Gyro meat is one of the greatest culinary inventions andno matter how you pronounce, “Gyro” (Yee-ro, Jai-ro, Gee-ro), we’re all pretty much just saying the word, “Delicious.”While the real deal traditional stuff comprised of actualcuts of spiced meat rotating on a vertical rotisserie spit is awesome, it’s the over-processed Greek-American stuff that I’m talking about.
This commercially made ground meat comes formed into a huge cone is placed on a vertical spit where it slowly spins and crisps up on the outside. Then some lucky person gets to carve strips off revealing the less cooked interior before the whole process begins again.
I used to love doing this as a kid working church festivals. I can tell you from experience that a few of those freshly cut strips never made it to the customers, but instead found a home inside my distended Gyro-filled belly.
This glorious conical-shaped rotisserie meat is the stuff of Greek and Middle Eastern church festival legend. Many patrons of the festivals vie for position to get in the long lines just for a taste of this almost comical, yet perfectly proven way of preparing meat. The problem is that unless you find a pizza shop that also sells gyro strips (good, but not the same as the freshly sliced Gyro), most of us have to settle for having this treat only when a festival is upon us.
Not one to easily accept my lot in life, I searched for a way to replicate Gyros at home. After agonizing over the endlessrecipes online, I narrowed it down to two that seemed to have the most community support. The first is from the brilliant,J. Kenji López-Alt of Serious Eats fame, and the second is from the entertainment food guru, Alton Brown. I tried both recipes and followed the instructions exactly. My personal feeling is that each recipe had its strong points, but neither one completely nailed it.
Mr. López-Alt’s recipe had the correct spices and a really excellent simulation to the correct texture, but didn’t quite get the spice amounts correct. He also used bacon, which I personally feel completely changed the flavor in a way that is still delicious, but no longer true to the Gyro.
Mr. Brown’s recipe gets intricate with the use of a brick to compact the meat while cooking, but this alone doesn’t really perfect the texture and you still lose a ton of moisture by cooking in a loaf pan. While the ratio of spices to meat were probably more in the ballpark here for Alton Brown’s recipe, the spices themselves seemed completely wrong. In particular, the overwhelming use of rosemary seemed to just overrun the flavor profile. I don’t even really think there’s much rosemary in gyro meat at all, if any!
I decided to take what I learned and create my own recipe that is currently the closest I have come to nailing homemade Gyros. I use J. Kenji López-Alt’s technique for texture and flavor while utilizing Alton Brown’s heavier hand for the spices.
Unlike, the Serious Eats recipe, I do not use bacon. Instead, I recommend regular pork belly, which is not smoked, or very fresh pork fat trimmings from your butcher. This adds more fat without adding an unfamiliar flavor to the meat.
One last thing to note is that my research revealed that the commercial Gyros are full of fillers like breadcrumbs, soy, and msg. Yes, that makes them addictively mouth watering, but that also makes this recipe richer in terms of real ingredients.
In terms of assembly, if you don’t put the gyro meat into a sandwich with tzatziki sauce, then you’re missing out. I highly recommend taking the extra steps and making tzatziki cucumber yogurt sauce to accompany the meat as well as pita bread, tomatoes, and onions.
I’m very pleased with the results and I know I’ll have some delicious meals ahead with this recipe. So without further ado, here is my painstakingly researched recipe for Homemade Greek American Gyros!
Makes about 26 Gyro Strips at 46 calories per strip or 1185 calories total. (or 55 calories per strip with the added pork belly or pork fat for1426 calories total)
1 pound of fresh, good quality, 80/20 ground chuck beef (1160 calories)
Note: You can also use 1/2 pound ground beef and 1/2 pound ground lamb!
1/2 tablespoon of kosher salt (a little less if using regular table salt)
Note: A few people have commented that the original amount of 1 Tbs of salt was a bit too salty. I do think that kosher vs table salt makes a difference. However, try it with 1/2 a tablespoon and if you need more you can always salt later.
