Beef Pita Gyros

serves 4 to 6

(Greece)

Why pay $6 or $7 for a Gyros in a restaurant or from a street vendor when you can easily make them at  home for about $1 and no, you don't need a fancy vertical broiler . . .  here's how. 

                                                                                        Prep time:   1 hour

                                                                                       Cook time:  54 minutes

                                                                                       Total time:  1 hour 54 minutes  

       

Ingredients

Gyros meat:

1 pound ground beef

2 teaspoons Kosher or sea salt

½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons dry oregano

½ yellow onion, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 clove garlic, peeled

5 slices of sliced bacon, cut into 1/2 –inch pieces

Tzatziki sauce:

1 large cucumber (about 1 ½ cups of chopped cucumber)

1 ½ cups yogurt*

½ cup chopped fresh mint leaves

2 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Kosher salt, to taste

Toppings:

1 large tomato, thinly sliced

1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced

2 cucumbers, peeled and medium diced

4 to 6 pieces of pita bread

 Preparation

create the Tzatziki sauce:

1.  Trim the ends off the cucumber and with a vegetable peeler remove and discard the skin. Cut the cucumber lengthwise in half; scoop out seeds.

2.  Finely chop the cucumber and transfer it to a medium bowl. Stir in the yogurt, mint, oil, and garlic, and season with salt. Cover the sauce with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use*.

 *The sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 1 week in a lidded container.

create the Gyro meat: 

1.  Combine the ground beef, salt, pepper and oregano in a large bowl using your hands to evenly distribute the spices. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight.

2.  After the meat and spice mixture has rested, transfer the mixture from the bowl to the bowl of a food processor, add the onion, garlic and bacon and process until a smooth puree is formed, about 30 seconds, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

                                        

first bake of the Gyro meat:

1.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil to make cleanup easy and, with moist hands, shape the meat mixture into a rectangular loaf about 8 inches long and 5 inches wide.

2.  Bake the meat loaf in the oven until the center of the loaf reaches 155° F, about 30 to 35 minutes.

3.  Remove the baked meatloaf from the oven and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes.

second bake of the Gyro meat:

1.   Adjust the rack of your oven to its highest position and turn on the broiler.  Prepare a rimmed baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil.

2.  Slice the rested and cooled meatloaf crosswise into very thin pieces, approximately 1/8-inch thick. Lay the strips on on the prepared baking sheet and broil the slices until edges are browned and crispy, about 2 to 4 minutes.  Monitor the browning of the slices closely as the broiler browns the meat rapidly. 

service:

To serve the Gyros place a platter with the gyros meat on a service table accompanied by warm warm pita, the Tzatziki sauce, sliced tomatoes, sliced onions, and diced cucumbers and allow the diners to construct their own Pita Gyro.