Recipe to Make Greek-Style Sandwiches with Homemade Gyro Meat

It wasn’t difficult to make, in fact, I was surprised at how few ingredients were in the meat mixture. I have to tell you though, the flavor was fantastic! My family devoured them. I was elated over accomplishing yet another feat in the kitchen: making homemade gyros that tasted great.

If you own a rotisserie, you could use it with this recipe, but since most people don’t, I’ve shown the alternate method.

Pita bread for the gyro sandwich.

You’ll want to buy the soft, thick Greek pita bread for gyro sandwiches. However, you can always make my fried bread dough, which is absolutely delicious, and is great paired with this meat.

Gyro meat freezes perfectly!

Unless you’re having a large group for dinner, this recipe makes a lot of homemade gyros. However, this is not a problem, just freeze the leftover meat, right after slicing it. The pita freezes perfectly too. Imagine having delicious homemade gyros on a weeknight- a quick salad and dinner’s ready!

Here is my version of Alton Brown’s recipe, as I made some changes, mainly with the ingredients (beef and lamb vs just lamb). I also added a step to make them more crisp, which imitates the rotisserie method quite nicely. 

Place the onion in the center of a kitchen towel and squeeze out the juice and return to the food processor.

Add the meat, garlic, spices, salt and pepper to the onion, and process.

Continue until it looks like a fine paste, about a minute.

Place the meat mixture in a loaf pan and press evenly.

Step 2: Bake the meat.

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) (I found the times are not quite accurate, and I didn’t know if the brick actually had an effect, so I don’t even do it now, but I think the important part is getting the meat to the correct temperature).

Step 3: Extra Step for an Authentic Taste

Place meat on a cutting board and slice as thinly as possible with an electric knife (using anything else would be much more difficult.)

I added the following step myself as I think it mimics the rotisserie flavor a bit more, and gives those crispy bits we all love! Add a few slices to a nonstick frying pan (very little or no oil) and heat gently until the meat browns a little. I highly recommend this!

Step 4: Serve the Homemade Greek Gyros

In another pan, heat the pita bread. If you can’t find pita bread, you could always make my fried bread recipe, but cook it without the oil.

Finally, place the meat on one half of the pita bread. 

Top with some tzatziki sauce, lettuce and tomatoes, and white or red onion. I prefer a sweet onion on gyros. You could also put a little dressing on the tomatoes too (extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, salt, oregano).

Serve homemade Greek gyros with rice pilaf if you like. Alternatively, you can make a Greek salad and serve the gyro meat on top, or serve it alongside some salad, rice pilaf and fries if you want to skip the pita bread.

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Homemade Greek Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce (Kebabs*)

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes

My version of Alton Brown's delicious gyro recipe.

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Ingredients

• 1 medium size onion, roughly chopped
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb ground lamb
• 2 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

To Serve

• Tzatziki Sauce (recipe link in directions)
• lettuce
• sliced tomatoes
• sliced sweet onion

Instructions

1. Run the onion in a food processor for about 15 seconds. Place the onion in the center of a kitchen towel and squeeze out the juice and return to the food processor.
2. Add the meat, garlic, spices, salt and pepper to the onion, and process. Do so until it looks like a fine paste, about a minute. Place the mixture in a loaf pan and press evenly.
3. 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.)
4. Remove from the oven, drain fat, and place on a cooling rack.
5. 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) (I found the times are not quite accurate, and I didn't know if the brick actually had an effect, but I think the important part is getting the meat to the correct temperature.)
6. Place meat on a cutting board and slice as thinly as possible with an electric knife (using anything else would be much more difficult.)
7. I added the following step myself as I think it mimics the rotisserie a bit more. Add a few slices to a nonstick frying pan (very little or no oil) and heat gently until the meat browns a little.
8. In another pan, heat the pita bread.
9. Finally, place the meat on one half of the pita, topped with tzatziki sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, and onion. You could also put a little Greek dressing on the tomatoes too (extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, salt, oregano.)
10. Serve Homemade Greek Gyros with rice pilaf or a Greek salad, and enjoy!

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 gyro
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 343Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 106mgSodium: 692mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 30g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a review by clicking on the 5 stars above, in the purple header (a form will appear) or tag me on Instagram! 😍

Click here for theTzatziki Sauce Recipe

And why not make baklava for dessert?!

*For UK readers: I’ve noticed that the UK doesn’t really have “gyros.” Rather, there’s the Turkish “doner kebabs” or just “kebabs”, which are more popular, although they are not the same as a gyro. 

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