Greek-American gyros employ the same vertical rotisserie method of cooking as authentic Greek gyros, and both come served in rich, fluffy pita bread with a yogurt-based sauce, tomatoes, and onions, but that's where the similarities end. Unlike Greek gyros, which are usually made with whole pieces of thinly-sliced marinated pork skewered in a large stack on the rotisserie before being cooked and shaved, Greek-American gyros are made with a large, sausage-like cone of seasoned minced lamb and beef.As great as the real deal is, in all honesty, I prefer the Greek-American style. When properly cooked, the thinly shaved pieces of meat offer a sublime mixture of textures. Crispy, salty edges, and moist, tender areas that have the same satisfyingly resilient texture that a good hot dog has.
Notes
- The original recipe calls for straining regular plain yogurt. Modified to use Greek yogurt.
Ingredients
For the meat:
- 1 pound ground lamb - or ground 85% lean ground b
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt - or 1 teaspoon table salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons picked fresh oregano leaves - or ½ teaspoon dried
- ½ onion - cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 clove garlic - sliced
- 3 ounces slab bacon - or about 5 slices sliced bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
For the yogurt sauce:
- ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 clove garlic - minced on microplane
- 2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley or mint
To serve:
- 4 pieces soft - hand-pulled-style pita (not pocket pita)
- chopped fresh tomato
- finely sliced onion
- cubed peeled seeded cucumber
- hot sauce
Instructions
Season the lamb:
- Combine the lamb, salt, pepper, and oregano in medium bowl.
- Mix with hands until homogeneous.
- Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to over night.
Make the meat loaf:
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 300°F.
- 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 rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- With moist hands, form meat mixture into rectangle about 1 ½ inches high, 8-inches long, and 5-inches wide.
- Bake until center of loaf reads 155°F 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)
Make sauce:
- Combine Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, garlic, lemon juice, and parsley and stir to combine.
- Season to taste with salt.
- Refrigerate, covered, until ready to use.
Broil the lamb:
- Adjust broiler rack to highest position (about 1 ½ to 2 inches from broiler element) and preheat broiler.
- Slice loaf crosswise into ⅛th to ¼-inch strips (each strip should be about 5-inches long and 1 ½ inches wide).
- Lay strips on rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and broil until edges are brown and crispy, about 2 minutes.
- Tent with aluminum foil.
To serve:
- Warm bread by placing on rimmed baking sheet and broiling until soft and pliant, about 45 seconds per side.
- Spread ¼ cup of sauce over each piece of bread.
- Divide meat evenly between sandwiches.
- Top as desired, wrap with foil, and serve.