Traditional Gyro Meat Recipe 45

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 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.

TRADITIONAL GYRO MEAT RECIPE - (4/5)

Steps:

• 1. Place the onions in the food processor, and process untl finely chopped. Squeeze out the liquid from the onions, and place in bowl with beef and lamb. Season with garlic, oregano,cumin,marjoram,rosemary,thyme,black pepper & salt. Mix well with your hands, and allow to rest to let the flavors develop. 2. Preheat oven to 325°. 3.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. 4.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. You can also substitute ground chicken,turkey or pork for the lamb.

GYRO MEAT WITH TZATZIKI SAUCE

Steps:

• Process the onion in a food processor for 10 to 15 seconds and turn out into the center of a tea towel. Gather up the ends of the towel and squeeze until almost all of the juice is removed. Discard juice.
• Return the onion to the food processor and add the lamb, garlic, marjoram, rosemary, salt, and pepper and process until it is a fine paste, approximately 1 minute. Stop the processor as needed to scrape down sides of bowl.
• To cook in the oven as a meatloaf, proceed as follows:
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place the mixture into a loaf pan, making sure to press into the sides of the pan. Place the loaf pan into a water bath and bake for 60 to 75 minutes or until the mixture reaches 165 to 170 degrees F. Remove from the oven and drain off any fat. Place the loaf pan on a cooling rack and place a brick wrapped in aluminum foil directly on the surface of the meat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees F. Slice and serve on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, chopped onion, tomatoes and feta cheese.
• To cook on a rotisserie, proceed as follows:
• Form the meat mixture into a loaf shape and place on top of 2 overlapping pieces of plastic wrap that are at least 18 inches long. Roll the mixture in the plastic wrap tightly, making sure to remove any air pockets. Once the meat is completely rolled in the wrap, twist the ends of the plastic wrap until the surface of the wrap is tight. Store in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to overnight, to allow the mixture to firm up.
• Preheat the grill to high.
• Place the meat onto the rotisserie skewer. Place a double-thick piece of aluminum foil folded into a tray directly under the meat to catch any drippings. Cook on high for 15 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium and continue to cook for another 20 to 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 165 degrees F. Turn off the heat and allow to continue to spin for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees. Slice and serve on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, chopped onion, tomatoes, and feta cheese.
• Place the yogurt in a tea towel, gather up the edges, suspend over a bowl, and drain for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
• Place the chopped cucumber in a tea towel and squeeze to remove the liquid; discard liquid. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the drained yogurt, cucumber, salt, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and mint. Serve as a sauce for gyros. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.
• Yield: 1 1/2 cups

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.