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Gyro Meat with Tzatziki Sauce

Alton Brown

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2005

Show: Good EatsEpisode: My Big Fat Greek Sandwich

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (292)

  • Cook Time:

    1 hr 15 min

  • Level:

    Intermediate

  • Yield:

    6 to 8 servings

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Times:

Prep
30 min
Inactive Prep
2 hr 0 min
Cook
1 hr 15 min
Total:
3 hr 45 min
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Ingredients

  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped or shredded
  • 2 pounds ground lamb
  • 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
  • Tzatziki Sauce, recipe follows

Directions

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.

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.

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. 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 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.

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:

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

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

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Read more Comments & Reviews (292)

Comments & Reviews

  • recipe Gyro Meat with Tzatziki Sauce
    Michelle Wilmington, NC 07-28-2010

    Flag

    Never, did I think I could Make this

    Rated: 5 stars out of 5
    Followed the recipe, but used fresh rosemary and added thyme, the loaf was perfect, and the flavors of the meat were great,... it took all day but it was worth it.( I used a blender, with small batches of meat, I don't have a food processor yet, but the consistancy of the meat was great) Our local store did not have anything but non-fat plain yogart, so the sauce was a little bland, but with the meat it worked,can't wait to do this for a party, it was fantastic!!!!Read more
  • recipe Gyro Meat with Tzatziki Sauce
    Rachel Gonzales, LA 07-28-2010

    Flag

    Not wow

    Rated: 3 stars out of 5
    But it was probably my fault. First, I didn't rotisserie it, so it wasn't as dry and browned as it would have been. I did try... frying the slices in olive oil as suggested by previous reviewers, but while it did give the slices a nice crispy brown, oddly, I felt like the flavor of the seasonings were muted after doing that, so I stopped. I did not have dried ground rosemary, only dried whole, so I tried breaking it up as best I could. I should have used more. I also think more garlic would have done this recipe some good. All in all, it was very good, just not GREAT. I made lamb patties a while back, using this recipe as a seasoning guide, but I just made thin little lamburgers and served them in pita with the fixins and I liked them better.Read more
  • recipe Gyro Meat with Tzatziki Sauce
    Ed Victoria, BC 07-19-2010

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    Very tasty party pleaser

    Rated: 5 stars out of 5
    We tried this out for a party we had. We did it on the rotisserie on the BBQ, and while it did not look like the donair or... gyro meat you get in a shop, it was gone very quickly! We sliced it in rounds instead of shaving it, but next time we will shave the meat off, and brown it quickly on the grill.Read more
  • recipe Gyro Meat with Tzatziki Sauce
    null null, null 07-05-2010

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    Fantastic Gyro recipe

    Rated: 5 stars out of 5
    Made this tonight,meat-loaf style. It came out fantastic.
  • recipe Gyro Meat with Tzatziki Sauce
    john Orlando, FL 07-05-2010

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    This was a HIT!

    Rated: 4 stars out of 5
    I got rave reviews from the crowd for this recipe. I used the meatloaf method-simple. The sauce was great, but DO drain the... yogurt (even Greek yogurt) to get a rich thick (not wattery) sauce. I will definately make this again, perhaps with a bit more spice next time. . . Read more
  • recipe Gyro Meat with Tzatziki Sauce
    Marianne Venice, FL 05-25-2010

    Flag

    Good eats!

    Rated: 5 stars out of 5
    My husband wanted gyros for dinner, so I thought I'd be adventurous and try Alton's recipe. I did add more herbs to the meat... mixture (1 tsp each cumin, oregano, and thyme, along with the marjoram and rosemary), as I have a cabinet full of the stuff and thought those would be good "Greek" additions. Glad I did. I did get all the water out of the onion, but my food processor is an el cheapo and didn't handle the meat well. No worries, I baked it in the oven for an hour and it turned out great! After it cooled, I sliced it and threw it in the skillet with some EVOO so it would look like the real stuff I have had at the Greek deli. YUM!! Very authentic taste. I also put the yogurt sauce in the food processor, as I don't particularly care for chunky cucumbers in the sauce. Served it with flatbread (Pita would have been better) butter lettuce, diced tomatoes, raw vidalia onion, feta crumbles, and kalamata olives. I will freeze the leftover meat and look forward to having it again. Thanks, Alton! Love your shows! Now I have to go clean up the big mess I made in my kitchen....Read more
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