What are the ingredients for a Gyro sandwich and when was the last time you ate a Gyro sandwich?!
What are the ingredients for a Gyro sandwich and when was the last time you ate a Gyro sandwich?
do they use grape leaves? do they use feta cheese? what kind of sauce?
Answers: well, we have these "coney island" restaurants around here, which i hear is a michigan thing....anyway, they serve greek food. a gyro, at least here, is gyro meat- like that other guy said, ground lamb, maybe some beef, and seasoning and spices, pressed into a loaf and cooked on a rotisserie then sliced. it's put on grilled pita bread, topped with white onion, diced tomato and gyro sauce-which is like a sour cream or yogurt sauce with garlic and cucumber. that's it. no grape leaves, no feta, nothing else. the last time i had one was probably a few weeks ago. I ate one 30 minutes ago.
No grape leaves and no feta. It is ground beef and lamb pressed into a loaf and grilled on a rotiserrie. Then it is placed on a warm pita with purple onions, lettuce and tomato with tzatziki sauce.
Wishbone used to make a Cucumber dressing which was a great subsitute for tzatziki sauce. Greek Gyro
Yield: 6 Servings
2 lb Lean, boneless lamb*
-- cut in 1" cubes
1/3 c Olive oil
1/2 c Fresh lemon juice
2 Garlic cloves
-- peeled, cut in quarters
1 ts Chopped fresh thyme
1 ts Chopped fresh oregano or
1 ts Chopped fresh marjoram
Fresh ground pepper to taste
2 Spanish onions; cut in
-thinly sliced rings
24 sm Romaine lettuce leaves
-- washed and dried
6 lg Pita bread rounds
3 md Ripe tomatoes
----GARLIC YOGURT SAUCE----
2 c Plain yogurt
1 Garlic clove
-- peeled and minced
1 ts Chopped fresh oregano or
1 ts Chopped fresh marjoram
1 tb Fresh lemon juice
1 ts Olive oil
Salt and pepper; to taste
*Use meat cut from the leg or shoulder.
The morning before an afternoon barbecue, make marinade by combining oil,
lemon juice, garlic cloves, herbs and pepper in a medium bowl. Remove about
1/4 cup to mix with the onions. Place lamb cubes in bowl with remaining
marinade; toss to coat well.
Place onions in small bowl and toss with reserved marinade. Cover with
plastic wrap and chill, up to several hours, turning several times.
Meanwhile, make yogurt sauce by lining a medium bowl with cheesecloth and
spooning in the yogurt. Tie up edges of cheesecloth with string to form a
pouch. Suspend over bowl (tying from refrigerator rack above bowl), or
place in a colander over bowl and let stand to drain several hours.
Moisture will drip from the yogurt, giving it a thicker consistency. Mix
drained yogurt with minced garlic, chopped herbs, lemon juice, oil, salt
and pepper. Cover and chill. Makes about 1 cup.
Stack pita bread rounds into 2 piles and wrap each in foil, dull side out.
To barbecue, heat coals or gas barbecue. Remove meat from marinade,
reserving some marinade for basting. (Discard any large garlic pieces.)
Thread lamb onto greased skewers and grill over greased grill about 4" from
hot coals. Cook, turning and basting often, about 10 minutes or until lamb
is brown on the outside, still pink inside. Warm pita rounds over barbecue.
Before serving, lift the onions from the marinade with a slotted spoon and
place in a serving bowl. Cut whole tomatoes into thin wedges and place on
plate. Place lettuce leaves on plate. Set out yogurt sauce and lots of
napkins to facilitate handling of gyros.
To serve, cut each warmed pita bread in half and separate to form 2
pockets. Each person fills a warmed pita picket with some of the grilled
lamb cubes, lettuce, tomatoes and onions, topping with a spoonful of sauce.
Yield: 12 gyros, 2 per person.
Love them! haven't had one since I moved from the city umm no grape leaves, and 2 days ago, and its normally lamb, onions, tomato, feta cheese, and the sauce is cucumbers minced with sour cream with a little bit of mayo. I make my own at home:
Ground lamb and pork made into a meatloaf
The "Z" sauce is made with garlic, cucumber, and yogurt.
Slice the meat with an electric knife to get it thin.
Serve wrapped in a pita with slice tomato, onion, and the "Z" sauce. Authentic Greek Gyro Loaf
1 pound fine-ground hamburger *high fat content 30-33% fat is best
1 pound fine-ground lamb
3/4 cup onion chopped very fine
2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 ? teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon marjoram
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Be sure to sprinkle everything all over meat before mixing meat using food handlers gloves, blend in a food processor for about 1 minute, thin with a few drops of water if needed. Hand-pat and very tightly squeeze into a compressed oval shape meatloaf then refrigerate overnight.
Next day, preheat oven to 350-F and bake for 50-60 minutes until somewhat dry. Let set and cool to just warm before slicing thin. To brown slices, pan fry them under a medium heat with a small amount of extra virgin olive oil.
*Hamburger fat helps to bind loaf together.
Makes about a 1 and ? pound cooked loaf.
