Gyros

If you’ve ever seen or smelled the tantalizing, huge rotisseries of spinning meat at a Greek restaurant or food cart, you already know the delights of a loaded gyro recipe. The classic Greek recipe features slowly cooked, boldly seasoned meat that’s thinly sliced and tucked into a fluffy pita with fresh veggies and tzatziki sauce. It’s messy and supremely satisfying in all the right ways.

But what if there’s no Greek restaurant or cart nearby? Learning how to make gyros from scratch seems pretty daunting—especially since most people don’t have a spit in the backyard. But it can be easy to make them at home. Using this gyro recipe, you’ll press, chill and bake a combination of ground lamb and beef for a make-ahead meal that tastes just as good as the real deal.

How to Make a Gyro

Greek gyros are traditionally made from pork or chicken, but in America, lamb or a combination of lamb and beef has become the popular choice. The meat is stacked vertically on the base of a large skewer or spit to form a tall, wide cone of tightly packed layers. It’s slow-roasted while spinning around a low flame, and then is sliced off when it’s time to serve.

Making gyros at home without a rotisserie setup is more like making meat loaf. You process ground lamb and beef in a food processor to create a paste, which is then baked, pressed, thinly sliced, and seared to give it a crispy exterior.

Ingredients for Gyro Meat

• Onion: In this recipe, onion is very finely chopped and then squeezed dry. This not only flavors the meat, but keeps it moist during the long bake time. A yellow onion is the best type of onion for this recipe, but a white onion works in a pinch.
• Ground meat: Equal amounts of ground beef and ground lamb are used to make the gyro meat. If you love lamb recipes, you could use all ground lamb, but combining it with beef tempers its distinct taste.
• Garlic: A few whole garlic cloves are processed with the meat and spices for a savory boost that pairs well with the onion and dried herbs.
• Kosher salt: A decent amount of salt is needed to properly season the meat and enhance the flavor of the spices. Remember that kosher salt and table salt can’t be swapped in a 1-1 ratio.
• Dried herbs: Dried oregano, dried thyme and dried rosemary give an earthy, savory taste to the meat. I usually like to crush dried herbs between my fingers to release their oils, but the food processor does that job here.
• Ground cumin: Earthy cumin pairs wonderfully with the gamey lamb, rich beef and dried herbs. You can toast whole cumin seeds, cool them and then grind them for a bolder flavor.
• Pepper: A sprinkle of black pepper perks up the deep flavors in the meat. You will always have a sharper, more peppery bite if you grind pepper yourself right before using it. The best pepper grinders make the task easy.
• Olive oil: Olive oil is used to sear and crisp the cooked slices of meat so they taste just like they were carved off a rotisserie. You can use olive oil or extra virgin olive oil, but there’s no need for an expensive bottle; the spiced meat would mute the flavor.
• Whole pita breads: If you have some time, this recipe is the perfect reason to make homemade pita bread. You need just a few ingredients, and the dough only rises once. Plus, watching the dough puff dramatically in a hot oven is surprisingly fun and satisfying.
• Toppings: Chopped tomatoes, sliced red onion, shredded lettuce and tzatziki sauce are our suggested toppings for assembling a gyro inside soft pita bread. This combo offers juicy, sharp, crisp and creamy textures and flavors to each bite, but feel free to experiment and find your favorite combinations.

Directions

Step 1: Process the onion

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Process the onion in a food processor until it’s finely chopped, 10 to 15 seconds.

Step 2: Squeeze out the liquid

Transfer the onion to a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.

Editor’s Tip: After gathering the towel around the chopped onion, I’ve found it’s easier to twist the top of the towel to press out the juices rather than squeezing with your hand.

Step 3: Make the meat mixture

Return the onion to the food processor. Add the beef, lamb, garlic, salt, oregano, thyme, rosemary, cumin and pepper. Pulse until the ingredients are mixed, two to three times, scraping down the sides. Process the meat mixture until it’s sticky and paste-like, about one minute.

Editor’s Tip: Processing the meat until it’s sticky means that it will hold together well once it’s spread into the loaf pan, so don’t be timid while pulsing the ingredients.

Step 4: Form the gyro meat

Transfer the meat mixture into an ungreased 9×5-inch loaf pan. Press and smooth the top of the mixture with a rubber spatula, packing it tightly into the pan.

