Best Lamb Gyros Recipes

LIZZY217'S LAMB GYROS

Steps:

• Whisk together the vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, brandy, crushed garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, and oregano in a bowl, and pour into a resealable plastic bag. Add the cubed lamb, coat with the marinade, squeeze out excess air, and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator 12 to 24 hours.
• Once the meat has finished marinating, remove from the refrigerator, and allow to stand at room temperature for 1 hour. While the meat is warming up, prepare the tzatziki sauce by whisking together the yogurt and cucumber in a mixing bowl along with 1 clove of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Wrap the sauce with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Preheat the oven's broiler and set the oven rack about 4 inches from the heat source. Remove the lamb cubes from the marinade, and squeeze off excess. Discard the remaining marinade. Spray a broiling pan with cooking spray, thread the meat onto the skewers, and place the skewers onto the prepared pan.
• Broil under the preheated broiler to your desired degree of doneness, turning every few minutes so the meat cooks evenly. It should take about 10 minutes to cook the meat to medium-well.
• To assemble the sandwiches, cook each pocket bread in a microwave on high until hot, 20 to 30 seconds each. Split each piece in half, and open up the pockets. Divide the tomato and onion slices among the pocket bread halves. Stuff with shredded lettuce, then fill with the broiled lamb. Sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese, and top with the tzatziki sauce to serve.

GREEK GRILLED LEG OF LAMB: GYROS

Steps:

• With a sharp knife, make 20 slits across 1 side of the lamb and insert the garlic slivers. Place in a large non-reactive dish.
• In a bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Pour over the lamb and rub evenly across the surface. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate, refrigerated, for at least 2 and up to 6 hours, turning occasionally.
• Remove from the refrigerator and let come to room temperature. Season lightly on all sides with Essence. Brush a grill lightly with olive oil and preheat to medium heat.
• Remove the lamb from the marinade and place on the grill. Cook, turning occasionally until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F for medium-rare, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the grill and transfer to a platter. Tent with foil and let rest for 12 minutes before carving.
• Thinly slice the lamb and place the meat in the center of the pita breads. Top with Tzatziki Sauce and chopped tomatoes, and serve.
• Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.
• Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch. Published by William and Morrow, 1993.
• In a medium bowl combine all the ingredients and chill for at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to marry.

SOUTH AUSSIE LAMB YIROS (OR GYROS, SOUVLAKI, KEBABS, DONER KABAB

Steps:

• Slice lamb into very thin strips. Place in a plastic bag together with the olive oil and nostimini blend. Massage to make sure the oil and nostimini has coated all of the meat. Allow to marinate for minimum of 30 minutes.
• While lamb marinates thinly slice tomato and onion. Shred lettuce. Set aside in fridge.
• Cut 2 foil sheets 10cm (4") larger all around that your pita bread. Cut 2 baking paper sheets the same size as the pita. Place one sheet of baking paper on top of each sheet of foil.
• Heat 2 frypans to med-hot.
• Lightly spray one side of a pita with cooking spray and place this side down on one fry pan. Spray the other pan with cooking spray and stir-fry half the meat until cooked. (Do not allow to stew - crusty bits are good.).
• When meat is ready remove from heat. Place one foil/paper stack on a plate.
• Working quickly, remove pita from heat and place on the paper with toasted side up.
• Now place the meat then half the salad items and tzatziki down the middle of the pita. Use the paper to tightly roll each side of the pita into the centre ensuring one side crosses the other. Roll package in the foil. Twist the bottom of the foil to catch the juices.
• Repeat with remaining ingredients.
• Serve with plenty of napkins!

