Lazy Man’s Gyro with Tzatziki Sauce

Gyro.

Jy-roh? Guy-ro? Year-roh?

I’ve been to Greece, and I still don’t know how to pronounce this word correctly. (To be fair, I didn’t see gyros on any menus there, so I didn’t have the opportunity to inquire about its pronunciation). I think it’s the last one (year-roh), but please do NOT quote me on that. I have not a drop of Greek blood in me.

But, you know who does? Calliope Stephanides, from Middlesex. This title ended up in my last Quick Look Books post about Powerhouse Books, and I wanted to make a recipe that paid homage to Calliope’s gnarled family roots. Since I wasn’t about to tackle moussaka (I hate eggplant) or pasticchio (I have enough pasta recipes in mind for this blog), I decided to make something a little more familiar to us Americans.  

I love me a good gyro. Don’t you? When researching gyros, I found lots of recipes that cleverly have you make a seasoned meatloaf, then slice and fry up the slices to resemble freshly shaven gyro meat.

Genius idea. It sounds delicious.

BUT. I don’t want to do all that work. This is a lazy man’s gyro. So, this dinner better come together in 30 minutes or less.

This recipe takes a little time to get all the ingredients and toppings ready — similar to the prep for making tacos — but once you’re prepped, you’ll have dinner on the table in about 10 minutes. And, you still get that same great gyro flavor without all the baking, slicing, or installing a rotisserie spit in your kitchen (the Cottage kitchen could not accommodate that). This is also great meal to prep on the weekend and then cook up quickly on a weeknight.

Although lamb is the traditional gyro meat, I’ve used ground beef in this recipe since it’s cheaper and more readily available in my supermarket. Plus, when I was in Greece, I ate so much lamb that I vowed not to touch it again for at least a decade. 

You can put whatever you like on your gyro, but I like the traditional toppings of lettuce, tomato, and tzatziki sauce. I know that most people add sliced, raw onions, but Husband and I do not. Instead, I’ve added the onions directly into the meat mixture to get all their delicious flavor without their eye-stinging potency.  

Warning: these little sandwiches can be extremely messy, so only make this recipe for people you feel comfortable being a slob around. Thankfully, most of my friends and family already know I approach mealtimes with reckless abandon, so messy eating is just another evening at the Cottage.

Lazy Man's Gyro with Tzatziki Sauce

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

Gyro Beef Mixture

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1 clove grated garlic
• 1 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
• 1 1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Tzatziki Sauce

• 6 oz nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cucumber, chopped
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 clove grated garlic
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
• 1/2 cup fresh mint, chopped
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Gyro Toppings

• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 3 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
• 4 whole wheat pitas with pockets (8 half-moon pockets all together)

Instructions

 

PREP INSTRUCTIONS

• Chop onion and set aside.
• Grate clove of garlic for beef mixture and set aside.
• Grate clove of garlic for tzatziki sauce and set aside.
• Combine marjoram, rosemary, oregano, salt, and pepper together in small prep bowl and set aside.
• Chop up half a cucumber, and set aside.
• Chop tomatoes and set aside.
• Chop mint and dill, and set aside in a small prep bowl.
• Juice half a lemon and set aside.

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

• In a small food processor: combine yogurt, chopped cucumber, lemon juice, one clove grated garlic reserved for tatziki sauce, olive oil, dill, mint, red wine vinegar, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ ground black pepper. Pulse ingredients until mixture is smooth and blended together. Pour tzatziki sauce into a small bowl and set aside.
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add ground beef and chopped onion, mixing together until beef is slightly browned and onions are starting to soften, 1-2 minutes. Add the spice mixture to the beef and stir to combine.
• Cook beef mixture over medium heat, stirring frequently until beef is completely browned and cooked through, about 6-8 minutes.
• Assemble gyros: Line the inside of a pita pocket with some lettuce. Add spoonfuls of the gyro beef mixture. Top with tomatoes and homemade tzatziki sauce, then serve immediately.