We love some excellent gyro meat in the household. There were some amazing places we have found that are not close but on occasion worth the drive. Recently i was in costco and they had a gyro kit by the pound. For about $20 bucks, we got enough meat for 2 for 2 meals, some cute pitas, veggies and tzitiki.
We air fried the meat, and it came out fabulous! That whole process made me think, i like to make a gyro salad, hubby doesn’t like the veggies, so it was a waste to get that whole package when i generally have salad fixings at home. Down the rabbit hole I went to find out if we could make this at home!
A lot of the recipes called for thyme (this one, this spice mixture) and as some of you may recall i really hate thyme… so i found some that skipped it and found a great spice option!
Gyro
Ingredients
- 1 medium size onion, roughly chopped
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground lamb
- 2-4 large cloves of garlic
- 1 Tbsp dried marjoram
- 1 Tbsp dried ground rosemary (or a small sprig of fresh, taken off the main stem)
- 2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp oregano
Instructions
- Run the onion in a food processor grater option.
- Strain the onion
- Place the onion in the center of a kitchen towel and squeeze out the juice
- Combine with the meat, garlic, spices, salt and pepper in a bowl, and allow flavors to meld for an hour or 2 in the fridge.
- Place the mixture in the food process and process till meat mixture is blended and it looks like a fine paste, about a minute.
- Place the mixture in a loaf pan and press evenly.
- Bake in a water bath (place loaf pan inside another pan filled with water) at 325°F (165°C) for about an hour or more until temperature reaches 165-170°F (75°C.)
- Remove from the oven, drain fat, and place on a cooling rack.
- Cover meat with aluminum foil and a heavy weight (Alton suggests a brick) for about 15 minutes until internal temperature is 175°F (79°C) (times and temps don’t always align)
- Place meat in the fridge
- Place meat on a cutting board and slice as thinly as possible (serrated knife works well)
- Air fry the slices – 390, 10min or so
Verdict:
OMG! Do it! The flavor pattern is amazing! Who knew cooking in a block, slicing and air frying and you get almost the same most amazing thing as you do in the gyro store!
So easy to make, but i would suggest onion goggles when you do the onion! I made half recipe and it was perfect for the 2 of us!
There is a suggestion you can make the full recipe and freeze the meat you wont get to for a future quick midweek meal!
Look for my tziziki and pita bread recipes next! You can do it all yourself! you got this!
If you try this let me know what spices you like!
