1 of 2 photos

Photo by:

Add this recipe to your:

Send this recipe:

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 (98g) Recipe makes 10 servings
Calories 122
Calories from Fat 64		(52%)
Amount Per Serving		%DV
	Total Fat 7.1g	10%
	Saturated Fat 2.7g	13%
	Monounsaturated Fat 3.0g
	Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3g
	Trans Fat 0.4g
Cholesterol 30mg		10%
Sodium 535mg		22%
Potassium 155mg		4%
Total Carbohydrate 4.7g		1%
	Dietary Fiber 0.4g	1%
	Sugars 0.5g
Protein 9.3g		18%
detailed view... how is this calculated?

Menus using this recipe:

Greek Dinner

Gillian Spence

Gyros - an Authentic Recipe for Making Them at Home

Recipe #285900 | 1½ hours | 20 min prep | add private note

⁽¹⁹⁾ RATE IT NOW Print Recipe

By: steve in FL
Feb 11, 2008

Yes, you can make authentic gyros at home --> the texture and flavor of this meat is as good as you get in a good Greek restaurant, without the traditional rotating spit.. but this is just the recipe and technique for making the meat, for I'm assuming you know the drill on making the classic gyro sandwich - stuff the meat in a grilled pita with sliced tomatoes, onions and tzaziki sauce.. Enjoy!

SERVES 10 (change servings and units)

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground lamb (optional, you can use all ground beef if you're weirded out by lamb) (optional)
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
3 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and mix well.
2
Knead the mixture on the counter for 10 minutes - just like you're kneading bread. You may want to use a dough-scraper to help keep the counter clean. (I do). Pick that meat up and SLAM it into the counter, continuing to do so for the 10 minutes. This is key to getting the correct texture. I'm no Alton Brown, but I think the thing we're doing here is melting the fat so that we get a nice smooth texture in the end.
3
Form into a flat loaf - I like to put the meat onto a piece of wax paper, and flattening it into a 3" high slab rectangle. I cover it with another piece of wax and use a rolling pin to flatten it out, just make sure you straighten out the edges to form a rectangle so that when it comes time to slice, they are nice and even.
4
Bake the loaf on a broiler pan (or pan with raised edges, because it will leak grease!) at 350 for about an hour. Alternatively, you can grill it over coals, that's my favorite way, just be sure to turn often so as to distribute the juices.
5
Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing thin.

Questions about this recipe?

Featured Reviews for This Recipe

From: Chef susan from Sandpoint,Idaho

On Oct 25, 2009

Excellent recipe I have tried to make 'real gyros' for a long time, these are wonderful !!!! I love lamb and I am going to try with all lamb next time The texture was right on , and it sliced really thin Thank you for your wonderfull recipe

1 person found this review helpful

Was this review helpful to you? YES | NO

From: Bethany Taylor

On Oct 3, 2009

WOW!! This is the REAL DEAL!! The taste and texture is EXACTLY like the gyros served in nearby Greek Town, Detroit! I cannot beleive that this turned out so perfectly! My boyfriend was in total disbelief... in a really happy way. He Loves this dish. I used lamb and beef as directed but added a little extra garlic. I lined a loaf pan with saran wrap then packed the meat tightly into the pan and refrigerated overnight. I then removed the meat from the pan and baked it in a pan with a foil covered wire rack with holes poked in for drainage. I baked until the internal temp was 170 degrees f. I sliced very thinly and served it with Arabian Pita Bread abd Tzatziki along with some thinly sliced red onion, ripe tomato and a little lettuce. Terrific recipe! This recipe will make many relocated Detroiter's very happy! Thanks for sharing!

1 person found this review helpful

Was this review helpful to you? YES | NO

From: Miracle Miriam

On May 17, 2008

I researched the making of Gyros online and found a recipe with more authentic spices and so I made this recipe, but decreasing the oregano to 1 t., and adding 1 t. of Marjoram, and 1 t. of crushed Rosemary. Everything else I kept the same. It was wonderful and tasted just like the real thing! I like the techniques and cooking method suggested in this recipe. It does yield a compact loaf that is easily sliced into thin slices.

6 people found this review helpful

Was this review helpful to you? YES | NO

From: lkanyuh

On Oct 24, 2008

These were delicious! I used all ground beef as I couldn't find ground lamb, but my husband thought that they would have been pretty darn close to the gyros we used to get in Greektown (Detroit). Will definitely make again!

4 people found this review helpful

Was this review helpful to you? YES | NO

Read all 19 reviews