Greek Lamb Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce
Yesterday, I told you all about the amazing gyros that my husband and I used to get when he was living outside of D.C. Since he moved back two years ago, we have been in a serious gyro drought. Thank the gyro gods that the house we bought is located only about five minutes from a fabulous gyro joint here in Pittsburgh.
In the meantime, however, I’ve been dreaming about making gyros at home. Gyros are one of those things that just seem… impossible to make at home, right? Sort of like pop-tarts. As I’ve come to learn, however, nothing is impossible in the kitchen.
These gyros are proof in the pudding… they were not very difficult to make, and are every bit as good (better, even) than our favorites from Greek and Middle Eastern take out joints.
While traditional gyro meat is cooked on a vertical spit and then shaved off, that’s not exactly practical in a home kitchen. In order to get those thin strips of meat cooked to the correct consistency, it’s actually baked twice.
A combination of ground lamb, seasonings, onion, garlic and slab bacon are processed together to form a cohesive mass. The mixture is shaped into a meatloaf, for lack of a better word, and baked at a low temperature. Once given time to sit, very thin strips of meat are sliced off, then laid in a pan and broiled for a couple of minutes.
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I was seriously stunned at how similar this meat tasted to the gyro meat that I have been accustomed to. It has so much flavor and the texture is just perfect.
When serving gyros, you want to look for pocketless pita bread, which can also be referred to as “hand-pulled”. Naan or flatbread can also work in a pinch. Then, pile on the meat, tzatziki sauce, chopped tomatoes and thinly sliced onion. Wrap it all up and then dig in. Don’t forget some extra tzatziki sauce on the side; you can never have enough of that awesomeness.
I love being proven wrong when I think a certain type of food is beyond being made at home. Who am I kidding? Everything can be made at home, and it’s usually better than you can get elsewhere. These gyros are no exception.
Watch the Greek Gyro Recipe Video:
Two years ago: Salted Caramel Cashew Bark
Five years ago: Chicken Pot Pie
Six years ago: Chili-Rice Dinner
Lamb Gyros Recipe
Ingredients
For the Gyro Meat:
- 1 pound (453.59 g) ground lamb
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
- ½ (0.5) yellow onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 clove garlic, sliced
- 3 ounces (85.05 g) slab bacon, or 5 slices sliced bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
To Serve:
- Pocketless pita bread
- Tzatziki Sauce
- Tomato, coarsely chopped
- Yellow onion, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Make the Gyro Meat: In a medium bowl, combine the ground lamb, salt, pepper and oregano leaves with your hands, mixing until all of the seasonings have been evenly distributed. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Place the lamb mixture in the bowl of a food processor and add the onion, garlic and bacon. Process until a smooth puree is formed, 30 seconds to 1 minute, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. With moistened hands, shape the lamb mixture into a rectangle about 8 inches long and 5 inches wide. Bake until the center of the loaf reaches 155 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
- Adjust the oven rack to the highest position (1½ to 2 inches below broiler element) and preheat broiler. Slice the loaf of lamb meat crosswise into very thin pieces (they should be about ⅛-inch thick; no more than ¼-inch thick). Lay the strips on a rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and broil until edges are browned and crispy, 2 to 4 minutes. (I did this in two batches, as I couldn’t fit all of the sliced meat on one baking sheet.) Be sure to keep an eye on it, as the broiler works quickly!
- Serve the Gyros: Warm up the bread either in the microwave (30 seconds), on the stovetop or in the oven. Top each with ¼ cup of tzatziki sauce, chopped tomatoes, sliced onions and gyro meat. Wrap with foil and serve.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
These are delicious! I have made them using 1/2 ground lamb and 1/2 ground beef. I have also noticed ground lamb seems to more available in the Spring around Easter time. So I stock up and freeze it. Ethnic grocery stores also tend carry ground lamb. I agree it can be made with all ground beef, I found I had to increase the seasonings though!
These look pretty awesome!
Why have I never attempted this at home? This looks amazing!!
I love gyros!! I make them all the time :)
Ahh, ohh, but I was also so hoping you would have the recipe for the pocketless pita bread too :)
I know, I’m working on it! :)
YOU make these look easy!!
Ohhhhh! I love gyros! LOVE! Cannot wait to try these at home! Thank you, thank you!!!
I’m going to try this with ground beef first. I live in a small town where ground lamb isn’t easily found in our grocery stores, and to obtain some you would have to drive an hour or so. Thanks for posting though. I love gyros so much and have been craving them for way too long!
