IT'S GREEK TO ME!

To be honest with you, I’d never had an gyro in my life until 1990 when I married Steve.  I didn’t know it was a Greek sandwich made of slices of lamb, fresh tomato and onion, with a yogurt-cucumber sauce call Tzatziki and served on Pita bread.  I didn’t even know how to say it, thinking it was guy-row.  After Steve finally stopped laughing, he taught me my first Greek word (it’s pronounced yee-ro).

Just between me and you, I’m still not crazy about them for two reasons.  1) I don’t eat lamb (more on that in a future post) and 2) I can’t stand that cucumber sauce.  But that’s what I get for marrying a Greek!  Steve is always out scouting for the best place to pick up an Gyro.  It will just hit him out of the blue, sort of like when I get a yen for a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie!  And when he finds it (always HAS to be a Greek restaurant ran by Athenians or he’s not interested), it’s like they can recognize each other on first sight.  I’ve been in these places with him.  Me?  IGNORE!  Steve?  “Been back to the Homeland lately?”  It’s unreal.

But being a good wife, I’ve been doing a little scouting of my own.  Trying to snag that perfect recipe for what Steve would call “an Gyro, done the RIGHT way”  (I’ll avoid asking “is there a WRONG way?”) .  I’ll assume that means cutting slices of meat from a rotisserie-cooked slab of seasoned meat instead of buying something frozen. 

So here it is!  Steve’s Big Fat Greek Sandwich made with love from my Big Fat Greek Kitchen!  Opa!!!!!

THE GYRO

For the meat:

1 medium onion, finely chopped or shredded

2 pounds ground lamb

3 tablespoons finely minced garlic

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried ground rosemary

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the sandwiches:

8-12 pita breads

Fresh tomatoes, diced

Yellow onion, sliced

Tzatziki sauce (Recipe follows).

Equipment Required

Food processor

Plastic wrap or aluminum foil

Smoker or rotisserie on a gas grill

Chop the onion in a food processor for 10-15 seconds, and empty onto a clean kitchen towel. Fold up the sides and squeeze out the juice over the sink. Return the onion to the food processor.

Add the other ingredients to the food processor and run for approximately one minute, or until it becomes a fine paste. You may need to stop the processor and scrape down the sides of the bowl.

 

On a piece of plastic wrap or aluminum foil, form the meat into a loaf shape. Roll the meat tightly in the wrapping and squeeze to remove air pockets. Twist the ends tightly to ensure that it holds its shape. Store in the refrigerator for at least two hours, or as long as overnight, to allow the mixture to firm up, and for the flavors to blend.

When you are ready to cook, prepare your grill. Once your smoker is up to temperature, place the meat directly on the grill. Allow to cook until the internal temperature of the meat comes up to about 165 degrees. Remove from the heat, and tent under aluminum foil for 10-15 minutes. Slice into strips and serve on pita bread, along with the tomatoes, onion and Tzatziki sauce. (Makes 8 sandwiches)

ZATZIKI SAUCE

2 cups Greek yogurt

1 large cucumber, peeled

3 or more cloves of garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

If you can’t find Greek yogurt, at least two hours before you’re ready to make the sauce, line a colander with paper coffee filters. Put your yogurt in the colander, cover with a paper towel or dish towel, and place in the sink or in a large pot. You will be amazed how much water comes out. If you skip this step, your sauce will come out extremely watery. Note that if you use Greek yogurt, you can still perform this step, but the amount of water that will be removed is much less.

At the same time, peel and slice your cucumber into quarters. Place some paper towels on a cookie rack, put the cucumber slices on the towels, and cover with more towels. This will absorb much of the water from the cucumbers, making a thicker sauce.

When your yogurt has drained and your cucumbers have dried, add the ingredients to the blender. Put the garlic through a garlic press or chop it up first, to avoid ending up with large chunks of garlic in the sauce.

Blend thoroughly. Add more garlic or lemon juice to taste.

Return the sauce to the yogurt container, which makes for convenient storage. Keep refrigerated until use.  (Makes about 2 cups)