1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 sweet or yellow onion roughly chopped (20 calories)
2 cloves of peeled and roughly chopped garlic (5 calories)
Optional: 3 oz. of pork belly or fresh pork fat only if using a leaner ground beef (441 calories)
Note: You don’t have to do this, but it does add to the consistency one expects from Greek-American Gyros. Don’t use bacon, however, because that will just make everything smoky and distract from the gyro flavor. If you use pork fat/trimmings, make sure it is very fresh from the butcher or it won’t taste good.
Optional: Onions, tomatoes, and pita bread to make sandwiches.
Optional, but kind of not optional: Tzatziki or Cucumber Yogurt Sauce – Click for the Recipe!
Equipment
Large mixing bowl
Teaspoon and tablespoon measurements
Food processor
Large sharp knife
Baking sheet or tray
Aluminum foil
Meat thermometer
Cutting board
Directions
Combine the ground beef (or mix of ground beef and lamb) with the tablespoon of kosher salt, 2/3 teaspoon of ground black pepper, and the 3/4 teaspoon of dried oregano flakes. Salting the meat now helps to trap the meat’s natural flavors and juices inside. You’ll see later how compared to making a meatloaf in a load pan, that you lost almost no moisture from the meat!
Using your hands (feel free to wear latex gloves) mix the meat and the spices together. Unlike when making meatballs or burgers, feel free to mash the meat to really mix everything together really well. Form it into a tight ball, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (very important to achieve the correct consistency!) or over night. Refrigerating the meat with the salt helps to tighten the proteins in the meat to lock in those flavors.
After at least an hour and you are ready to start making the gyro, pre-heat the oven to 300 – 325 degrees F.
Roughly chop half of an onion. Save the other half for topping the gyro later.
Peel and roughly chop two garlic cloves.
Combine the onions and garlic in the food processor and blend until the onions are thoroughly pureed.
Add in the cold ground beef (do not let it get to room temperature) and optional pork belly or pork fat if you’re using it to the food processor. Blend everything together very well. You will need to scrape down the sides of the food processor using a spoon as needed and blend the meat again. Admittedly, the result of this mixture will look pretty gross, so don’t get discouraged! You want the meat to end up looking like a thick paste without any visible unblended pieces. This is all part of getting that processed texture of Greek-American Gyros!
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and dump the meat out onto it. Form the gyro meat into a rectangular loaf that is about 1.5 to 2 inches thick (Maybe 10 x 5 x 1.5). Make sure it is uniformly flat all around with a very slight indentation in the middle of the loaf. This will help keep the loaf from bunching up towards the middle when it cooks.
Stick a meat thermometer into the loaf from the side so that it can get the temperature near the middle of the meat.
Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the thermometer reads 155 – 160 degrees F internal temperature for the meat. While you wait, slice up some of the onion and tomato into thin slices so you can top the gyro meat later when you eat. You can also take this time to mix up your tzatziki cucumber yogurt sauce.
When the gyro is ready, remove it from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes at least before slicing. I think you’ll be impressed with how little liquid escapes from the meat.
Place the gyro on a cutting board and with a long sharp knife start to slice it into thin strips along the short side of the loaf.
You can eat the meat just like that, but there’s still something missing. One of the best parts about gyro sliced off a vertical rotisserie is that crispy bit on the outside that contrasts the tender inside. We can replicate this part by broiling or grilling the strips on one side. To broil them, just lay them out on the baking sheet and set the broiler on high.Place the meat on the middle rack in the oven and broil on high for 2 or 3 minutes until you get a deeper brown color on top. If you grill them, just put the strips on high heat for a couple of minutes on one side and remove when they get some nice crispy color. You can also pan fry them on one side, a few at a time, in a non-stick pan over the stove.
Now the meat is ready to eat! Make a sandwich using pita bread (you can use the traditional Greek pita, which is hand pulled and has no pocket, or a Middle Eastern style pita that you can then roll up the gryo with). Lay down 3 or 4 strips of gyro meat on the pita, top it with tomatoes, thin sliced sweet onions, and tzatziki sauce. Then fold and eat!
