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Summary
By accident, we made these gyros without the bacon and still absolutely love them, so if you’re looking to cut fat, it can certainly be omitted. While not difficult, making gyro meat is a lengthy process. If you’d like to start early to make things less stressful at mealtime, the ooked lamb mixture and sauce can be prepared through step No. 3 up to a week in advance. Store wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator. To serve, continue as directed from step No. 4.
Servings
4 servings
Prep Time
1 hour, 20 minutes
Cook Time
0 hours, 40 minutes
Ingredients
For the meat:
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons picked fresh oregano leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
- 1/2 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 (optional)
For the yogurt sauce:
- 3/4 cup plain, unsweetened yogurt
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 clove garlic, minced on microplane
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley or mint
To serve:
- 4 pieces soft, hand-pulled-style pita (not pocket pita)
- Chopped tomato
- Finely sliced onion
- Cubed peeled seeded cucumber
- Hot sauce
Instructions
Combine 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. 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°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 1/2 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)
Meanwhile, make sauce. Combine strained yogurt, mayonnaise, garlic, lemon juice, and parsley and 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) and 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 and broil until edges are brown and crispy, about 2 minutes. Tent with aluminum foil. Warm bread by placing on 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.
