Gyros at Home

 It's a good feeling when you try a new recipe, take one bite and know it's one that will enter into your regular menu rotation.  You've made a treasure hunt through old cookbooks, magazines or the internet and found some nugget of yumminess.  I had that experience today; I finally found a good recipe for Gyro meat to slip inside a pita with lettuce, tomatoes, onion, cucumbers and feta cheese,  slathered with tzatziki sauce. Restaurants cook their Gyro on a vertical rotisserie-type spit, slicing off thin slabs to make a customer's order. Since I don't have a rotisserie cooker as called for in the original recipe write-up, I used the method of shaping the mixture into a meatloaf.  That worked just fine! When its done slice the meat thinly; somehow that brings out more flavor.

This recipe was originally found at https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/gyro-meat-with-tzatziki-sauce-recipe-2047710          I have changed the spices as noted to add the flavors that are, in my experience, more well rounded and authentic.  My opinion: the rosemary and thyme (my two least favorite spices)  quickly overwhelm this dish, so I will use them sparingly next time.

(And go get the 5-minute bread recipe from earlier in this blog & make your pita breads.  Nice & fresh!)

GYROS

1 medium onion, finely chopped or shredded

2 pounds ground lamb  (I used Meatloaf Mix from our local grocery store.  It's a combination of ground beef, ground pork and ground veal.  I suspect ground chicken or turkey would also work, but I haven't tried that yet)

1 tablespoon finely minced garlic

1 tablespoon dried marjoram

1 tablespoon dried ground rosemary    (I used 1/2 tbl dried ground rosemary)

(I added 1 tbl each Italian Oregano,  Coarse ground cumin and dried thyme)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Tzatziki Sauce:

16 ounces plain yogurt

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped

Pinch kosher salt

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

5 to 6 mint leaves, finely minced

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. (Lois' note: No, don't throw it away!  Freeze it to be added to soup or sauce some day!)

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.  (Lois' note: I was surprised, but 1 minute of processing or less is really all that was needed.More would make it like baby food paste)

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.   (Mine was done in 30 minutes)   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 (I used a loaf pan filled with water)  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.

(The loaf pan in the oven method works so perfectly well; I see no reason to use these other methods.  But that's just me.)

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.

Tzatziki Sauce:

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