Easy Homemade Gyro Meat Recipes

GYRO MEAT RECIPE

Steps:

• To a medium bowl add lamb, salt, pepper, oregano and cumin. Mix with your hands until thoroughly combined. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 300˚F.
• Add onion and garlic to the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times to mince; scrape down sides with a rubber spatula. Add lamb mixture and bacon pieces; process to a smooth puree, scraping down sides as necessary.
• Line a baking sheet with foil. Transfer meat mixture to center. Wet hands and form meat into a rectangle, approximately 8-inches long, 5-inches wide and 1 1/2-inches high.
• Bake 30 to 35 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 155˚F. Remove from oven and let stand 15 minutes before slicing.
• Adjust oven rack to highest position and preheat broiler. Line baking sheet with foil.
• Transfer loaf to a cutting board and carefully slice crosswise into 1/8-inch thick slices. Arrange slices on prepared baking sheet, leaving a little room between each one. Broil 2 minutes, until slices are hot and edges are crispy. Remove from oven and tent with foil.
• Serving Suggestion: Warm pita bread and spread with a thick layer of tzatziki sauce, pile on gyro meat slices and top with thinly sliced onion and chopped tomato.

GYRO MEAT RECIPE

Steps:

• Place onions, garlic into a large food processor and process until finely chopped but not liquefied.
• Add meat and all the seasonings and grind for another 3-5 minutes. Do not skip this step. If you do, it will be like ground beef with some weird seasonings in it. Grind it until it's a big, huge, sticky mess that you wonder how you will ever clean up.
• Since writing this recipe I've discovered a faster way to do this, which is to use your stand mixer with the paddle. Paddle the living daylights out of the meat with the spices until it's a sticky mess. This is a lot easier to clean up than a blender, and the end result is the same. So use whatever you have that works for you.
• Put into a foil pan, and smooth out the top, and bake at 350 for 60 mins, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 175-180
• Take it out of the oven and drain all the fat.
• Cover it with foil and then place something heavy on it to compress it. I put a cast iron skillet on top and then carefully placed 3 cans of beans on top of the skillet to compress it.
• Let it rest for 30 mins and then slice into thin slices.
• Gyros!

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.

BEEF GYRO

Steps:

• Blend yogurt, cucumbers, 2 tablespoons olive oil, dill, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper in a blender until tzatziki sauce is evenly combined.
• Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir beef in the hot oil until no longer pink, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Layer half of each pita with steak, tomato, onion, feta cheese, lettuce, olives, and tzatziki sauce. Bring edge of each pita over the filling and secure with a toothpick.

GROUND BEEF GYROS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients. Chill. In a large bowl, combine seasonings; crumble beef over mixture and mix lightly but thoroughly. Shape into 4 patties. , Grill, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 6-7 minutes on each side or until a thermometer reads 160°. Cut patties into thin slices; stuff into pita halves. Add lettuce, tomato and onion. Serve with the yogurt sauce.

EASY HOMEMADE BEEF GYROS

Steps:

• 1. In medium-sized bowl, mix tzatziki sauce ingredients, cover and chill. In large bowl, mix with hands well, the beef (or beef and sausage) mixture til well combined. Shape into 32 patties, 2" in diameter. Place onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet(s). Bake in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or til no longer pink in center. *Or you can grill these on the grill if preferred! Also very good! Grill or warm pita breads and top with patties. Top with tzatziki sauce and toppings of choice!

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.

EASY CHICKEN GYRO

Steps:

• Place Greek yogurt, cucumber, dill weed, 2 cloves garlic, white vinegar, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, and black pepper in a blender. Blend until smooth; set aside.
• Whisk together 4 cloves minced garlic, juice of 1 lemon, red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and oregano in a large glass or ceramic bowl. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
• Stir in chicken strips and toss to evenly coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven's broiler and set the oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source.
• Remove chicken from the marinade and shake off excess. Discard the remaining marinade. Place chicken on a large baking sheet.
• Broil the chicken in the preheated oven until lightly browned and no longer pink in the center, 2 to 4 minutes per side.
• Transfer cooked chicken to a plate and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
• Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; place each pita bread into the skillet until warm and soft, about 2 minutes per pita.
• Serve warmed pita bread topped with chicken strips, yogurt sauce, tomatoes, onion, and lettuce.