Christina's Cucina

An impassioned Italian Scot sharing how to cook authentically, and travel with enthusiasm.

Homemade Greek-Style Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce

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Homemade Greek gyros are not impossible to make at home, as I had originally thought. You’ll see that you can re-create these yummy Mediterranean delights in your own kitchen!

handheld homemade Greek gyro sandwich in a pita

Originally published August 20, 2012.

It’s already “back to school” time when families’ schedules kick into “crazy” gear!

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One problem many families have is balancing after school activities and having time for a healthy dinner.  Besides crock-pot dinners, another option is freezing meals. Freezing some foods is definitely a put-off because of how they taste when defrosted, but others are perfectly suited to the freezer. Luckily, gyros are in the latter category.

How do you pronounce “gyro” in America?

Before we go any further, let’s deal with the pronunciation of this Greek word: I’m not Greek, but saying “jai-roh” just sounds like saying “broo-shetta” for bruschetta to me. The best way to say “gyro” in the US is “YEER-oh,”  without the hard “g.”

Gyro love!

When my kids were younger, their favorite restaurant was Daphne’s, a Greek restaurant chain. They served such tasty options, and compared to other fast food chains, were much healthier too.

I made gyros with a boxed mix of spices many years ago, but it wasn’t anything to write home about. Last year, however, I discovered Alton Brown’s recipe for homemade gyros which had such rave reviews, I decided to give it a try.

You may also enjoy this Greek-inspired recipe for tiropita.

Tiropita Greek-style feta cheese appetizer

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.

eating a homemade Greek gyro

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. 

Homemade Greek gyro on a plate

Homemade Greek Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce
(or Greek-Style Gyros)

 adapted from Alton Brown’s recipe (please note, I’m not claiming these to be authentic, 
I just really like Alton Brown’s recipe)

Ingredients
To Serve

Prepare the homemade Greek gyro meat.

Run the onion in a food processor for about 15 seconds.

onions in a food processor

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

squeezing liquid from the onions

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

making gyros in a food processor

Do so until it looks like a fine paste, about a minute.

gyro meat ready to be cooked

Place the mixture in a loaf pan and press evenly.

gyro meat in a loaf pan

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).

Serve the gyros.

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

homemade Greek gyro meat being sliced

Add this extra step for the most authentic flavor.

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!

browning off gyro meat in a nonstick pan

Serve the homemade Greek gyros.

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

warming pita bread in a pan

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

assembling a homemade gyro

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

assembling a gyro with meat, tomatoes and onion

Serve homemade Greek gyros with rice pilaf or a Greek salad, and enjoy!

eating a homemade Greek gyro

eating a gyro

Homemade Greek Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce (Kebabs*)

Yield: 2 lbs
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.

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
  • 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 (click on the "Write a Review" tab below) or share a photo on Instagram! 😎

© adapted by Christina Conte
Cuisine: Greek / Category: Main Courses

Click here for theTzatziki Sauce Recipe

And why not make baklava for dessert?!

3 pieces of Honey Walnut Baklava stacked on top of each other

 

*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. 

PIN FOR LATER

greek style gyros pin
 
How about trying these, too?
 
 
 

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Reader Interactions

54 Responses

  1. Christina – thanks for publishing this. I’ve done your version many times without knowing you’d published this (i.e., sub in half beef because my wife isn’t keen on Alton’s all-lamb version).

    Some comments on questions in thread.

    Dryness – a lot depends on the fat level in the raw meat. I try to find lamb that’s reported to be 85/15 and get similar beef.

    Pan fry – using a bit of ghee is especially helpful if you end up with meat dryer than you’d like.

    The question about draining and temp while sitting – just tip the pan to drain briefly (hold the loaf in with a spoon or tongs pressed against it) then pop th4e foil atop and put the brick on it. The meat will continue to rise in temperature due to carry over.

    Water bath – a larger pyrex rectangular dish is great for this. About 1.5 inches of water up the sides of the loaf pan is fine. Just don’t forget the water’s in there when you yank it out!

    Pork? Yes, traditionally sliced pork (no ground meat) spiced and stacked into a loaf then cooked on the upright rotisserie. But with pork being forbidden to several major religions lamb, beef, combos, even chicken are substituted pretty frequently in the US. What I have seen of pork gyro meat looks to me more in appearance like what you would find called shawarma in a US restaurant catering to many Middle Eastern ethnicities. Whereas what we in US call gyro meat is almost always ground, and seldom has pork. Most of the time in the US it seems if in a standard Greek restaurant and you want pork, it’ll be souvlaki (pork loin or tenderloin in chunks).

    Your recipe will work equally well with (beef+lamb), (beef+pork), or (pork+lamb).