ROASTED LEG OF LAMB (GYROS)

Steps:

• Finely chop up 1/2 of the garlic on a cutting board and sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt. Mash the garlic and salt together with the flat-side of a knife into a paste. Add the oregano and continue to mash until incorporated. Put the garlic-oregano paste in a small bowl, add the lemon juice and 1 cup of olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Slice the remaining garlic into thin slivers.
• Put the lamb on a large platter, and trim any excess fat. Cut the lamb in 1/2 lengthwise so you have 2 large pieces. Make slits all over the meat with a sharp knife, and push the garlic slivers inside. Rub 1/2 of the garlic-oregano paste all over the lamb and season the meat with salt and pepper. Roll up each piece of lamb lengthwise and tie with butcher's twine to hold the roasts together. Put the lamb on a large platter and slather with the remaining garlic-oregano paste. Marinate, covered, in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Wipe off the excess paste from the lamb so it won't burn in the oven. Place a large roasting pan over 2 burners on medium-high flame and coat with a fair amount of olive oil. Put the lamb roasts in the roasting pan and sear to form a nice brown crust on all sides. Transfer the pan (and lamb) to the oven and roast for 1 to 1 1/2 hours; it should be pink in the center and the internal temperature reads 130 degrees F. Allow the lamb to stand 10 minutes to let the juices settle before and slicing.
• Cut off the butcher's twine and thinly slice the lamb. Place the meat in the center of the pita breads. Top with lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and tzatziki.
• Put all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and combine with a fork. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to marry.

GROUND LAMB GYROS WITH CUCUMBER YOGURT SAUCE

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 deg.
• FOR THE LAMB LOAF.
• Combine lamb, bread, egg, milk, onion, garlic, parsley and seasonings in mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly, kneading. Shape mixture into a 7" X 4"loaf.
• Place loaf on rack for drainage and bake.
• 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until temp of 180 deg. Allow the loaf to rest. Can be used at this time to make your gyros, or covered and stored in the frig until the next day.
• FOR THE SAUCE.
• Whisk together the cucumbers, sour cream, yogurt, green onions, lemon juice, salt, white pepper and mint. Store in frig until serving time.
• HEATING AND ASSEMBLING GYROS.
• Put slices of the lamb loaf on a flat grill pan and heat on low to medium heat. Meanwhile, put pita rounds between two sheets of aluminum foil, crimp the edges, and put in oven to warm.
• Put portions of the hot meat on the warmed pita round, and pile the sweet onion slices and tomatoes on top. Serve the gyro with a generous side dish of the cucumber / yogurt sauce. Serve immediately.

EASY LAMB AND BEEF KABOBS OR GYROS

Steps:

• Soak skewers in water for 30 minutes while you prepare the meat mixture.
• In a large bowl, combine all the other ingredients. Mix well with hands (use rubber gloves).
• Dry off the skewers so they aren't dripping wet, then form an oblong "sausage" around the skewer, securing firmly.
• Cover and refrigerate skewered meat for 30 minutes.
• If possible, use a veggie or fish grill (that has a smaller grate); brush or spray grill grate with oil.
• Set grill to medium-off-medium and grill each side for 5 minutes, turning only once, or until the outside of the meat is charred and the inside is medium.

LAMB GYROS

Steps:

• Heat olive oil over medium high heat; add onions and garlic and saute for five minutes. Add red pepper flakes. Add lamb and cook until there is no pink left.
• In a small bowl, combine the parmesan cheese, oregano, cumin, and pepper. Mix, and add to lamb, stirring well to evenly coat the lamb.
• Cook for five minutes, then add the sliced mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes. Cook until fully heated.
• Serve on flatbread or pita bread: sprinkle feta cheese and olives to taste (about one ounce of each), add the lamb mixture. Add a cucumber sauce if you like, and serve.

EASY LAMB GYROS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Spray a large loaf pan with cooking spray.
• Combine lamb, Greek seasoning, and egg in a bowl. Mix until ingredients are very well combined (overmixing is preferable here.) Firmly press mixture into the prepared loaf pan, making sure there are no air pockets under the meat. Cover with foil.
• Cook in the preheated oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C), about 2 hours.
• Remove from the oven and let rest, covered, until all the grease on top is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Remove meat from the pan and cut into thin slices.
• Load meat into the center of warmed pitas. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, onion, and tzatziki sauce. Serve immediately.

