Gyros!

Nick2cd

Well, it's gameday and I have a craving for gyros! I made a gyro loaf and some fresh tzatziki sauce. I have some store bought Greek flat bread and home grown garden tomatoes to go with it. It was delicious! As far as cooking details go....I cooked the meat to 160 internal at 250 direct for most of the cook. I ramped it up at the end to 350ish to get some color on the outside.

Filbert

How did you do the loaf? It looks awesome by the way!

henapple

+1 on explain the loaf... Pretty please.

Nick2cd

i went by Alton Brown's recipe.  here's the recipe i used but i cut it in half and i used ground chuck.  you process all this in a food processor until you get a smooth mixture.  form into a loaf shape and that's all there is to it.  btw, marjoram is very similar to oregano and could probably be interchanged. 

1 medium onion, finely chopped or shredded
2 pounds ground lamb  (i used ground chuck instead but i like a 50:50 blend of beef/lamb best)
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried marjoram
1 tablespoon dried ground rosemary
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

SickEyeDiaz

So you just used the loaf instead of sliced lamb? Interesting. I just happen to have a few lbs of ground lamb in the freezer, I should try this some time.

Can we have the sauce recipe too please?

Nick2cd

most gyros you get are a blend of ground beef, ground lamb, and spices.  the tzatziki is below.

1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt

1/2 of a peeled and seeded medium cucumber grated or finely chopped

pinch of kosher salt

1.5-2 cloves of minced fresh garlic

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon sour cream (this is optional but i think it smooths it out)

dash of cayenne pepper

SickEyeDiaz

Thanks!

It's been a while since I got one, I guess I just assumed it was sliced, not ground. Learn something new every day!

henapple

Bookmarked

Black_Badger

Yep, generally sliced, but this looks awesome nonetheless! Really great idea, Absolutely bookmarked.

Cheers

B_B

Theophan

I think that all gyros are both: they are sliced from a loaf.  The way I've seen it most often, it's like a huge cylindrical spicy, herby meatloaf of lamb or a mixture of lamb and beef, that is on a vertical spit, rotating next to a vertical broiler.  The outer part gets browned, is sliced off, and the next part under what was just sliced off then gets browned, then it's sliced off, and so it goes, the outer surface getting browned and sliced off, repeatedly, making the loaf smaller and smaller diameter.

I love gyros, but haven't tried it in the Egg, yet.  Because the best gyros I've ever had were browned the way I described, I've wondered whether a non-classic but handy way to get a bigger portion of the meat browned might be to make the loaf rather flat, sort of like a really wide burger, and to grill it rather like a burger, browning it on fairly high heat on both sides, then slice it sort of like a flank steak for the pita sandwiches.

Anybody ever try anything like that, and if so, did it work?  

Theo

Nick2cd

Theo,
I think you could do it that way. I've seen the exact method you describe. But I've also seen high volume shops shave off the outer meat and go directly to a griddle for a quick browning/sear. Often times they are making so many that they don't have time to let the outer most layer brown on the spit. A low, rather slow cook on the egg imparts a beautiful outer color and crust along with that kiss of smoke that makes it soooo good. Regardless, I recommend u give it a whirl. I think you'll be quite pleased with the results if you're a fan of the gyro.

Aviator

Theophan said:

I think that all gyros are both: they are sliced from a loaf.  The way I've seen it most often, it's like a huge cylindrical spicy, herby meatloaf of lamb or a mixture of lamb and beef, that is on a vertical spit, rotating next to a vertical broiler.  The outer part gets browned, is sliced off, and the next part under what was just sliced off then gets browned, then it's sliced off, and so it goes, the outer surface getting browned and sliced off, repeatedly, making the loaf smaller and smaller diameter.

I love gyros, but haven't tried it in the Egg, yet.  Because the best gyros I've ever had were browned the way I described, I've wondered whether a non-classic but handy way to get a bigger portion of the meat browned might be to make the loaf rather flat, sort of like a really wide burger, and to grill it rather like a burger, browning it on fairly high heat on both sides, then slice it sort of like a flank steak for the pita sandwiches.

Anybody ever try anything like that, and if so, did it work?  

Theo

Like a Donair

Theophan

Aviator said:

Like a Donair

Sorry, I don't know what that means?  Can you say a little more?

Thanks!

Theo

Nick2cd

Theophan said:

Aviator said:

Like a Donair

Sorry, I don't know what that means?  Can you say a little more?

Thanks!

Theo

i think he's referring to a donner kebab.  it's basically a gyro in europe.  they were branded this way when i was in paris, some parts of italy, and possibly london (can't recall for sure).  they go by donner kebabs in germany as well.  i can't speak for any of the other countries.

Theophan

Well, that helps some, but it still leaves me not being completely sure what "like a [donner kebab] means in the context of how to cook them in a BGE.  I think of kebabs as chunks of meat on a skewer.  So would this be like skewering something along the lines of gyro "meatballs" on a skewer?

Nick2cd

No it's the same thing as what u and I know as a "gyro". It's European terminology for what I posted above. Now, I'm sure at the root of the sandwich, some expert could tell me the differences through country of origin, a spice variation, etc.....but for our intents and purposes a donner kebab is a gyro.

Austin Egghead

thanks for the recipe.  This sounds very interesting.  Could easily make this on the mini.

Skiddymarker

Very nice. We often make "Greek meatloaf" using very similar ingredients. Combination of the garlic and oregano/marjoram makes the magic. Thanks!

Dyal_SC

Looks fantastic! I've made Alton's recipe a few times now. It's very tasty! I use ground lamb and mesh it long ways around flat skewers.

henapple

Might change that name..

Stev

I have done this many times using an old farberware rotisserie and its a favorite..guess its time to egg this recipe. Just a side note...you need to put the loaf in plastic wrap and squeeze all the air out by  twisting the sides to compact the meat for the density you'll need when slicing

Logger

Nice Job!
This is bookmarked.  I don't think I've seen ground lamb in Oklahoma.
If there's any Okies who have, please let me know where..

SickEyeDiaz

I finally got around to making these last night!

Thanks for the recipe.

bodski

Looks great!

Ladeback69

I'm hungry now. Looks yummy.

Shiff

Doner (or donner or donair) is Turkish.  Gyro is Greek and Shawarma is Arabic.  They all describe just about the same dish with some variations on how they are served.

PNWFoodie

great pics!

HDumptyEsq

Wikipedia has a description and picture under Doner Kebabs