# Homemade Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce



## Steve Kroll (Apr 24, 2014)

*Gyros*
Serves 4

*Ingredients:*

1 lb ground lamb
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried marjoram
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced

Toppings: chopped tomatoes, thinly sliced onions, cucumber tzatziki sauce (recipe follows)

*Preparation:*
Preheat oven to 375F

Mix all ingredients well and form into an elongated egg-shaped loaf. Place on a nonstick roasting rack with foil underneath to catch any drippings. Bake 45-60 minutes, or until the internal temp is 160F.

Cover with foil and let stand for 5 minutes. Slice thin and serve on warm pita folds with chopped tomato, onion, and tzatziki sauce. For an authentic restaurant style touch, you can wrap them in foil for easier eating.


*Tzatziki Sauce*

I usually make tzatziki a day ahead of time, as it helps the flavors develop.

*Ingredients:*

1 16-oz container of plain Greek yogurt
1 English cucumber, peeled and shredded with a box grater
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 tbsp olive oil
Juice from half a lemon
1 tsp dried dill
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste

*Preparation:*
Lightly salt the shredded cucumber and let sit for 20-30 minutes. This will help pull excess water out of it. Wrap the cucumber in a paper towel and squeeze out as much water as possible.

Mix everything together and let sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.


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## GotGarlic (Apr 24, 2014)

Yum!  I will definitely be making this! Thanks


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## Dawgluver (Apr 24, 2014)

Ooh, there it is!  Thanks, Steve, C&P!


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## Aunt Bea (Apr 24, 2014)

I gotta try this!

I wonder how it would be as grilled lamburgers or lamb sliders in mini pita pockets!


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## Whiskadoodle (Apr 24, 2014)

Oooo  I saw this on the WFD thread the other day.  Tantalizer and teaser it 'twas.   Glad you posted the recipe now.  Thanks.


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## powerplantop (Apr 24, 2014)

Looks great and the recipe sounds really nice.


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## Steve Kroll (Apr 24, 2014)

Aunt Bea said:


> I gotta try this!
> 
> I wonder how it would be as grilled lamburgers or lamb sliders in mini pita pockets!


Both would be good. 

If making it as lamb burgers, I would cut back on the amount of salt to maybe half. The amount of salt in the recipe seemed like a lot to me at first, but then I realized 1.) I don't use much salt on any other part of the sandwich, and 2.) the saltiness is a big part of what makes them taste authentic. Restaurant gyros are salty as can be.

When I was first putting this recipe together, I tried a number of other recipes posted online. Most fell flat in the flavor department. So I played around with the spices until I came up with this combination. I think it's pretty authentic. So if you make it, please let me know what you think.


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## Dawgluver (Apr 24, 2014)

Do you double grind the meat, Steve?  The gyro meat we have had seemed pretty finely ground, but I've never bought fresh ground lamb.


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## Steve Kroll (Apr 24, 2014)

Dawgluver said:


> Do you double grind the meat, Steve?  The gyro meat we have had seemed pretty finely ground, but I've never bought fresh ground lamb.


I don't double grind it. I've used recipes that call for putting everything into a food processor and turning into puree, but I've found that results in a weird texture. On top of that, it just makes more things to clean up, and I promised Cave76 this would be simple. 

I choose instead to mix it well by hand. And I do mean by hand. You have to get your fingers in there and mush it all together good.


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## Dawgluver (Apr 24, 2014)

Thanks!


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## Kayelle (Apr 25, 2014)

I happened to buy two packages of ground lamb today, not knowing exactly what I had planned for it. Ground lamb is hard to find around here and when I see it, I buy it.

Low and behold.........I discover this recipe you posted Steve! I can't wait to make this!

*Thank you!*


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## CWS4322 (Apr 25, 2014)

Those sound great, Steve. When you make your tatziki, do you seed the cucumber before you grate it?


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## FrankZ (Apr 25, 2014)

When I have made gyro meat I run it in the food processor.  I also make it into a squared off roll in plastic wrap and let it sit overnight in the fridge.

Then rotisserie over charcoal.  Shrinkage is an issue so I have to wrap it in twine and tie that off to the forks.


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## Roll_Bones (Apr 25, 2014)

Looks excellent.  Did you make the flat bread yourself?  If yes, please tell me how.

Also someone asked if you seeded the cuke before gating.  I assume you do seed it.
I always seed cuke no matter the use.


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## Dawgluver (Apr 25, 2014)

Roll_Bones said:


> Looks excellent.  Did you make the flat bread yourself?  If yes, please tell me how.
> 
> Also someone asked if you seeded the cuke before gating.  I assume you do seed it.
> I always seed cuke no matter the use.



Steve had mentioned in his dinner post that he used store-bought pitas, though he probably has a recipe.  And with English cukes, I don't think they need to be seeded.


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## Steve Kroll (Apr 25, 2014)

CWS4322 said:


> Those sound great, Steve. When you make your tatziki, do you seed the cucumber before you grate it?



With English cucumbers, I don't seed them and don't notice any seeds in the sauce. With other cucumber varieties, I probably would remove them.


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## Roll_Bones (Apr 25, 2014)

I guess I don't know what an English cucumber is.

I know the burpless/seedless, Kirby and the majority of the ones sold in grocery stores.


