When I set out to create a Gyro Meat recipe, I assumed it would be a complicated process. At first, it was. It involved smushing a pulverized meat mixture into a loaf pan, then baking in a water bath before draining and weighing it down with a brick. A good deal of effort that led to a mediocre result. I was beginning to wonder if making gyro meat at home was worth it.
It is. With just a handful of ingredients and a clever method, it's easy to make delectable, homemade gyro meat. (See my recipe video below - with more than 150,000 views on YouTube - to see the exact process.)
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Ingredients You Need to Make Gyro Meat
- Ground Lamb: or ground beef (85% lean)
- Dried Oregano: ideally Greek oregano
- Ground Cumin
- Onion: white onion or yellow onion
- Fresh Garlic Clove
- Bacon: key ingredient for the best flavor and texture
- Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Recipe Testing Notes
I came across this recipe from Serious Eats', J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, who had tried and been disappointed with the same complicated recipe I followed on my first try. Applying the scientific approach he's famous for, he simplified the process while improving the outcome. He found that adding some fat (in the form of bacon), along with salting and chilling the meat mixture ahead of pureeing and baking, produced a reliably superior gyro meat, both in texture and flavor.
I admit my skepticism about free forming the meat puree into a rectangle on a baking sheet instead of pressing it into a loaf pan, imagining it disintegrating into a bubbly mess. But it holds together beautifully. He also added the clever step of broiling thin slices of the baked loaf to warm and crisp the edges. Not only does this add to the flavor and texture of the gyro meat, it transforms any leftovers into a 5 minute meal in the refrigerator just waiting for assembly.
Tips for the Best Texture and Flavor
Though I stuck with Kenji's basic technique, I did make a few changes. I finely chopped the garlic and onion in the food processor before adding the meat mixture and bacon to avoid any chunks of onion in the finished meat. I also increased the amount of oregano and added a little cumin for flavor depth. And, because I love Tzatziki sauce on my gyros, I slathered it on instead of the yogurt and mayonnaise based sauce he suggests.
In my recipe testing, the gyro meat consistently took 35 minutes to reach 155˚F with an instant read thermometer (instead of the 30 minutes directed in the original recipe), but that could be a difference in ovens, so I've offered a range.
FAQ
It is typically made with ground lamb and/or ground beef (and sometimes chicken), onion, garlic, oregano, and other spices. This recipe adds bacon for texture and flavor and uses a convenient, but non-traditional cooking method.
"Gyro" is pronounced YEE-roh.
How to Make a Gyro
To make the perfect Gyro: start with soft, warmed pita bread spread with a thick layer of Tzatziki sauce. Pile on several broiled gyro meat slices and top with thinly sliced red onion (or pickled red onions) and chopped tomato. Devour!
More Delicious Mediterranean Recipes
- Greek Salad
- Lamb Kabobs
- Lamb Shawarma
- Baba Ganoush
- And a whole collection of other delicious Mediterranean Recipes
How to Make Gyro Meat
Combine ground lamb with salt and spices in a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
Mince onion and garlic in food processor. Add cold meat mixture and bacon pieces; process until smooth, scraping down sides as necessary.
Preheat oven to 300˚F. With moist hands, shape meat mixture into a 8-inch long by 5-inch wide rectangle on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake for 30-35 minutes until center registers 155˚F on an instant read thermometer. Remove from oven and let rest 15 minutes before slicing.
Preheat broiler with oven rack adjusted to highest level. Slice loaf crosswise into ⅛-inch thick slices and arrange in a single layer on foil lined baking sheet. Broil 2 minutes until edges are crispy. Remove from oven and tent with foil.
Assemble gyros: Spread a thick layer of tzatiki sauce onto warm pita bread. Pile with gyro meat slices and top with thinly sliced onion and chopped tomato. Serve.