*Roll-up some thin sliced gyro meat, tomato wedges, thin sliced onions and a heaping tablespoon of sauce in a whole soft shell pita bread (see photo) or stuff the items into a 1/2 slice of a pita bread pocket and spoon in some Gyro Sauce
More Sandwich Recipes
SPICE IT UP! Spices and Use
I have never had one! Enjoy! 1 1/2 lbs. shoulder lamb*
1 lbs. beef chuck*
1/4 C. dehydrated onions
1/3 C. water
1 T. salt
1 T. sugar
2 t. oregano
2 t. black pepper coarsely ground
1 t. cumin
1 t. hot paprika (cayenne)
1/2 t. cinnamon
2 cloves garlic minced
2 t. vegetable oil
butter
*including some fat 8 or more slices blanched bacon or fresh pork belly slices, if available.
Grind lamb and beef together, using large hole plate on meat grinder. Regrind using small hole plate. In small bowl reconstitute onions in water. In another small bowl combine next 6 ingredients and mix thoroughly. In large bowl combine meat, onions and spice mix. Add garlic and vegetable oil, mix thoroughly with hands until spices are evenly distributed. Refrigerate covered several hours.
In a small skillet, fry a small amount of the meat mixture in a little butter. Taste for seasoning and adjust, if desired. Blanch bacon by simmering in hot water about 3 minutes. If pork belly is used, blanching is not necessary. Drain on paper towels. Line loaf pan (8 1/2 x 5 x 3") with bacon or pork slices, covering sides and bottom. Pack gyros meat into pan, filling to the top of the pan. Cover with remaining slices of bacon or pork.
Place filled pan in hot water bath, reaching 3/4 of the way up the loaf pan. Bake at 375°F. for 20-30 minutes. Reduce heat to 325°F. and continue baking 30 minutes longer.
Remove pan from oven. Remove loaf pan from hot water bath and place on wire rack to cool. Cover with aluminum foil and weigh with about 2 lbs. weight to compress loaf. Cool to room temperature, refrigerate meat, covered with weight 12 hours or overnight to ripen and increase flavor. Meat will keep for up to 4 days refrigerated. Slice very thin and serve in pita bread with sliced onions, tomatoes and tzatziki sauce.
8 servings
Tzatziki
3 cups plain yogurt (do not use low-fat or nonfat)
1 English hothouse cucumber (about 16 ounces), peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 large tomato, quartered, seeded, thinly sliced
Place strainer over large bowl. Line strainer with 3 layers of cheesecloth. Spoon yogurt into cheesecloth-lined strainer; let stand at room temperature to drain 3 hours (liquid will drain out and yogurt will thicken). Transfer yogurt to medium bowl; discard liquid. Meanwhile, coarsely grate cucumber. Place in another strainer; let stand at room temperature until most of liquid drains out, about 3 hours. Discard liquid. Squeeze excess moisture from cucumber. Mix cucumber, dill and garlic into yogurt. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Mix tomato into yogurt. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.
Ive never had one Gyro is a kind of meat, usually lamb or pork cooked on a rotissary. When finished, it is combined with pita bread, diced tomato, onion and a combination of sour cream and cucumber sauce. Ummmmm GREAT!!!!!
Chicago has the best!!!!!! We have not had any since we lived in Chicago 20 years ago :( We do miss the gyro. I had a "Ghetto" Gyro about four weeks ago. Meaning any meat on Pita bread folded like a Gyro. I had the pita bread, but no onions or lamb meat. I had steak meat. So I used steak, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes. I'm sure this doesn't help, however the sandwich was so messy...it reminded me of a Gyro. ok!!i live in crete,greece,this is how they make it!
pork slowly cooking on a spit[thing]it is then cut very thinly!
they take a pita bread that has been dipped in olive oil then cooked for a couple of minutes,
then they put yoghurt,slices of tomato,onion and french fries!
i eat one every so often!! its been maybe 2months since i had one,roast off a nice leg of lamb,i WOULD marinate it overnight.
MARINADE;
OLIVE OIL
DRY THYME
SALT
PEPPER
YOGURT SAUCE:
1 PEELED&SEEDED CUCUMBER
1/4CUP FRESH DILL(CHOPPED)
1TEASPOON LEMON JUICE
1(16 OZ) YOGURT
2 CLOVES CRUSHED GARLIC
SALT&PEPPER
I WOLUD COOK THE LAMB MEDIUM WELL,THEN LET IT REST.
FOR THE SAUCE
IF YOU KNOW YOUR GONNA MAKE THIS DO THIS OVERNIGHT ALSO,PEEL AND SEED YOUR CUCUMBER,AND MINCE,THEN SALT THE CUCUMBER,PLACE CHEESECLOTH IN STRAINER,THEN ADD IN CUC'S,COVER CUC'S PRESSING DOWN THE CLOTH,PLACE A HEAVY CAN ON TOP TO RELEASE ALL THE WATER IN THE CUCUMBERS,FOR THE YOGURT,YOUR GOIN TO DO THE SAME,PLACING CHEESECLOTH IN SEPERATE STRAINER AND ADD IN YOGURT,PLACE IN FRIGE TO DRAIN OUT ALL THE WATER IN THE YOGURT.WHEN YOU HAVE DONE THIS,MIX ALL INGREDIENTS TOGETHER,SEASON TO TASTE WITH SALT&PEPPER.SLICE YOUR LEG OF LAMB,AS THINLY AS POSSIBLE,CUT UP TOMATO'S,SHRED SOME LETTUCE,WARM YOUR PITA BREAD,MAKE YOUR SANDWHICH AND ENJOY.