Step 5: Bake the gyro meat in a water bath

Place the loaf pan into a larger baking pan and add 1 inch of hot water to the larger pan. Bake until a thermometer inserted into the meat reads 165°, 60 to 70 minutes. Remove the loaf pan from the water bath and immediately transfer it to a wire rack.

Editor’s Tip: This recipe is one of many reasons why you need an instant-read meat thermometer. It’s next to impossible to gauge the doneness of the tightly packed ground meat just by looking at it.

Step 6: Press the gyro meat

Place a second 9×5-inch loaf pan, bottom side down, onto the meat mixture in the pan. Weigh down the top pan with several cans. Cool it for 30 minutes. Remove the weighted pan and drain off the grease from the loaf pan. Return the loaf to the pan and refrigerate it until it’s chilled, about three hours or overnight.

Editor’s Tip: Pressing the meat compresses it, so you can slice it very thin without it crumbling. Use cans of the same weight for evenly pressed meat.

Step 7: Slice and sear the gyro meat

Remove the loaf from the pan and cut it widthwise into 1/4-inch slices. In a large skillet, heat some oil over medium-high heat. In batches, cook and stir the meat slices until they’re lightly browned, three to five minutes, adding more oil as needed.

Step 8: Assemble the gyros

Serve the gyro meat in pita breads with toppings as desired.

Gyro Recipe Variations

• Spices up the gyro meat: This recipe includes classic gyro meat seasonings, but for a more robust taste, you can also add paprika, cayenne or ground coriander.
• Turn it into a salad: Instead of making a traditional pita sandwich, serve the meat over fresh vegetables to make a gyro salad.
• Punch up the toppings: If you like toppings with a bolder taste, try pickled red onions instead of fresh ones, a sprinkle of crumbled feta, and a handful of fresh mint, parsley, cilantro or dill.

How to Store Gyros

Store leftover gyro meat in the refrigerator in an airtight food storage container for three to four days. For the best texture, slice and crisp only what you plan to eat that day. You can store pita bread at room temperature in a sealed bag or container so it doesn’t dry out. Keep all of the toppings separate until it’s time to assemble the gyros.

Can you make gyros ahead of time?

Gyros are a fantastic make-ahead recipe, since the meat needs to be refrigerated for at least three hours or overnight before it’s sliced. For the freshest-tasting veggies, wait to slice the onion, tomato and lettuce until you’re ready to assemble the gyros.

Can you freeze gyros?

Since making gyro meat takes time, freezing cooked gyro meat (and pita breads, separately) is a great plan. When freezing food, the top priority is to prevent freezer burn by keeping air away from the food. Rather than freezing sliced meat, which exposes more surface area to air, freeze the whole cooked and cooled block of meat, either in one large piece or in a few smaller chunks. Freeze it for two to three months, and defrost it in the refrigerator overnight.

Gyro Tips

What should you serve with gyros?

Gyros pair well with most Mediterranean dishes, such as Greek salad, roasted Greek potatoes with feta cheese, and, of course, baklava for dessert. Since the meat has to be prepared in advance and only takes minutes to slice and crisp, gryos make a quick, filling lunch. It’s a hearty dish, so even a simple side of your favorite fruit salad recipe is a great option. You’ll also definitely want tzatziki on your pita, but try making it from scratch so you can have extra to serve on the side.

Can you make a gyro recipe vegetarian?

You can brown a meat substitute, such as tempeh, tofu or plant-based meat, in place of the meat, knowing that the flavor and texture will be slightly different. Mushrooms, eggplant and even chickpeas can also replace meat for a hearty vegetarian filling. You’ll want to season or spice up the filling you choose so the gyro doesn’t taste bland.

How can you prevent dry gyro meat?

Gyro meat has to withstand a long cooking time, refrigeration and sauteing, so you should start with well-marbled ground meat to prevent a dry gyro. This isn’t a great recipe for lean meat, so go for the same ground beef that’s best for burgers: an 80% lean blend. Ground lamb is not always labeled with a specific fat percentage, so we recommend taking a trip to the butcher so you can get exactly what you want. If possible, use ground lamb that is also 80% lean and 20% fat.

Watch How to Make Homemade Gyros

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