BEST HOMEMADE LAMB GYROS

Steps:

• Two to three days before:.
• Cut the meat into small cubes, removing only large pieces of fat. Grind rosemary until fine, add the garlic, oregano, rosemary, salt, pepper, and lemon zest (fine grated from one lemon) and process a bit. Do not add the onion!
• Place the meat and spice mixture in a plastic bag, mix well, seal tightly and chill, turning now and then.
• 8 to 18 hours before serving:.
• Coarsely chop the onion and process it in the food processor until it is mushy with no onion pieces in it. Pour it out onto a clean fine weave cloth, gather the cloth up around the onion and squeeze out the liquid very well until the onion is very dry.
• Working in batches, grind the meat cubes in the food processor until finely ground. Add the onion to all the meat and mix well. Then re-process in batches until the mixture is reduced to a fluffy paste -- this may take two or more minutes per batch. Knead the meat mixture very well, form into a compact log 8-10 inches long with blunt ends, and wrap very tightly in plastic wrap (see picture). Chill for 3 to 18 hours.
• 1.5 to 2 hours before serving:.
• Remove plastic wrap and re-wrap tightly in foil. Put on indirect heat on the BBQ 375-400 degrees, turning every 15-20 minutes for about 60-70 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 150 degrees. Remove from grill and leave in foil for at least 20 minutes. Final temperature should be 160-165.
• Slice very thin horizontal slices. If you like your gyros meat crispy, saute the slices in a hot skillet for a few minutes before serving (I like mine soft, so I just zap it very briefly if I need to warm it up!).
• Serve with tzatziki (try #59336) and warm pita.

GRILLED LAMB OR CHICKEN/TURKEY MEATBALL GYROS WITH PESTO AND TZATZIKI.

Steps:

• 1. For the tzatziki sauce: Combine all of the tzatziki ingredients (yogurt through sugar) in a food processor. Season with a dash of salt and black pepper; pulse until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Add diced cucumber and fold with a spatula. Spoon into a bowl and refrigerate. Rinse food processor with water.
 2. For the mint pesto: Combine ingredients (mint through lemon) in a food processor and add a dash of salt and pepper. Pulse while drizzling olive oil in through the vegetable shoot until you reach desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.
 3. Preheat a grill to medium high heat. In a bowl, combine all the meatball ingredients (except cooking spray). Work with your hands until everything is thoroughly combined. Form meatballs using your hands and place them on a plate. Brush meatballs with canola oil or spritz with cooking spray. Place them on the grill and cook, rotating a few times, about 8-10 minutes or until cooked through.
4. To serve, place meatballs in toasted or grilled pita bread. Drizzle with tzatziki and mint pesto and top with cucumbers, feta and fresh cilantro leaves.

GREEK GRILLED LEG OF LAMB: GYROS

Steps:

• With a sharp knife, make 20 slits across 1 side of the lamb and insert the garlic slivers. Place in a large non-reactive dish. In a bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Pour over the lamb and rub evenly across the surface. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate, refrigerated, for at least 2 and up to 6 hours, turning occasionally. Remove from the refrigerator and let come to room temperature. Season lightly on all sides with Essence. Brush a grill lightly with olive oil and preheat to medium heat. Remove the lamb from the marinade and place on the grill. Cook, turning occasionally until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F for medium-rare, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the grill and transfer to a platter. Tent with foil and let rest for 12 minutes before carving. Thinly slice the lamb and place the meat in the center of the pita breads. Top with Tzatziki Sauce and chopped tomatoes, and serve.

