 minute. Pack meat mixture into a 7x4-inch loaf pan, ensuring there are no air pockets. Place loaf pan into a roasting pan and pour enough boiling water around the loaf pan to reach halfway up the sides.
• Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, 45 to 60 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Pour off any accumulated fat and cool slightly.
• Thinly slice the gyro meat mixture.
• Spread 1 tablespoon hummus onto each pita bread; top each with gyro meat mixture, lettuce, tomato, red onion, feta cheese, and tzatziki sauce.

CLASSIC SPICED LAMB GYRO

Steps:

• Begin by preparing the tzatziki. In a small bowl, mix the greek yogurt with the finely chopped cucumber, onion, the mint and dill, the lemon juice, and salt and pepper. It's best if you let this sauce sit for a bit before you dig in, but if you're in a time crunch, just go ahead and use it. It will still be good.
• Next, prepare the meat. I like mine to get a little crispy so to do this, I just let it brown in a nonstick pan over medium heat for a few minutes until it starts to crisp up.
• Once the meat is ready, toast your pita until it is soft and pliable.
• Add half of the tzatziki to the bottom of the pita and then top it with fresh spinach, the gyro meat, the chopped tomato, the chopped onion, the rest of the tzatziki, and the diced red onion.
• Fold the gyro in half and gently wrap the bottom half with wax paper. Serve immediately.

EASY LAMB GYROS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Spray a large loaf pan with cooking spray.
• Combine lamb, Greek seasoning, and egg in a bowl. Mix until ingredients are very well combined (overmixing is preferable here.) Firmly press mixture into the prepared loaf pan, making sure there are no air pockets under the meat. Cover with foil.
• Cook in the preheated oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C), about 2 hours.
• Remove from the oven and let rest, covered, until all the grease on top is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Remove meat from the pan and cut into thin slices.
• Load meat into the center of warmed pitas. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, onion, and tzatziki sauce. Serve immediately.

GYROS - AN AUTHENTIC RECIPE FOR MAKING THEM AT HOME

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and mix well.
• Knead the mixture on the counter for 10 minutes - just like you're kneading bread. You may want to use a dough-scraper to help keep the counter clean. (I do). Pick that meat up and SLAM it into the counter, continuing to do so for the 10 minutes. This is key to getting the correct texture. I'm no Alton Brown, but I think the thing we're doing here is melting the fat so that we get a nice smooth texture in the end.
• Form into a flat loaf - I like to put the meat onto a piece of wax paper, and flattening it into a 3" high slab rectangle. I cover it with another piece of wax and use a rolling pin to flatten it out, just make sure you straighten out the edges to form a rectangle so that when it comes time to slice, they are nice and even.
• Bake the loaf on a broiler pan (or pan with raised edges, because it will leak grease!) at 350 for about an hour. Alternatively, you can grill it over coals, that's my favorite way, just be sure to turn often so as to distribute the juices.
• Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing thin.

LAMB GYROS

Steps:

• Heat olive oil over medium high heat; add onions and garlic and saute for five minutes. Add red pepper flakes. Add lamb and cook until there is no pink left.
• In a small bowl, combine the parmesan cheese, oregano, cumin, and pepper. Mix, and add to lamb, stirring well to evenly coat the lamb.
• Cook for five minutes, then add the sliced mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes. Cook until fully heated.
• Serve on flatbread or pita bread: sprinkle feta cheese and olives to taste (about one ounce of each), add the lamb mixture. Add a cucumber sauce if you like, and serve.