Gather the ingredients. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Finally, just like a solid piece of meat, the hotter you cook sausage, the more moisture it will expel. !. Lay the naan on a plate, slather some tzatziki sauce or whatever cream-based sauce you like on the naan, add your broiled gyro slices, diced tomato, and onion slices, and you are ready to enjoy!! Texture is not the only thing that the meat protein matrix enhances—it also helps to trap in both moisture and fat, resulting in a juicier, tastier sausage. In a skillet, brown the gyro meat with oil. The best cooking method for the most tender cut of meat around. The problem with that is that although the outside gets crispy, you're still left with an expanse of un-crisped bits on the inside. This easy gyro recipe is a delicious and filling lunch idea! Mixing the salted meat by hand just didn't cut it—the meat remained too mealy. One of my earliest memories as a New York kid in the 1980s was when the Greek-owned pizza shop down the street first put up a poster featuring an attractive woman eating a Kronos-brand gyros sandwich. Since then, I've been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to rigorously s… But for a sausage, this texture is desirable. Cut the gyro meat into thin strands. I was able to make a hot gyros lunch for myself and my wife (who hates tomatoes and cucumber but love lamb) yesterday in under ten minutes start to finish. Slice the loaf of cooked gyro meat crosswise into thin strips and place … I know it looks more like a meatloaf but trust me, once it's broiled you'll be amazed at how much it tastes like the real deal! the Greek-American style. You could begin with the greatest meat in the world, but if it's not salted and mixed properly, your sausage will end up crumbly, dry, and/or mealy. Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest recipes and tips! Since then, I've been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to rigorously s… Add a few tablespoons of the pan juices to the sliced lamb. Rather than broil the whole loaf, I first sliced it into 1/8th to 1/4-inch thick pieces before laying them flat on a sheet tray and broiling the whole thing. I love making appetizing snacks and I love sharing how to prepare them. Fresh crunch veggies, a little spice and a whole lot of flavor you’ll be praised for switching it up. That elusive bouncy-yet-tender bit is not easy to achieve. So for optimum juiciness, it's best to cook the gyro meat at a relatively low-temperature (say 300°F), and just until it reaches 165-degrees internally. One of my earliest memories as a New York kid in the 1980s was when the Greek-owned pizza shop down the street first put up a poster featuring an attractive woman eating a Kronos-brand gyros sandwich. It was either the dark, alluring Mediterranean eyebrows combined with that come-hither glint in the eye all seductively enveloped in the soft golden 80s hairdo. Process until a smooth puree is formed, 30 seconds to 1 minute and make sure to scrape down the sides so all of the mixture is pureed. So to sum, the four steps for perfect sausage: Salt your meat in advance and mix thoroughly. Gyros are the most popular Greek sandwich and it is very easy to make. Continue here for Greek-American style Lamb Gyros ». Astounding, isn't it? I want my burger to be fall-apart-tender in my mouth. 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. I couldn't get the image out of my head. Follow this recipe and make a few extra batches for those busy weeknights. [Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt], This way to Grecian delight: Here's the recipe! Once baked, let it rest for 10 minutes. The tray emerged from the oven a beautiful expanse of sizzling, brown, crusty surfaces. There are two problems with gyros at home. I don't know about you, but I prefer to keep my shopping list as minimal as possible. The second problem, of course, is that despite watching hours of infomercials for the Ronco Showtime Rotisserie, I never bucked up with my four easy payments of $39.95. Divide into four equal portions and shape into oblong patties about 3-inch wide by 6-inch long by 1/2-inch thick. Crisp, juicy gyros. It's all about emulsions. Make sure there's enough fat. How to Make Lamb Gyros at Home . We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy. I couldn't get the image out of my head. As for seasoning, a 2% addition of salt (the standard amount for a sausage) was necessary, along with a little kick of black pepper. Slice the gyro meat and broil it for 2 minutes. The results are so vastly different from the real deal that my brain had to work overtime trying to convince my mouth that it was eating gyros (they also serve theirs in a pocket pita with feta cheese. Enjoy authentic tasting, homemade Gyro meat with this easy recipe! And this Greek Cucumber Salad is the perfect cool and healthy side dish. Alton Brown's recipe requires you to puree a mixture of meat and seasonings in a food processor before cooking it meatloaf-style in a loaf pan, followed by compressing it with a brick. When properly cooked, the thinly shaved pieces of meat offer a sublime mixture of textures. The results are so vastly different from the real deal that my brain had to work overtime trying to convince my mouth that it was eating gyros. While the one on the right stayed tight and compact, the one on the left broke apart as it cooked, the fat leaking out, and turning mealy. My guess is delicious. You'll want to line a baking pan with aluminum so it doesn't stick … We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. While the oven is heating, place the lamb mixture into a food processor and add the onion, bacon, and garlic. The result is dry, grainy, and all around unpleasant. Step outside Make Your Own Pizza night and Make Your Own Gyro. Since then, I've been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to rigorously s… Jun 30, 2020 - One of my earliest memories as a New York kid in the 1980s was when the Greek-owned pizza shop down the street first put up a poster featuring an attractive woman eating a Kronos-brand gyros sandwich. All I can say is, in the end, the bacon flavor doesn't come through—it's inclusion has the biggest impact on moisture level and texture (after all, bacon has been cured by extensive salting—exactly what we want when it comes to achieving the right sausage-like texture). No thanks. Next, put your