Gyro meat, often referred to as doner or shawarma meat, is simply meat roasted on a rotating vertical spit and shaved off. Most Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern countries have some variation of this dish as a common street food. Depending on where you’re getting it, the meat can be made of lamb, beef, goat, chicken or a combination of meats. It’s one of my favorite meats of all time, and one that’s not easily replicated at home without a rotisserie setup. Lava Lake Lamb was gracious enough to send me some ground lamb recently, so I thought it was time to try and figure out how to make it on my own.
I spent a lot of time researching how to make authentic gyro meat at home, and in the end I found that Alton Brown’s approach was just about perfect. It involves processing the meat to make a thick paste, which is then stored for a couple hours before being cooked on the grill using a rotisserie or in the oven using a meatloaf pan. I went with the meatloaf pan variation with just a few adjustments, and it was awesome.
You’ll Need:
2 lbs ground lamb from Lava Lake Lamb (or 2 lbs ground beef, or 1 lb of each)
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp each dried marjoram and rosemary
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh-ground black pepper
Chop your onion and put it in a food processor, mixing until it is finely minced/blended. Take the onion out of the processor and squeeze it in a cheese cloth to remove most of its juices.
Add the remaining ingredients, including the squeezed onion, and process/pulse it for about a minute.
The meat is done processing when it is well-mixed and slightly tacky to the touch.
Place the meat on a large piece of plastic wrap, and wrap it as tightly as you can. Twirling the ends of the wrap will help tighten the loaf. Place the loaf in the fridge for two hours.
After two hours, remove the loaf from the plastic wrap and place it in a loaf pan, pressing it firmly down to remove any air pockets. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
Place the loaf pan in a large roasting pan and fill it with enough water to reach halfway up the loaf pan. Bake in the oven until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 170 degrees, about an hour and 20 minutes.
Allow the beautiful loaf to rest for 10 minutes before slicing thinly.
Serve it however you please. We like it with lettuce, tomatoes, and homemade tzatziki. Cucumbers too, if we’re feeling frisky.
Looks delicious – really enjoying reading your recipes and appreciate the simple directions and illustrative photos. Thanks.
Thank you! My goal is to keep adding one recipe a week, but I keep coming up with new stuff to cook…hence the four recipes this week!
Thanks for this. I can’t wait to try it! I really miss my gyros :)
Mmm! Looks delicious – I’ll be trying this one soon!
this is brilliant! i never thought to do it like this. im definitely doing this with my next batch of ground lamb. thanks!
Thanks guys. Definitely try it out and let me know how it goes!
Looks delicious. I ate a lot of kebab when I was in France – the only thing open after 7pm and a god-send if you’re hungry.
I look forward to trying your recipe, but can you explain what the plastic wrap step accomplishes if you’re making the meatloaf variation?
I actually have a rotisserie so I might give that a try if I can the loaf firm enough.
Hi Marcy, the plastic wrap step is to allow the flavors to combine. It also helps if you’re going to use a rotisserie, because it’ll allow the loaf/mixture to firm up a bit as well. Let me know how it goes!
Reblogged this on priscillajoannadaim and commented:
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wow, this looks great! I think I will try it this coming weekend, along with your tzakzi. sauce. 1
I LOVE your blog!!! Your story is incredible. I follow the Perfect Health Diet. I am also on the search for a general doctor who believes in this stuff. I’m in the NYC area. I just thought I’d ask if you know of any good doctors in this area, since you have had quite a medical history. Thanks! HW
Hi Helena,
Unfortunately I don’t know of any Primary Care Managers in NYC. All of my treatment has been in Hawaii, California, and Maryland…that’s a great idea for a website though! :)
Made this and the sauce last night!!! All I can say is Thank you and I’m in love with your recipes!!!! Even my not so Paleo husband and family loved it!!!!
Awesome Teri, thanks for coming back and commenting! :)
Looks awesome, I’m certainly going to give this a try! Just wish it was tomoato and cucumber season already…
I have a regular horizontal rotisserie. Do you think it would hold together on that? Hmm, maybe if I stick the rod through it and freeze it. Actually, at the gyro stand I go to the meat is frozen when they put it on the vertical rotisserie, so I’m pretty sure it will work.
Okay, so no question after all. :-) I’ll update you when I try it to let you know how it came out.
I’ve had this recipe bookmarked (and in an open tab on my iPhone lol!) since you released it. I finally made it tonight, and it was AWESOME!!! I used half lamb/half beef, but I think next time I’ll use all lamb. It was so flavorful, and had the perfect texture! Ad your tzatziki recipe is delish, too! I used a splash of ouzo in place of the lemon juice…
Thank you for allowing me to enjoy gyros meat again!!!!
Wow, thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks Man you did it again!!! I live within walking distance of a Kebab shop and have eaten more kebab’s than I would like to remember. It was my go to convenience food, (I thought they were a kind of healthy take-away) and the hardest to give up. I had no idea it could be made at home until I saw your recipe! This paired with a homemade rice flour/tapocia wrap and all the trimmings made me so happy!!! Best meal of the month – HANDS DOWN!
Currently waiting to pop mine into the oven, and the tzatziki is a go. My husband, son, and I could not be more excited! I’ll be back to update :)
Whoa. Big hit. Big, Big Hit! We did half lamb half beef because the other pkg. of lamb I had was frozen, but it was fantastic! I can’t wait to do an all lamb version next. The ingredients came together so beautifully, and as a whole was so fresh and vibrant…just lovely. My husband was very impressed. He kept saying things like, “Best thing I’ve had like EVER…and…It just seemed so bright and fresh, and healthy…and (my personal favorite)…I somehow feel like a better person having eaten that.” That, my friend, is high praise! Many thanks!
Jennifer, thanks for the feedback! You just made my day.
You definitely had it coming :) I’m about to fix another omelet w/gyro and tzatziki. I’ve been looking forward to those since I decided to try the recipe!