Recipe Video
Gyro Meat Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground lamb or 85% lean ground beef
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt see recipe note #1
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ onion cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 clove garlic sliced
- 3 ounces bacon cut into 1-inch pieces
Instructions
- To a medium bowl add lamb, salt, pepper, oregano and cumin. Mix with your hands until thoroughly combined. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 300˚F.
- Add onion and garlic to the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times to mince; scrape down sides with a rubber spatula. Add lamb mixture and bacon pieces; process to a smooth puree, scraping down sides as necessary.
- Line a baking sheet with foil. Transfer meat mixture to center. Wet hands and form meat into a rectangle, approximately 8-inches long, 5-inches wide and 1 ½-inches high.
- Bake 30 to 35 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 155˚F. Remove from oven and let stand 15 minutes before slicing.
- Adjust oven rack to highest position and preheat broiler. Line baking sheet with foil.
- Transfer loaf to a cutting board and carefully slice crosswise into ⅛-inch thick slices. Arrange slices on prepared baking sheet, leaving a little room between each one. Broil 2 minutes, until slices are hot and edges are crispy. Remove from oven and tent with foil.
- Serving Suggestion: Warm pita bread and spread with a thick layer of tzatziki sauce, pile on gyro meat slices and top with thinly sliced onion and chopped tomato.
Notes
- Some readers have found this recipe too salty (others think it's just right). If you tend to like less salty foods, I recommend making this recipe the first time with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt instead of 2. You can always add more seasoning before serving.
- Note that nutrition information does not include pita or toppings.
- An easy way to warm pita bread is to broil on a baking sheet for 30 to 45 seconds per side.
Question: What if I have no food processor and I tried my vitamix blender....blended the bacon, onion and garlic...took it out to layer with the beef/moose (no lamb in my freezer in interior AK) and half way through my almost new vitamix blender just stopped working 😳😆😭😳😬
I took out my kitchen aid hand mixer and mixed it all that way...will see if it was enough 🙏🙏🙏
oh boy...that is a predicament! I hope it turned out well, Amber.
Lessons Learned:
Do NOT skimp on blending up that meat. Repeat. Triple Emphasis.
Same goes with pressing the meat down.
Them two things are so critical for the texture. The recipe states this... but i'm just elaborating from experience lol. Blend it SMOOTH.
Lastly - Lamb is essential. I read one comment about someone not wanting lamb, and that is perfectly fine... and it tastes good still. I also think the beef is drier. If you use beef... try going for 80/20 maybe. The bacon I used didn't quite have the fat content I needed.
If you are used to "normal" Gyro meat and you opt for Beef + Bacon... You will clearly notice the difference in flavor/texture.
Excellent recipe. Don't skip the things I said. Lamb heavily preferred.
Love this, Mike! Thank you for your detailed cooking notes.
Our son and daughter made gyros for us on our last visit, SO good I asked for the recipes for both meat & tzatziki. As I read through the recipe and comments about salt, I got to thinking the saltiness issue may have to do with the bacon used, as some are more salty than others. Hence some meat being saltier than liked?
I'm so glad you and your family enjoyed these, Trae! Yes, you're absolutely right about how much bacon varies in saltiness and I'm sure that's a factor.
I had high hopes for this recipe and it did not disappoint. This is one of those recipes that you question the combo of ingredients. You think, "Bacon and cumin?". Just roll with it and live your life. I served with the usual pita/gyro toppings with some turmeric rice on the side. It was a kid pleaser, too. Both had seconds. I doubled the recipe, cooked half and froze the other half for later.
Fantastic, Sallie! So glad you and your family enjoyed this!
Loved it, easy, cut in half for me and my husband! Would not change a thing. Next time we will make our own tzatziki sauce! We found lamb to expensive and the ground beef worked great.We live in a small town with no gyros, so love we can make it!
I love to hear this, Barb! So glad you enjoyed it and thank you for your cooking notes.
Definitely will make again!!! We all LOVED it! Even my 1 year old!! So yummy! Thank you so much!
That's fantastic, Tracy! Thank you for coming back to let me know.
