Gyros Roast Recipes

Steps:

• Blend yogurt, cucumbers, 2 tablespoons olive oil, dill, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper in a blender until tzatziki sauce is evenly combined.
• Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir beef in the hot oil until no longer pink, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Layer half of each pita with steak, tomato, onion, feta cheese, lettuce, olives, and tzatziki sauce. Bring edge of each pita over the filling and secure with a toothpick.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine salad dressing and cucumber; set aside. In a large skillet, cook beef in oil over medium heat until no longer pink. , Layer half of each pita with steak, tomato, olives, onion, cheese, lettuce and dressing mixture. Fold each pita over filling; secure with toothpicks.

Steps:

• Finely chop up 1/2 of the garlic on a cutting board and sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt. Mash the garlic and salt together with the flat-side of a knife into a paste. Add the oregano and continue to mash until incorporated. Put the garlic-oregano paste in a small bowl, add the lemon juice and 1 cup of olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Slice the remaining garlic into thin slivers.
• Put the lamb on a large platter, and trim any excess fat. Cut the lamb in 1/2 lengthwise so you have 2 large pieces. Make slits all over the meat with a sharp knife, and push the garlic slivers inside. Rub 1/2 of the garlic-oregano paste all over the lamb and season the meat with salt and pepper. Roll up each piece of lamb lengthwise and tie with butcher's twine to hold the roasts together. Put the lamb on a large platter and slather with the remaining garlic-oregano paste. Marinate, covered, in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Wipe off the excess paste from the lamb so it won't burn in the oven. Place a large roasting pan over 2 burners on medium-high flame and coat with a fair amount of olive oil. Put the lamb roasts in the roasting pan and sear to form a nice brown crust on all sides. Transfer the pan (and lamb) to the oven and roast for 1 to 1 1/2 hours; it should be pink in the center and the internal temperature reads 130 degrees F. Allow the lamb to stand 10 minutes to let the juices settle before and slicing.
• Cut off the butcher's twine and thinly slice the lamb. Place the meat in the center of the pita breads. Top with lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and tzatziki.
• Put all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and combine with a fork. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to marry.

Steps:

• Place onion in a food processor and blend until finely chopped. Transfer onion to a piece of cheese cloth and squeeze out the liquid. Place onion in a large bowl.
• Mix lamb, beef, garlic, oregano, cumin, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, black pepper, and salt with the onion using your hands until well mixed. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until flavors blend, about 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Place meat mixture in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped and tacky, about 1 minute. Pack meat mixture into a 7x4-inch loaf pan, ensuring there are no air pockets. Place loaf pan into a roasting pan and pour enough boiling water around the loaf pan to reach halfway up the sides.
• Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, 45 to 60 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Pour off any accumulated fat and cool slightly.
• Thinly slice the gyro meat mixture.
• Spread 1 tablespoon hummus onto each pita bread; top each with gyro meat mixture, lettuce, tomato, red onion, feta cheese, and tzatziki sauce.

Steps:

• Combine Greek yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, salt, paprika, black pepper, cumin, coriander, oregano, red pepper, and cinnamon in a medium bowl and stir until well combined. Pound chicken thighs evenly to about 1/2 inch in thickness. Coat all chicken well in marinade, cover, and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Cut ends off onion and cut onion in half horizontally. Place onion halves next to each other on a parchment or foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Insert one skewer into each onion half, standing up vertically. Remove chicken from marinade, allowing excess to drip off, and thread each piece of chicken over the two skewers to form a large stack.
• Bake in the preheated oven until evenly browned and cooked through, about 1 hour, rotating halfway through. Allow meat to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
• Serve sliced chicken in a warm pita topped with tzatziki sauce, lettuce, tomato, and red onion.

Steps:

• First, whisk all the marinade ingredients together with 1 tsp salt in a large bowl or, better still, a large plastic container that has a lid. Open out each chicken thigh, cover with a piece of baking parchment and flatten it with your hand, then lift off the paper and cut the thigh in half. Tip into the marinade and mix so it's completely coated. Cover, chill and marinate for at least 1 hr or up to 24 hrs - the longer, the better.
• Thread all the chicken onto two skewers so that both skewers go through each piece of meat, packing down tightly as you go to make a compact kebab (see tip, below).
• Light a lidded barbecue, and let the flames die down. Once the coals have turned ashen, pile them up on one side with a single layer of coals scattered around the other side. Lay the chicken kebab on the side of the barbecue with only a few coals underneath. Put the lid down and cook for 45 mins, turning every 15 mins. To finish, lift the lid and roll the kebab over to the hotter side to char the meat, turning it every few minutes until well browned and cooked through. Prise the chicken pieces apart in the centre to check they're cooked, or use a digital cooking thermometer - it should read 70C or more. Leave to rest for 5-10 mins while you cook the pittas (see recipe, opposite). Bring the kebab to the table and carve into thin slices with a serrated knife. Pile the carved meat into the warm pittas, then the sliced red onions and tomatoes, chips and tzatziki (see our recipes, below).

Steps:

• Put pork shoulder on a plate, and place in the freezer for approximately 1 hour, or until it is firm to the touch. Put meat on a cutting board, and using a sharp knife, remove and discard any skin, then slice the meat thinly against the grain, into 1/2-inch slices.
• Make the marinade. In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, 1/4 cup olive oil and garlic. Using a box grater, grate the tomato and one of the onions into the marinade, then add 1 tablespoon of the paprika, along with the salt, pepper and oregano leaves. Whisk again, then place the sliced pork into the marinade, toss to combine and cover and refrigerate the meat for at least one hour and up to overnight.
• When ready to cook, heat oven to 450. Use the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to grease a rimmed sheet pan. Quarter the remaining onion, add it to the pork and marinade and toss once to combine. Remove the pork and onion from the marinade, and place on the pan, spreading everything evenly across it.
• Put the pork in the oven, and roast until it is browned, crisp at the edges and cooked through, about 30-40 minutes. Check the meat at around 20 minutes to see how much liquid is in the pan. If there is a lot, remove the pan, and pour off all but a few tablespoons. Remove the finished pork from the oven, allow to rest for a minute or two, then chop into bits. (To make the pork even crisper, set a large pan over high heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, then the sliced pork, and sauté until everything curls tight in the heat.) Scatter the remaining paprika over the top of the meat, and serve with warm pita, sliced cucumbers and onions, tomato, tzatziki sauce, hot sauce, French fries, scattered mint leaves, ketchup, really whatever you like.

Steps:

• Butterfly the lamb roast and cut into two pieces. Pound out the lamb with heavy mallet until each piece measures 12 x 14 inches or so. Combine the herbs along with the salt in a mortar and pestle crushing until fine in texture, but not a powder. Brush the top of the lamb pieces with olive oil and sprinkle 1/3 of the herb mixture. Work the herbs into the lamb with the tenderizer side of the mallet. Cover the entire top of the lamb pieces with the ground beef. Work another 1/3rd of the seasonings into the ground beef. Roll up meat tightly, securing with string. Brush the outside of the roll with olive oil and rub in the remaining herb/seasoning mixture. Marinate several hours, or overnight, if possible. Place roast in the center of the cooking grate, with a drip pan underneath containing a cup of water. Roast indirectly until internal temperature reaches 140°f., approximately one and a half hours. Turn roast every 30 minutes. Slice thin across the grain and serve on hard rolls, spooning or dipping in pan juices. Top meat with thinly sliced onions, tomato wedges, and tzatziki sauce (a Yogurt/cucumber sauce).