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## Steve Kroll (Apr 25, 2014)

Roll_Bones said:


> I guess I don't know what an English cucumber is.
> 
> I know the burpless/seedless, Kirby and the majority of the ones sold in grocery stores.


English cucumbers are the long thin ones. Often they come wrapped in plastic to help keep them fresh longer. Most larger supermarkets carry them these days.


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## mmyap (Apr 25, 2014)

This may be on the dinner menu tonight!  We recently tried lamb burgers for the first time and I tell you what, they are now our burger of choice.  Looking forward to gyro's tonight.


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## Rocklobster (Apr 25, 2014)

Just did it with pork tonight. It is in the oven now. I used my food processor because I never use it much. Thanks Steve. Smelling yummy around here.


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## Cheryl J (Apr 25, 2014)

Thank you for sharing your recipe, Steve.  It looks and sounds wonderful! Copied and pasted.


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## taxlady (Apr 26, 2014)

Gonna copy and paste that right away. Looks good.


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## Sprout (Apr 26, 2014)

I can't wait to try this!


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## Roll_Bones (Apr 27, 2014)

Steve Kroll said:


> English cucumbers are the long thin ones. Often they come wrapped in plastic to help keep them fresh longer. Most larger supermarkets carry them these days.



Yes. They are marketed here as "burpless/seedless cucumbers.  Awfully expensive though.  I bought them before, but they were on sale.  Do they work better than the other types?  Do they taste better? 
I think the cucumber seeds I planted are this type.  I should have plenty cukes this season.  Thats if they sprout?  The seeds were old, but were still in the packaging.



taxlady said:


> Gonna copy and paste that right away. Looks good.



I also copied and pasted the recipe.


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## Kayelle (Apr 27, 2014)

Roll_Bones said:


> Yes. They are marketed here as "burpless/seedless cucumbers.  Awfully expensive though.  I bought them before, but they were on sale.  Do they work better than the other types?  Do they taste better?
> I think the cucumber seeds I planted are this type.  I should have plenty cukes this season.  Thats if they sprout?  The seeds were old, but were still in the packaging.
> 
> 
> ...



RB, in my opinion they are so superior to regular cucumbers, they are worth the extra price and are the only ones I buy. I personally don't mind paying more for something that's worth it. They have a milder flavor and there's no waste as they don't need to be peeled or seeded. We love them sliced paper thin on a mandolin along with white onion and dressed with rice wine vinegar mixed with sugar and white pepper. Yumm..


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## Billdolfski (Apr 27, 2014)

I'm curious to what everybody thinks after trying it.


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## CWS4322 (Apr 28, 2014)

Steve Kroll said:


> With English cucumbers, I don't seed them and don't notice any seeds in the sauce. With other cucumber varieties, I probably would remove them.


I seed them to cut down on the amount of liquid. Even if I squeeze the grated cucumber, there seems to be more liquid that accummulates when the tatziki sits than when I seed the cukes. Besides, the girls like the seeds.


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## Aunt Bea (Apr 28, 2014)

Steve, 

I made this for lunch today and it is definitely a keeper!

I made it with ground pork and I used 3/4 t of Morton's Tender Quick curing salt instead of the Kosher salt.  I mixed it up yesterday, formed it into a chub using cling film and refrigerated it overnight.  This morning I removed the cling film and wrapped it in aluminum foil.  I baked it at 375 for 45 minutes and let it rest in the foil until it was warm.  I served thin slices of it with black olives, grape tomatoes, red onion rings and cucumber slices all drizzled with Tzatziki.  The only thing missing was the pita bread, darn those carbs! 

Thanks again!


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## Steve Kroll (Apr 30, 2014)

Aunt Bea said:


> I made this for lunch today and it is definitely a keeper!


Thanks, Aunt Bea! I'm glad you enjoyed it.


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## CharlieD (Apr 30, 2014)

What is the red stuff inside the wrap? Is it bell pepper?


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## Steve Kroll (Apr 30, 2014)

Chopped tomatoes, Charlie.


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## taxlady (Apr 30, 2014)

CharlieD said:


> What is the red stuff inside the wrap? Is it bell pepper?


I'm pretty sure that's tomato. It looks like tomato and Steve listed tomato as one of the toppings.


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## Kayelle (Apr 30, 2014)

Oh what a dinner we had Steve!

I followed your ingredients exactly for the ground lamb, with the addition of about two tablespoons of finely chopped fresh mint from my yard. I followed Aunt Bea here...... " I mixed it up yesterday, formed it into a chub using cling film and  refrigerated it overnight.  This morning I removed the cling film and  wrapped it in aluminum foil.  I baked it at 375 for 45 minutes and let  it rest in the foil until it was warm." I heated up the Pita breads and served them stuffed just like your picture, with sliced onion and chopped tomatoes.

The meat was perfectly seasoned and the sauce was right on the mark too Steve.

This is a keeper for sure!


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## Steve Kroll (Apr 30, 2014)

Thank you so much Kayelle!


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## Billdolfski (May 2, 2014)

I'm still pretty excited about this.  Will report back when it's all said and done.


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## Kayelle (May 2, 2014)

Billdolfski said:


> I'm still pretty excited about this.  Will report back when it's all said and done.



Bill, my advice is don't be tempted to skimp on the measurements of spices. At first it seemed like a lot to me, but this meat is packed with authentic flavor because of that.


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## Billdolfski (May 3, 2014)

I'm actually going to follow it 100%, which is a rarity for me.


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