The recipe I found that I liked best also included instructions for making the gyro, so that information is included in this recipe, with a few revisions.
Indeed, considering the fine Food Nirvana recipe for Mediterranean Cucumber Salad, I realized the only thing this combined recipe lacked was a super recipe for making pita bread. Why not go all the way, right? Okay, I did exactly that, so Food Nirvana now has a boss recipe for Pita Bread. In fact, I made it today and I just finished eating a fabulous gyro with all the right stuff! No wonder this recipe displays a happy face and a heart ... This is fine eating.
Returning to the recent past, I made the gyro meat, and my sweetheart Peggy and I enjoyed it, but I immediately knew I could improve the recipe, and so I did, by eliminating the fresh onion and minced garlic and using powdered versions of both instead. That was a very nice improvement.
There was also an easy and fine procedural equipment change ... the use of my Kitchen-Aid® mixer to turn the ingredients into a thick paste all at once instead of using a food processor and doing it in batches.
Finally, I included an optional ingredient, transglutaminase, which is called "Meat Glue" by chefs. They use it to bond pieces of meat together by chemical reaction to link the amino acids glutamine and lysine (two protein components) to each other. The linking yields a product that in this instance will be a perfect "loaf" of meat that is easy to slice and will stay together perfectly. I have listed the optional transglutaminase ingredient and optional steps for using it below in italicized print.
I found transglutaminase available for purchase on Amazon®, supplied by Modernist Pantry®, LLC. Thus, I purchased a 500 gram vacuum sealed bag of Activa® RM transglutaminase (1 pound equals 454 grams). If you decide to buy and use it in this and other recipes take the time to read the Transglutaminase entry in the Food Nirvana Technology section first for useful background information on using that type of enzyme.
In general, Activa® RM is used at a rate of 3/4 of one percent to one percent of the weight of the meat being cooked. That one percent level translates to 7 grams of Activa® RM in this recipe, so you will need to have a sensitive kitchen scale that displays weight in grams to weigh out that amount. Oh, yes ... 7 grams of Activa® RM (1/4 of an ounce) costs about 60 cents if you buy the 500 gram package. The total package content is enough to do anywhere from 110 pounds of meat (at 1.00% rate) to 147 pounds of meat (at 0.75% rate).
The final recipe as shown below includes my changes/improvements, making the whole process much easier procedurally by using different equipment and some modified ingredients than originally indicated in the Internet recipe I found.
I hope you take the time to make this gyro meat, because it is now easy to do (especially if you buy ground lamb) and very tasty. If you happen to grind the meat yourself then do it in two steps to produce a fine grind and not a coarse grind as a fine grind will aid in later mixing the meat into a thick paste. Do note that finding a store that sells ground lamb is a great idea for saving money and reducing effort in processing.
Ingredients: (makes enough meat for four generously filled or six regular gyros)
3/4 pound of ground beef (85/15 lean to fat percentage)
3/4 pound of ground lamb
2 teaspoons of onion powder
1 teaspoon of garlic powder or granulated garlic
1 tablespoon of dried oregano
1 tablespoon of dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of fresh rosemary or 1/2 tsp. of dried rosemary
7 grams of Activa® RM transglutaminase powder (optional)
Directions:
Combine all of the seasoning ingredients (but not the optional Activa® RM) in a Magic Bullet® type of mixer and operate it for a minute or two to make the mixture composition very fine.
Combine the ground meats and the processed seasoning ingredients (plus the Activa® RM powder, if you are using it, sprinkled over the meat) in an electric mixer bowl. Then operate the mixer on medium speed for three to five minutes to convert the mixture into a thick paste.
Press the mixture a little at a time into a glass baking dish (of the type used to make a loaf of bread), taking care to eliminate any air pockets.
Press down firmly on the surface of the meat to even it out. Then cover the glass baking dish with plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 1 hour (make that 4 hours if you are using the Activa® RM powder) in the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven to 325°F and bring a 1 gallon pot of water to a boil.
Place a folded kitchen (dish) towel on the bottom of a small roasting pan or a large high sided skillet, and position the glass baking dish on top of it. Pour about a quart of the boiling water into the roasting pan.
Carefully transfer the roasting pan/glass baking dish combination into the oven. Now add more boiling water to the roasting pan/skillet. It should be 2/3 of the way up the outside of the glass baking dish. Adjust the hot water level as needed. Bake the gyro meat for 50 to 70 minutes, or until the meat measures 165°F on an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf.
Carefully remove the glass baking dish from the roasting pan and pour off any fat or liquid that accumulated in it. If you used the Activa® RM powder you can skip the next step.
Put the glass baking dish on a wood cutting board and place an aluminum foil wrapped brick directly on the surface of the meat. Note: Before using transglutaminase in this recipe I used a perfectly fitted 7 1/2" long piece of 1 1/2"x 3 1/2" (the real size of what carpenters call a 2 by 4 stud) wood. I wrapped it in aluminum foil and then put four 6"x6" ceramic tiles on top of the foil wrapped wood. That method guaranteed better weighted contact with more of the surface of the meat. Also, it was totally easy to cut the piece of wood precisely from a length of 2x4 lumber. No width change was needed.
Let the gyro meat rest like this for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, remove the brick if you used one (or the weighted wood). If more liquid is present then drain it off. Then, if necessary, run a knife around the edge of the loaf and then gently turn the loaf out on to a wood cutting board.
Wrap the loaf of gyro meat tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for several hours or overnight to allow it to chill for easy slicing.
To Make Gyros:
Ingredients:
Gyro meat fully cooled/chilled
Ghee (Clarified Butter) or extra virgin olive oil (or some of both olive oil and plain butter)
Flatbread pitas (or, in a pinch, 8" diameter flour tortillas, warmed for 15 seconds each in a microwave oven)
Mixed salad greens (optional)
Cucumber yogurt sauce (optionally, use Mediterranean Cucumber Salad per the Food Nirvana recipe)
Cherry or grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
Thin slices of sweet onion (I use a purple salad onion)
Crumbled Feta cheese (optional)
Optional but tasty: Greek Kalamata olives on the side
Directions:
Unwrap the gyro loaf and use a sharp knife to cut strips across the width of the meat, no thicker than 1/4-inch. 3/16 of an inch thick is perfect.
Heat 3 or 4 tablespoons of ghee or olive oil over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed 12" frying pan and spread it around with a spatula to cover the inner bottom surface of the skillet.
Lay the meat strips down into the skillet and fry them on medium to medium high heat for at least 1 1/2 minutes on each side, using a small flexible spatula to flip them, until they are crisped and browned to your liking. I like to flip them three times during the frying period so that each side is heated twice.
Gently transfer the gyro meat to a plate, then assemble a gyro in your preferred order with the remaining gyro ingredients of your choice on a gently warmed flat-bread pita (or flour tortilla). But be sure to use the cucumber yogurt sauce.
Special notes: Do make the Mediterranean Cucumber Salad using the Food Nirvana recipe. It is perfect for use in a gyro. Also, if you make the pita bread (a really nice idea) you will find it to be great as an appetizer, warmed and served with (the Food Nirvana recipe for) warmed Carrabba's® Dipping Oil.
Fold the pita around the contents, then partially wrap one end of the completed gyro in aluminum foil to help hold it together ... and more important, to keep the sauce from oozing out and getting all over your hand.
Enjoy!