American Greek Gyro

The Best Greek Gyro is Here!

A Greek Gyro is great way to celebrate a food. Not only are they great tacos, they’re 3 times the size of a street taco and, considered by some, much more like a sandwich. The basic shell is a flat bread called, Pita and the meat and filling can vary but traditionally the vegetables are consistently the same; lettuce, tomato and red onion. The one thing that is absolutely irreplaceable, however, is the Tzatziki Sauce and it is the secret sauce added to every gyro.

Greek Gyro Meat

Believe it or not, an authentic Greek Gyro isn’t made with Beef and Lamb or even Veil, for that matter. Recipes that have those mixed meats originated outside of Greece. The Greeks use a an intensified marinated pork that cooks rotisserie style. This enables the cook to trim a just little bit off the outside at a time for each Taco as the rest of the meat continues to cook towards the middle. The meat is sliced thin to begin with, so the trimmings from the outside tend to be very tender. And, thanks to the Marinade, very tasty.

In this recipe, I use a 1/2 pound steak cut from a Beef Chuck and 2 quarter pound Lamb Chops cut from a shoulder and I run the cuts through a meat grinder, using a large die. This gives me 1 lbs of ground meat to marinate.

Greek Gyro Marinade

Though the mixture of Ground Beef and Lamb can be very tasty, it isn’t enough flavor to stand alone in a Greek Gyro. A marinade must be added. The marinade I used in my Pork Gyro recipe works great in this one is well. The only real difference is that I cut the ingredients down because there’s less meat to season. Also, marinating the meat itself for a time isn’t necessary. You can cook it as soon as everything is mixed in and incorporated.

Greek Gyro Ingredients:

1/2 lbs Beef Chuck Steak, ground
1/2 lbs Lamb Chops, ground

Marinade
1/4 Red Onion, grated
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tbsp cup Olive Oil
2 tbsp White Wine Vinegar
1 tbsp Rosemary
1 tbsp Oregano
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste

Toppings
Tzatziki Sauce, Click Here for Recipe
Baby Spinach or Lettuce
Tomato, diced
Red Onion, diced

Depending on your filling, you Should be able to get 6-8 Gyros from this recipe.

Leg of Lamb with Sweet Chili Glaze

Asian Style Leg of Lamb

This Leg of Lamb recipe is phenomenal and I’m not just saying that. It’s got all of the flare and Sweet flavor that any Lamb recipe should have. It’s succulent, tender and it’s got a nice caramelized glaze that just can’t be denied. Some could argue that it’s Asian influence makes this a Hawaiian recipe but I didn’t consult any Asian or Hawaiian recipes before I put this together. Though, I do have plenty of experience with the majority of these ingredients, the variety, I think will shock you.

4 to 6 lbs Leg of Lamb

The secret to a great leg of lamb lies in the combination of a balanced flavor with a tender, slow and low roast. How is this achieved? Well, I’ve learned that beef is generally more pleasant to eat because of the saturated fats. Lamb, however, has unsaturated fats that oxidize, giving it a stronger gamy taste that can tend to be a bit overwhelming. Mustard and Vinegar can be applied to neutralize the process and minimize the unpleasant taste. In this recipe, I’ve chosen to use Wasabi and it really does the trick. And, you don’t have to be afraid of using it either. Wasabi has a mixture of cabbages, horseradish and mustard that really evens out the flavor and there’s no unbearable heat either. In fact there is no spiciness left in the meat, whatsoever. And after the Sweet Chili Glaze caramelizes, you’ve got yourself one helluva Leg of Lamb!

Be sure to check out my Garlic Crusted Rack of Lamb, my Grilled Lamb chops with Pesto or my pan seared and baked Rack of Lamb with Aju.

Leg of Lamb with Sweet Chili Glaze Ingredients:

1 Leg of Lamb, 4-6 lbs.

4 Garlic Cloves
1.5 oz Wasabi Paste
1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 tbsp Honey
1/2 tsp Anchovy Paste

Glaze
2 tbsp Garlic Bean Sauce
2 tbsp Hoisin Sauce
4 tbsp Sweet Chili Sauce

Garnish
2 tbsp Toasted Sesame Seeds
2 tbsp Fresh Mint, chopped
1/4 cup Pineapple, diced
1/4 cup Mango, diced

Follow the instructions in the Leg of lamb with Sweet Chili Glaze video tutorial and I’ll show you exactly how to make this recipe.

Grilled Lamb Chops with Pesto

Easy Grilled Lamb Chops with Pesto

I say these Grilled lamb Chops are easy to make because Lamb Chop recipes are simple and incredibly delicious, to boot. I’m telling you, if you’re a steak fan, a rack of lamb, prepared properly, will blow your mind. I, for one, now understand why there are so many historical stories about sacrificial lambs. Okay, I might not get the whole religion part but I get that giving up and slaughtering your own lamb truly is a sacrifice, if you’re not gettin’ any! I mean, COME ON! Lamb Chops are sooo tasty.

The Secret to Grilled Lamb Chops

When you’re preparing Grilled Lamb Chops, all you need to do is clean them up a bit. That means, trim the fat and remove the Silver Skin from the meat. This will keep them lean and less chewy to eat. If you want to get super fancy, you can French the bones as well but unless you’re serving the president, or someone that thinks they’re royalty, it really isn’t necessary. Plus, sucking the fat off the bones is one of the best things about eating Lamb Chops, so don’t deprive yourself of that. Go a head and let heart disease settle on in and enjoy yourself, for crying out loud.

Now, after you’ve cleaned the rack, you can Salt and Pepper and grill as is or cut it into Lamb Chop portions before you grill. Either way it will turn out the same, so it’s entirely up to you. You’re going to need a good Pesto and you can either buy it premade or you can try my recipe. I’ve listed the ingredients down below with a separate video tutorial but if you want to see the original post for that, CLICK HERE.

These Grilled Lamb Chops are great with the Pesto alone but if you’d like to have something to dip them in, you might want to look into my Tzatziki Sauce Recipe. It has a nice Greek Yogurt base that you’re going to love.

Grilled Lamb Chops with Pesto Ingredients:

1 Rack of Lamb
2 tbsp of Pesto
Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste

Pesto Recipe
3 cups Basil Leaves, freshly packed
1/2 cup Almonds
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
3 Garlic Cloves
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper, ground
1/2 cup Olive oil
1 tsp Lemon Juice, (optional)

Be sure to watch both the Pesto and Grilled Lamb Chops video tutorials and I’ll show you just how easy these recipes are to make.