These look so amazing!! I’m so impressed that you figured out a way to replicate the delicious gyro meat. Can’t wait to try this!
There is nothing wrong with your recipe for a Greek “gyro”, however, the Lebanese immigrants, way back in 1979 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, introduced the “donair”, which originally was composed of lamb or a mixture of lamb and beef, and then became largely spiced ground beef, shaved off from a vertical spit – the difference? – And a Major Difference-They use a sweet white sauce, not a sour yogurt, and the difference is unbelievable, right across Canada. No one in Canada sells “Gyros”! Only “Donairs”. Search “donair” sometime. Still a good recipe for Gyros” but we are spoiled rotten up here. LOL. Thank you.
Doner kebabs are Turkish, not Lebanese, imbecile.
Pete- your comment was rude and unnecessary
Rude maybe, but definitely not unnecessary
These look really good but we don’t care for lamb so I think I will try with smoked pork tenderloin. I think it would be just as good…
I had no idea it was that easy. I am definitely trying this!!!!
YES! My favorite!! But is there any substitute for lamb? I seriously doubt I will be able to find it out here in our “country” stores!
Hi Irene, I can find ground lamb (and other cuts of lamb) in the regular meat section at my local grocery store, but if you can’t find it, I suppose you could just substitute ground beef, although the flavor will be different.
Wow! Who knew your could make someone like this at home! I totally want to give this a try, I love gyros.
Thank you for this – i am definitely going to try.
A few questions: about how long does the baking at 300 degrees take? Bacon? Bacon wouldn’t be used in the middle east. Have you tried it without the bacon?
Hi Allison, My apologies for the time omission, I have corrected it above. It should take 30 to 35 minutes. I have not tried it without bacon.
Do you know of a substitute for the bacon? We don’t eat pork at all.
My guess is that you could eliminate it, or substitute beef for it.
You are effectively looking for a fattier meat to bind together the lamb. You could try poultry fat, like duck, or buy a fattier cut of lamb and grind it yourself.
Greece isn’t a part of the Middle East. Greece is a part of the countries that make up the Mediterranean. Although, some do overlap because of their proximity or attachment to the Mediterranean Sea, but Greece is not one of them.
These gyros would be a big hit in my house! I can only imagine how great they smell too! YUM!
Hi. Thank you for posting this. I love gyros & can’t wait to try them. Is there any suggestions for storing? Can the meat be frozen prior to the initial cooking or prior to slicing?
Hi Michele, Once the meat is cooked and broiled, you can freeze the slices and then reheat in the microwave when you need it.
Michelle~
Seriously. OMG I can not wait to make this… Thank you.
Dawn
These look amazing – I have gyro burgers on my site, which are also great. Your gyros look soooo good. PInning!
Thank you for posting this! I have long wished that I could make Gyros at home! I’ll be trying this over the weekend.
Oh my goodness, my husband would die over this! Great recipe!!
I love adding a little feta to my gyro and I’m going to make these asap!
Yum! I haven’t made gyros at home, but they are on my must make list!! Yours look mighty delish!!!
Gyros are one of my favorite things to order from our local diner. It’s comfort food at its best. But I’m so excited to try them for myself at home, now that I’ve seen your recipe!
These are seriously worth the try! Yummmmiiiiiiieeeee
Thank you for sharing this, what a wonderful idea! Definitely can’t get enough of gyros!
Wow… Im seriously impressed. And now seriously motivated to make this at home! They look so good!
Thought this sounded good until I read lamb. Have lived in Texas my all of my life and never tasted lamb. Have heard that it is fatty and don’t believe I want to try it. Would it work with lean ground beef?
Hi Linda, Lamb is wonderful, you should really give it a try before dismissing it! You could of course try it with ground beef, but I can’t guarantee how it will turn out, taste or texture-wise, since I have not tried it.
Linda, I’ve also lived in Texas all my life and I’ve ordered lamb from Greek restaurants there and wow I was blown away by the flavor! I recently bought ground lamb from Sam’s and I can’t wait to make my own. I hope you get to try it before you knock it. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised like I was.
Don’t believe everything you hear about lamb it’s all about preference
HEB has wonderful ground lamb. Lamb is very tender and has a taste similar to beef. You’re missing out.
I want one of these right now. I have to find somewhere that sells ground lamb. Yum!
I love gyros, these look so good!