Lamb Gyro with Tzatziki

Lamb gyro wraps with tzatziki are a very popular Greek food around the world. There are similar versions of this sandwich in the Middle East (a popular one is shawarma). The lamb is seasoned and puréed, cooked like a meatloaf, then cooled completely before slicing so the juices don’t run out of the meat. We fry very thin slices of lamb to make it crispy and hot, then stuff pita with the flavorful lamb, tasty tzatziki sauce, and fresh vegetables (and optionally feta crumbles).

Preparing gyro meat

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Peel and mince the garlic, then transfer it to a food processor.

Next, add the following ingredients:
lamb
salt
black pepper
oregano
parsley flakes
marjoram
rosemary
onion powder
garlic powder
sweet Spanish paprika

Blend ingredients until mixture becomes a very fine purée.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease with olive oil.

Moisten your hands so the mixture doesn’t stick to them. Mound lamb mixture on baking sheet and use your hands to press into a rectangular loaf shape, about 1 ½ inches thick. Bake in oven for about 30 – 35 minutes (or until thermometer reached 155 – 160 degrees F.

Remove lamb from oven and allow to cool down completely before slicing. (Ideally, refrigerate overnight to allow meat to firm and seasoning to blend.)

Tzatziki sauce

Follow instructions for making tzatziki sauce here.

Preparing the vegetables

Peel and thinly slice the onion.

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high. Sauté onions until tender and translucent (about 5 – 7 minutes). Transfer onions to heatproof dish and set aside.

Rinse tomato under cool running water and thinly slice. Set aside.

Crisping lamb slices

Cut lamb into thin strips.

In the same skillet used to sauté your onions, fry the lamb strips until crispy and browned (about 1 – 2 minutes per side.

Building lamb gyro

Warm some pita in a separate lightly greased pan just long enough to lightly brown (or place under broiler for 30 – 45 seconds per side).

Lay 3 – 4 slices lamb meat on warmed pita. Spoon tzatziki sauce over lamb slices. Place some of the sautéed onions and a few tomato slices on top of tzatziki. Optionally, you can add crumbled feta to your gyro filling.

Fold pita and eat!

If you like the street vendor gyro look, roll your pita closed at one end (forming a cone shape) and wrap ¾ of the sandwich tightly in paper or foil for serving.

Gyro meat can also be used in other dishes. Try a few crispy pieces on top of your favorite salad, or add to rice, quinoa, couscous or pasta with a bit of tzatziki sauce on top.

Summary

Recipe Name

Lamb Gyro with Tzatziki

Author Name

Burma Spice

Published On

2018-10-06