"GRILLED HERBED LAMB GYROS"

Steps:

• FOR LAMB: Combine first 11 ingredients. Rub well into both sides of lamb. Place lamb in large zip-type storage bag or leave in bowl covered. Place into refrigerator for at least 2 days and up to 3. Remove from refrigerator 1 hour before cooking to allow lamb to come to room temperature. Wipe off most herb mixture, reserving marinade for basting. Roast lamb over coals or low gas grill heat covered for 20 minutes, basting and turning after 10 minutes. Remove cover and baste and grill another 10 minutes (5 minutes each side) or until lamb is cooked medium - medium rare. Remove to platter, tent with foil and let lamb rest for at least 15 minutes. Slice thinly across the grain. Place in pita bread warmed quickly on the grill . Top with tzatziki (traditional yougurt sauce - recipe follows), shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, sliced red onion and crumbled feta cheese. For Taziki: Place yogurt into fine strainer lined with cheescloth (or damp coffee filter). Set strainer over bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let drain overnight to make "yogurt cheese". Discard whey mixture that accumulates in bottom of bowl. Remove seeds from cucumber and grate. Salt lightly and let sit one hour. Squeeze grated cucumber to remove excess water. Mix cucumber with rest of ingredients into yogurt and let rest in refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Serve in hollowed out red cabbage to make a clever presentation!

LAMB GYROS WITH CUCUMBER YOGURT SAUCE

Steps:

• Mix yogurt, cucumber, grated onion, first garlic clove and sugar in mixing bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 mins. In a large bowl, mix lamb, remaining garlic and seasonings and shape into 2 large patties and broil until cooked through. Carve each into slices and serve in pita with onions, tomatoes and yogurt sauce.

SESAME LAMB 'GYROS'

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk together the sesame paste, yogurt, lemon juice and garlic until smooth. Fold in the cucumbers and season. Spread the 'tzatziki' on the pita and lay warm lamb and tomato slices on top. Spread more 'tzatziki' on the tomatoes and garnish with sesame seeds.
• Plating: Slice in half and serve.

GREEK AMERICAN LAMB GYROS

Steps:

• Combine lamb, kosher salt, pepper, and oregano in medium bowl.
• Mix with hands until homogeneous.
• Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
• Meanwhile, place yogurt in fine-mesh strainer set over small bowl.
• Allow to drain in refrigerator for 1 hour.
• Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Place cold mixture in bowl of food processor with onion, garlic, and bacon. Process until smooth puree is formed, about 1 minute total, scraping down sides with rubber spatula as necessary.
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• With moist hands, form meat mixture into a rectangle about 1-1/2 inches high, 8-inches long, and 5-inches wide.
• Bake until center of loaf reads 155 degrees Fahrenheit on an instant read thermometer, about 30 minutes.
• Allow loaf to rest at room temperature for fifteen minutes (or refrigerate for up to a week-see note).
• Meanwhile, make sauce.
• Combine strained yogurt, mayonnaise, garlic, lemon juice, and parsley; stir to combine.
• Season to taste with salt. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to use.
• Adjust broiler rack to highest position (about 1-1/2 to 2 inches from broiler element). Preheat broiler.
• Slice loaf crosswise into 1/8th to 1/4-inch strips (each strip should be about 5-inches long and 1-1/2 inches wide).
• Lay strips on rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
• Broil until edges are brown and crispy, about 2 minutes.
• Tent with aluminum foil.
• Warm bread by placing on a rimmed baking sheet and broiling until soft and pliant, about 45 seconds per side.
• Spread 1/4 cup of sauce over each piece of bread.
• Divide meat evenly between sandwiches.
• Top as desired, wrap with foil, and serve.

LAMB MEATBALL GYROS WITH YOGURT AND MINT - REAL SIMPLE MAG -

Steps:

• Place an oven rack in the second-highest position and heat broiler.
• Combine the lamb, raisins, cinnamon, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, the bread crumbs, egg, and three-quarters of the scallions in a large bowl.
• Shape the mixture into golf ball?size meatballs and place on a foil-lined baking sheet.
• Broil, turning once, until cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes total.
• Divide the flat bread among individual plates and top with the meatballs, yogurt, mint, and the remaining scallions.

LAMB MEATBALL GYROS WITH YOGURT AND MINT

Steps:

• Place an oven rack in the second-highest position and heat broiler. Combine the lamb, raisins, cinnamon, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, the bread crumbs, egg, and three-quarters of the scallions in a large bowl. Shape the mixture into golf ball?size meatballs and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Broil, turning once, until cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes total. Divide the flat bread among individual plates and top with the meatballs, yogurt, mint, and the remaining scallions.