Absolutely delicious recipe that I will be making for many years to come.
Thank you, Coco! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
I can't believe I can actually make Gryo meat now! Thank you for sharing. I used ground lamb and ground bison. I did heed the salt warning and used half. It was perfect so I will probably keep to that. So very good!
My pleasure, Cristina! So glad you're enjoying the recipe and really appreciate you coming back to let me know.
All I can say is, WOW. This turned out so good. Thank you for such a simple process and recipe. I just kept thinking as I was putting this together, there is no way this should come out right. But sure enough, it turned out great. I have always avoided making gyro meat, due to the 472 step process of most of the recipes. But this was so simple. Again, thank you for what will now be a regular part of my meal rotation. And my wife loved it as well.
I love to hear this, Chad! So glad you're enjoying the recipe and appreciate you coming back to let me know.
Made these for dinner last night and they were great! They taste similar to the gyros we buy though the bacon flavor was different (but not bad!). I used the lower amount of salt, and with the bacon they were definitely salty enough. My broiler isn’t working so I crisped the slices in the air fryer which worked perfectly. Thank you for a delicious and fun recipe idea!
My pleasure, Rose! Thanks so much for your kind comment and cooking notes!
This is my 3rd time making this recipe, my family loves it! I make a big batch with 2 lbs of lamb and 2 lbs of beef and just rotate the meat and other ingredients trough the food processor and make three large loaves. I slice them after they've cooled and put the slices in freezer bags and pull out to defrost and the broil for an easy weeknight meal. So delicious! (And no water bath or brick needed!)
This is wonderful to hear, Meredith! I'm so glad that this is a hit with you and your family. Thank you for coming back to let me know!
This came out great. I will definitely make again. Served on low carb tortilla …it fits my keto diet beautifully.
So glad you enjoyed it, Jackie! Thank you for coming back to let me know!
Incredibly delicious recipe! We no longer feel the need to go out for Gyros, one of our favorite meals....it was THAT good! I ended up frying the slices in a pan, turned out great and crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. One of my new favorite recipes. Thank you so much for sharing!
I love to hear this, Lisa!! I'm so happy that you and your family are enjoying the recipe!
Doubled the recipe and used half lamb half 85/15 ground beef. Used double the garlic called for, and half the salt. Good call, because it is plenty salty with the bacon. It was okay once crisped up a bit, but it didn't want to crisp much. Was more a dry crumble! I may have over cooked slighty initially. Not bad, but somehow expected a different flavor and texture. Was more like a meatloaf to me. But, it was good enough to enjoy. I think this is about as good as it gets for recipes because the gyros we all know and love are highly processed and full of fun things. Things we cannot recreate at home no matter how hard we try!
Hi, Hollie. Thank you for your detailed cooking notes, but I'm sorry this wasn't quite what you were looking for. I haven't had an issue with the meat being crumbly, so I'm guessing that doubling the recipe may have been more than your food processor could mix properly or maybe the meat mixture wasn't processed long enough to get the right consistency?
Should I leave out the bacon or use less bacon if I'm using 80/20 ground beef (which is what I have on hand)? Any other changes that I should make? Thanks.
Hi Mike! Honestly, I think the recipe would be fine as is with 80/20 beef, but you could reduce the bacon to 2 ounces just to be sure it won't be overly fatty. I wouldn't omit the bacon altogether because it's an important flavor aspect. I hope that helps!
Appreciate the quick response. I made it with all 3 ounces of bacon and it came out great.
That's wonderful to hear, Mike! Thank you for coming back to let me know!
Would make again with half the salt. Thank you for a good recipe. I tend to use less salt in most things.
Thank you for your cooking notes, Tee. I'm glad you'll be able to adjust the seasonings for your taste next time.
I have been wanting to make this homemade gyro for a while now! I even have some ground lamb in the freezer. I love that idea of broiling to mimic the open flame that you traditionally see with gyro meat. Well done!
Thanks, David! I'm so excited for you to taste this!