oven on "broil" and move your rack to the top. Once you have your puree, it's time to turn it into a loaf. Icky. To make the meat mixture, thoroughly combine the ground lamb, red onion, garlic, lemon juice, salt, cumin, pepper, oregano, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl. The perfect margarita is all about fresh, crisp flavors, barely tempered by sweet triple sec. Since then, I've been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to rigorously sample both women and gyros, and can safely say, it was the gyros that did it for me. I couldn't get the image out of my head. just like skiing, fishing, or making love, the craft of charcuterie has much more to do with technique than the quality of your starting goods. Whether pork or chicken gyros, if you follow my method you will not be disappointed with the flavors of Greece. These frayed ends can then easily become tangled up with each other, creating a semi-solid matrix. Homemade Greek gyros are not impossible to make at home, as I had originally thought. Then whenever you'd like a sandwich, simply slice some pieces off the end of the loaf, and crisp them up under the broiler for a couple of minutes. The only difference was that on the one in the right, I kept my meat chilled in the fridge at 38°F until just before pureeing it, whereas the one on the left was allowed to sit at room temperature and came all the way up to 58°F before I pureed it. What this means is that in a good restaurant sandwich, your sandwich has a very high percentage of crispy bits, and you certainly don't get any of the completely soft inner parts. I'm talking Greek-American gyros. Since then, I've been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to rigorously s… Melt at least 2 teaspoons of ghee or olive oil over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed frying pan. So for optimum juiciness, it's best to cook the gyro meat at a relatively low-temperature (say 300°F), and just until it reaches 165-degrees internally. Once you have your puree, it's time to turn it into a loaf. Greek Gyro Recipe with Homemade Gyro Meat - The Food Charlatan To replicate that, my goal should be to increase the ratio of crisp-bits-to-soft-bits. Lamb meat is thin sliced and layered in pita bread with homemade tzatziki sauce and loaded with fresh vegetables. What's best about this method is that you can easily cook the whole loaf ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator. The following two mixtures were made with the exact same ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground lamb, grated red onion, and all herbs and spices. They come out exactly as expected: little patties of pan-fried meat with the texture of meatballs. As for fat content, I wanted to bump mine up a bit, and adding a few slices of bacon to the lamb mixture was the way to do it. Some comments may be held for manual review. While your lamb is broiling, pop your naan (flatbread) into the microwave and cook them for 15-30 seconds. To serve alongside your Easy Lamb Gyros, try this Rice Cooker Quinoa with Dried Cherries and Feta . Or it was the juicy, alluring strips of pressed-and-formed crispy salty meat combined with that come-hither dollop of creamy yogurt sauce all seductively wrapped in the soft golden pita. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour so that the flavors have a chance to blend well. Remove lamb from plastic packaging, leaving netting on. In addition to just salting, mechanical mixing is absolutely necessary for the proper texture. The meat is then cut off and used in lamb gyros. You can make gyros at home by processing ground meat in a food processor to make it even more finely ground (more like a paste), then press it into a meatloaf shape and bake. Wrapped or not, with ample of tzatziki and a healthy dose of salad on the side. Learn more on our Terms of Use page. You can think of meat proteins as tightly wound strings of yarn. Step 1. It's not pretty while you're working with it, but the end results are outstanding. In the US, ground meat is used most often. The cook slices the crisp bits off the outside, exposing the next layer of meat to then get crisped-up. When meat comes into contact with salt, over time, the salt acts to dissolve the proteins, causing the ends of the strands to fray out. As gross as the contents of the cup below look, this is actually all stuff that I want to stay inside the meat. Traditionally gyro meat is made with lamb that is grilled on a vertical spit of stacked meat slices. Oct 21, 2019 - One of my earliest memories as a New York kid in the 1980s was when the Greek-owned pizza shop down the street first put up a poster featuring an attractive woman eating a Kronos-brand gyros sandwich. J. Kenji López-Alt is a stay-at-home dad who moonlights as the Chief Culinary Consultant of Serious Eats and the Chef/Partner of Wursthall, a German-inspired California beer hall near his home in San Mateo. The Greek-American version is more like thinly sliced meatloaf made with beef and lamb. First is getting the texture of the meat mixture right. Try it. May 19, 2014 - One of my earliest memories as a New York kid in the 1980s was when the Greek-owned pizza shop down the street first put up a poster featuring an attractive woman eating a Kronos-brand gyros sandwich. I like this sauce too, along with a few dashes of hot sauce. You can make it on your frying pan or the grill in just 10 minutes. Keep your meat well-chilled while working with it. -Lay … Bake until the gyro meat is no longer pink in the center, and the internal temperature registers 165 … While the internal texture was good, the meat ended up stewing in a pool of its own juices in the pan, coming out with a grey, boiled-looking exterior and not a hint of crispiness. I know. Adding the flavorings directly to the food processor as I pureed the meat made the process a snap. His first book, Nov 6, 2011 - One of my earliest memories as a New York kid in the 1980s was when the Greek-owned pizza shop down the street first put up a poster featuring an attractive woman eating a Kronos-brand gyros sandwich. The only difference is that I salted the meat on the left two hours before pureeing it in the food processor. Combine the ground lamb, I prefer the Greek-American style the whole loaf of. Of your oven on `` broil '' and move your rack to the top ends can easily! 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