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Combine onions, lamb, beef, garlic, oregano, cumin, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, pepper, and salt in a large bowl. Mix with your hands until well combined. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours to allow the flavors to blend. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
In this traditional kebab dish, the lamb is seasoned, pressed into a cylinder, and continuously rotated until fully cooked. When the lamb is too lean, layers of fat are sometimes added. Lamb is the most common and traditional meat used in Gyros.
Beef flank steak: While traditional gyros are made with lamb, beef is a wonderful, crowd-pleasing alternative. Flank steak is widely available and budget-friendly. If desired, swap in skirt steak, hanger steak, or flat iron steak.
One of the main concerns about gyro meat is its relatively high fat content, especially when made with lamb or a combination of lamb and beef. Saturated fat, in particular, increases LDL cholesterol levels and elevates the risk of heart disease. However, this issue can be mitigated by choosing leaner meat options.
Arby's Traditional Greek Gyro features a blend of beef, lamb and Mediterranean spices sliced from a spit rotisserie and placed on a warm flatbread with lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, tzatziki sauce and Greek seasoning.
Gyros get their distinctive taste not only from the slowly roasted meat but also from traditional Mediterranean seasonings. The meat is generously spiced with dried oregano, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, garlic, and black pepper before cooking. These herbs and savory spices infuse the meat with aroma and Greek character.
Following World War II, Gyros made with lamb (called as döner kebab by some restaurants) was present in Athens. It was likely introduced by immigrants from Anatolia and the Middle East. The Greek version is normally made with pork and served with tzatziki, and became known as gyros.
The result is dry, grainy, and all-around unpleasant. Finally, just like a solid piece of meat, the hotter you cook sausage, the more moisture it will expel. So for optimum juiciness, it's best to cook the gyro meat at a relatively low-temperature (say 300°F/149°C), and just until it reaches 165°F (74°C) internally.
Traditionally cooked on a vertical rotisserie, gyro meat is a juicy, extremely flavorful cone-of-meat (usually lamb, or lamb and beef) that's seasoned with salt, herbs and spices and then sliced to order.
Tzatziki is a creamy cucumber yogurt dip (or sauce) made from simple ingredients including strained yogurt (or Greek yogurt), cucumbers, garlic, and sometimes fresh herbs such as dill or mint. Traditionally, it is made from strained sheep or goat's milk yogurt, but a full-fat Greek yogurt works just fine in this dip.
Many times the gyro meat that is sold at the supermarket and even at your favorite Greek spot is more of a mystery meat than actual meat. It's loaded with binders and fillers and MSG.
The protein in gyro meat is known to keep you full longer, so you will be less likely to snack in between meals. As well as this, the high protein content in gyro meat can help to boost your metabolism, which can help to burn fat more efficiently.
Typical gyro meat contains a lot of protein, carrying around 25 grams of it in a serving. Gyros are a healthy option because they can make you feel full even when you consume a small amount. Plus, so many vitamins and minerals make gyro meat a healthy dish that is capable of maintaining the body's energy.
The roast turkey gyro has 470 calories, 20g fat, 4g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 1,530mg sodium, 48g carbohydrate, 5g sugar, and 25g protein. This is on the Market Fresh menu, which promotes more options with veggies—like the lettuce, tomato, and onion on this gyro, but it is still very high in sodium.
Some people may question whether or not gyro meat is processed, but you can rest assured that it contains no artificial substances and is prepared with natural spices.
The Kronos website indicates that the classic Greek-American gyro meat is made with a mixture of 85% beef and 15% lamb. I don't know about you, but I prefer to keep my shopping list as minimal as possible. Since I love lamb, I saw no reason not to make my own gyros out of 100% lamb meat.
Pork – Rolled boneless shoulder of pork (skin on) is a great cut of meat for homemade gyros. There's usually some marbling of fat in this cut – that will add flavour and tenderness to the meat, and that fatty skin will protect the meat from drying out during slow-cooking.
Introduction: My name is Rueben Jacobs, I am a cooperative, beautiful, kind, comfortable, glamorous, open, magnificent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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