Homemade Greek Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce
A "wicked easy" recipe for making gyro meat at home! Garlicky, oniony, herbed beef and lamb meatloaf that is not only easy to make but tastes as good if not better than your favorite take-out places!
Equipment
- 1 Medium bowl
- 1 Loaf Pan
- 1 Food Processor
- 1 saute pan
- 1 Kitchen Tongs
Ingredients
Gyro Meatloaf
- ½ each Medium Onion, chopped
- 1 lb. Ground Beef
- 1 lb. Ground Lamb
- 3 tsp Minced Garlic
- ½ cup Milk
- ⅓ cup Breadcrumbs
- 1½ tsp Fresh Oregano, chopped
- 1½ tsp Fresh Thyme, chopped
- 1 tsp Fennel Seeds, ground
- ¼ tsp Ground Coriander
- 1 each Large Egg
- To Taste Salt & Pepper
Gyro Sandwich
- 2 cups Shredded Lettuce
- 1 cup Chopped Tomatoes
- 1 cup Diced Red Onion
- 4 oz Pitted and Sliced Kalamata Olives
- 4 tbsp Greek Dressing or Vinaigrette - store bought or homemade. (Click here for my recipe - Lemon Vinaigrette)
- 4 oz Crumbled Feta Cheese
- 1 tsp Olive Oil
- 6 each Pita Bread
- 1 cup Tzatziki Sauce - homemade or store bought. (Click here for my recipe - Tzatziki Sauce)
Instructions
Gyro Meatloaf
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the chopped onion, beef, lamb, minced garlic, milk, breadcrumbs, oregano, thyme, fennel, coriander, egg and some of the salt and pepper and then mix together.
- Transfer the meatloaf mixture to a food processor and process it to the consistency of a paste. Add a little cold water as needed to get the right consistency.
- Fry up a small test batch and taste for salt, pepper and other seasonings. Adjust the seasonings as needed.
- Transfer the pureed meatloaf mixture from the food processor to a greased loaf pan and pack it down tightly into the sides of the pan, making sure there are no cracks or air pockets. Bake until cooked through with an internal temperature of 155*F or higher, about 45 minutes to an hour depending on your oven.
- When done, remove from the oven and drain off any fat. Place the loaf pan on a cooling rack, cover the top with a piece of aluminum foil and then weigh down with something heavy. You can use full soup or vegetable cans or wrap a brick with aluminum foil and use that. Allowing something heavy to sit on the loaf while it is still hot will make it compact and dense which will help is stay together for slicing. Allow it to rest like this for 20 to 30 minutes. After resting, remove the weights, pour off any accumulated grease, and run a knife around the edges of the loaf as needed. Then gently remove the loaf from the pan. The meat can then be sliced at that time if needed, however I prefer to wrap tightly with plastic wrap and then chill for several hours or overnight in the refrigerator to allow them to fully cool and firm up for easier slicing.
Gyro Sandwich Assembly
- Toss the lettuce, tomatoes, red onions and olive in a bowl with a couple of tablespoons of your choice of vinaigrette or Greek dressing (the homemade lemon vinaigrette recipe on this site would go great!)
- Unwrap the gyro loaf and use a sharp knife to cut long strips from it no thicker than 1/4 inch. Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. Briefly warm up the pita breads in the pan just long enough to get each side hot, but not crispy. In the same pan, sear a few slices of the gyro meat per sandwich on both sides to get them brown and crispy, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
- Spread a heaping tablespoon of tzatziki sauce onto each pita (see Tzatziki Sauce recipe on this site). Top with a few slices of seared gyro meatloaf and then some of the salad. Sprinkle feta cheese on top and then roll the pitas up tightly and serve. To store briefly, they can be wrapped in aluminum foil and secured with a toothpick.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!