LAMB GYROS

Steps:

• When you've got your lamb off the bone and are faced with a large slab of meat, you'll want to do a little more trimming to get it ready for the grill. Go ahead and remove the excess fat and any remaining membranes that you see.
• Cut the lamb up so that each chunk you cut off is uniform in size. Some pieces will be thicker than others, but that's perfectly fine. This way you can just pull each piece off the grill individually as they reach your desired doneness.
• Now that your meat is trimmed and ready to go it's time to mix up the marinade.
• Start by adding the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, rosemary, oregano, salt, pepper, and garlic to a mixing bowl and whisk together.
• When it's thoroughly mixed, add it to a large zip top bag or shallow baking dish and add the lamb.
• Make sure you toss the meat around so the marinade covers everything and then let it sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Longer is better in this case, so if you can prepare this three or four hours in advance, that's great. Even overnight is fine if you're pressed for time. If you do marinade it for a longer period of time just be sure to occasionally toss or turn the pieces of meat to make sure they are staying well-covered by the marinade.
• After the meat has marinaded for your desired time, pull it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes prior to cooking to allow it to come up closer to room temperature.
• While your meat is resting you can go ahead and get the grill started. Gas or charcoal, doesn't matter. Use what you're comfortable with and what you have.
• Bring the grill up to a medium heat and begin cooking the lamb. If you have a few pieces that are much thicker than the rest, add those first and let them cook for a couple of minutes before adding the rest so that way most of the meat should get done at around the same time. Turn frequently. Continue cooking until the meat reaches around 120-125 degrees for medium-rare, or about 130 degrees for medium. When you pull the meat from the grill at these temperatures and let it rest, the meat will continue to cook and increase at least another five degrees.
• This is where having a good meat thermometer comes in handy, but if you don't have one and you're familiar with cooking steaks and testing their doneness, you can use the same method here.
• Once the meat has rested for about 10 minutes, slice bite-sized pieces, against the grain where possible and dump all of the meat into a large serving bowl. If you'd like, you can add a drizzle of olive oil and a little salt and pepper to the bowl and toss to coat to give it a little finishing touch.
• Finally, take your pieces of pita bread and throw them on the grill, still at medium heat, and let them warm up. We're not looking to get the bread crunchy or anything, but just want to toast it lightly and warm it throughout. It should take just 30-60 seconds.
• Instructions for Tzatziki Sauce:.
• Start by peeling two medium cucumbers and cut in half lengthwise.
• Take a spoon and scoop out the seeds, then give them a rough chop. Once chopped, put the cucumber into a colander or strainer in the sink and sprinkle the kosher salt on top and toss to coat. This step is important because the salt will draw out some of the excess moisture that would otherwise make your tzatziki very thin in consistency. Let the salted cucumber sit for 30-60 minutes.
• For making the sauce a food processor can come in handy, but you can just use a grater to grate the cucumber into small pieces and then chop the herbs and garlic very fine by hand.
• If you have a food processor, add the cucumber, garlic, and dill to the processor and pulse to puree.
• Add the mixture to a bowl and then add the yogurt and lemon juice and fold to incorporate everything. Let it sit in the refrigerator for at least a few hours, but overnight is best. Enjoy!

LAMB GYROS

Steps:

• 1. In a large bowl, combine ground lamb with the bread, allspice, coriander, garlic, onion, savory, and salt and pepper, and knead well. The mixture should hold its shape. Break into 5 sections, each about the size of an orange, then divide each section into 6 balls. Knead and flatten each to a thickness of about 3/4 inch. Cut the bacon slices into squares and thread them on 6 wooden skewers alternately with the meatballs. Smooth the edges with your hand so they will cook evenly. Cover and refrigerate overnight. When ready to cook, broil or grill with moderate heat, turning every 5 minutes. The surface will be crusty and the inside cooked through within 25 minutes. To serve, heat and split the pitas and serve the gyros with the bread, tomatoes seasoned with the vinegar and oil, parsley and yogurt in separate dishes.