    You can also test out some variations to add a bit more zing and/or earthiness to the meat. Red onion adds additional flavor, as does a minor amount of cumin, thyme, and oregano (1 tsp or less, not the TBS used in the case of your rosemary and marjoram).

    One final thing to try is, at first, mix everything together by hand or with a wooden spoon in a bowl, and put it in the fridge for a couple of hours to let the flavors come together some. Then food process and cook as normal.

    Reply

  5. The flavor of this recipe was soooo good. Unfortunately, mine turned out really dry though. I wanted to love this method since we love gyro meat in our house and its pricey to buy pre-made or from a restaurant. I wish I knew where I went wrong

    Reply

    • Hi Lindsay, It’s not a super moist meat by nature since the fat drains out of the meat when it bakes, but did you maybe use a very lean beef? My guess is maybe it baked too long? You could pull it out sooner, and if it’s not completely up to temperature/cooked, you can finish it off in the pan. That might help, good luck! :)

      Reply

  6. This recipe was incredible. We ended up using Naan from the store and I fried it up. I will be making this again!

    Reply

  7. Been craving greek food and these hit the spot, especially now with not wanting to go out to eat! Thanks for the phenomenal recipe, Christina!

    Reply

  8. Gyros are my favorite meal! So glad to be able to make these at home. Thank you!
    One part I wasn’t clear on – after you take the pan out and drain the oil, do you remove the meat from the pan, wrap it in foil and then leave it on the cooling rack w a brick or stick it back in the oven w a brick? If it’s sitting on the cooling rack wrapped in foil, how does the temp continue to increase?

    Reply

    • Oh you’ll be so happy! Regarding the brick, no, you don’t remove it from the pan. Keep it in the pan, but cover the meat with the foil (or you could wrap the brick in foil) and set it on the meat. As I noted in the recipe, I haven’t seen great results in doing this part, even though I think it may help compress the meat more, just be sure the temperature is 175 or even 170 since my instructions include reheating the meat on a nonstick pan to get that crispy gyro characteristic. Let me know how they turn out! :)

      Reply

  11. Is it putting the onion juice back into the meat mixture, or the actual onion bits? I was just a little confused on that part.

    Reply

    • Sorry, Marshall. I actually have some updated photos to add. Dump the juice and keep the onion bits (hard to know what to actually call it!) :) Enjoy! Just had them again yesterday and they are SOOOO good! CC

      Reply

  12. I can’t wait to make these! They look amazing. One question–do I remove the meat from the baking pan after cooking, when I drain fat and put on a cooling rack? Or leave in the pan on the cooling rack? I love the use of fresh ingredients and will try with the sauce.

    Reply

    • Hi Amber, I still have some leftover meat in the fridge from just making these again myself! I leave the loaf in the pan when I drain the fat. This time, I just couldn’t get the temp of the meat up after taking it out of the oven, but it was totally fine especially because I do the crispy step afterwards. So delicious!! Let me know know how they turn out! :)

      Reply

  14. Very interesting! I like your browning step. It adds a more traditional look if nothing else, but I’m sure adds some flavor as well. I don’t care what’s traditional or authentic, as long as it’s good!

    Reply

  19. Thank you Chritina. I am novest, but am definitely goeing to make your Greek style Gyros (and other).
    Your Kumquat recipes were a major success.
    Here down under in South Africa
    Your website is one of the best.

    Reply

  21. How funny. I’ve only recently come across gyros – in the recipe book I just reviewed. Why have I never heard of them before? They sound delicious. And I’m so glad you’ve let numpties like me know how they’re pronounced. I would be saying GIRO not YEER-oh.

    Reply

  22. Hello. This recipe looks delicious and I’m going to try making it by the end of the week. I have to get ahold of a food processor first. I have a question. I have the Power Air Fryer Oven which has a rotisserie. Am I able to use that even though it does not stand upright or will the meat fall off? Also if I am able to use that style of rotisserie what settings and time would I cook the meat using my air fryer. Thank you for your help and for a great recipe.

    Reply

    • Hi Lainey, I’m sorry, but I literally just opened an air fryer this morning and haven’t tried it yet, so I have no clue what time and temp to set it for yours! Hope you get a good result! Let me know, CC

      Reply

  27. Wow! This looks amazing. I have never eaten a kebab from the takeaway as I’m suspicious of the meat. I didn’t know they were called gyros. I have never seen a recipe like this and I own a lot of books. Def going to try this on my family. Love the blog: such a great variety of dishes.

    Reply

    • Thank you so much, CarouselBelle! I’m so happy you’re going to try making gyros and I’m sure your family will love them. If you’d like to be kept up to date with my recipes, you can always sign up for my email subscription. Thanks for stopping by! CC :)

      Reply

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