Gyro Meat Recipe (Sous Vide, Oven & Rotisserie)

This gyro meat recipe can be prepared using 1 of 3 different cooking methods and has easy step-by-step instructions on how to make gyro meat. Make the best gyro sandwiches or gyro pizza at home and any day of the week.

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What is gyro meat:

Authentic gyro meat recipe using ingredients you may already have in your kitchen.
Use all ground lamb or make a 50/50 split of lamb and ground beef.
Make the meat ahead and easily reheat the gyro meat for a delicious, quick meal.

gyro meat recipe ingredients — Gyro meat recipe ingredients

Gyro Meat Ingredients needed:

Onion -finely chopped or shredded, excess liquid drained away
ground lamb - but my family likes 50% lamb and 50% ground beef
garlic - finely minced, roasted garlic or garlic confit.
marjoram - dried
rosemary - dried and ground
salt - kosher
black pepper - ground

Tzatziki Sauce Ingredients:

1 cup Greek yogurt - plain
½ cucumber - peeled, seeded, finely chopped, salted and drained
Pinch kosher salt - for the cucumber
2 cloves garlic - finely minced, roasted garlic or garlic confit.
1 ½ teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
4-5 mint leaves - finely minced

**Tzatziki recipe instructions below

Additional gyro sandwich ingredients:

Pita Bread
Tzatziki sauce - see ingredients above
Cucumber - sliced and seeded
Tomatoes - sliced
Red onion - sliced thin
Feta - crumbled

How to make Gyro Meat - Sous Vide Instructions

First, process the onion in a food processor, high power blender or 10 to 15 seconds or grate the onion.
Place the grated onion into a paper towel-lined colander and press until almost all of the onion juice is removed. Discard juice.
Place all of the gyro meat ingredients into a mixer fixed with the paddle attachment.
Blend the ingredients on medium speed for 4 minutes. The meat will be well blended and almost gummy.
Press the gyro meat blend into a vac and seal the bag, removing all the air from the bag.
Set the sous vide to 150 F.
Place the sous vide bag in the water and cook for 2 hours.
Remove the meat from the sous vide and when ready to serve, discard the juices from the bag.
To serve, sear the gyro meat on a hot skillet, giving it a bit of color.
Slice thinly and serve with gyro sandwich accompaniments.

How to make Gyro Meat - Oven Instructions

First, process the onion in a food processor, high power blender or 10 to 15 seconds or grate the onion.
Place the grated onion into a paper towel-lined colander and press until almost all of the onion juice is removed. Discard juice.
Place all of the gyro meat ingredients into a mixer fixed with the paddle attachment.
Blend the ingredients on medium speed for 4 minutes. The meat will be well blended and almost gummy.
Place the mixture into a loaf pan, press the meat into the sides of the pan, flattening the meat to a loaf.
Place the loaf pan into a water bath, a rimmed pan filled with enough water to come up ½" up the side of the loaf pan.
Bake at 325 for 60 to 75 minutes or until the mixture reaches 165 to 170 degrees F.
Remove from the oven and drain off any fat.
Place the loaf pan on a cooling rack and place a brick wrapped in aluminum foil directly on the surface of the meat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees F.
Slice and serve on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, chopped onion, tomatoes and feta cheese.

How to make Gyro Rotisserie Instructions

First, process the onion in a food processor, high power blender or 10 to 15 seconds or grate the onion.
Place the grated onion into a paper towel-lined colander and press until almost all of the onion juice is removed. Discard juice.
Place all of the gyro meat ingredients into a mixer fixed with the paddle attachment.
Blend the ingredients on medium speed for 4 minutes. The meat will be well blended and almost gummy.
Form the meat mixture into a cylinder shape and place on a double thickness of plastic wrap that are at least 18 inches long.
Roll the mixture in the plastic wrap tightly, making sure to remove any air pockets. Once the meat is completely rolled in the wrap, twist the ends of the plastic wrap until the surface of the wrap is tight.
Store in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to overnight, to allow the mixture to firm up.
Preheat the grill to high.
Once fully chilled, slide the meat onto the rotisserie skewer and secure it.
Place a double-thick piece of aluminum foil folded into a tray directly under the meat to catch any drippings.
Cook on high for 15 minutes.
Decrease the heat to medium and continue to cook for another 20 to 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 165 degrees F. Turn off the heat and allow to continue to spin for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees.
Slice and serve on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, chopped onion, tomatoes, and feta cheese.

ingredients and techniques adapted from Alton Brown's Gyro Meat recipe

How to make the Tzatziki sauce:

Remove the seeds from the cucumber and finely dice the cucumber. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and let sit for 15 minutes.
Drain away the excess liquid.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and mint. By combining these ingredients together, the garlic is broken up and more easily distributed through the sauce.
Add in the cucumber and Greek yogurt, Stir to combine.
Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.

Makes 1 cup

Frequently asked questions, answers and tips:

Do I have to use ground lamb in this recipe?

Traditionally ground lamb is used for gyro meat. The unique flavor of lamb is indicative of the flavors of gyros meat. But if you like, you can do a 50/50 split of lamb and beef. It just won't be as traditional.

Why is the onion chopped so finely for this recipe?

The reason the onion is chopped so finely in a blender, food processor or even grated on a box grater is so that it can be more easily blended into the gyro meat. When slicing the meat the slice should be homogenous is texture.

How to reheat gyro meat

I heat the meat in a pan with a little splash of water to help create some steam as not to dry the thin strips of meat out. I know some people are fans of microwaving the meat at 50% power until heated through.

Can gyro meat be frozen?

Yes! gyro meat can easily be frozen. I recommend pre slicing your meat before freezing.

Gyro Meat Recipe

Sarah Mock

4.29 from 7 votes

This gyro meat recipe can be prepared using 1 of 3 different cooking methods and has easy step-by-step instructions on how to make gyro meat.

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2 15

6 servings

Ingredients

▢ 2 pounds (907 ⅕ g) ground lamb
▢ 1 (1) Onion (finely chopped or shredded and juice squeezed out)
▢ 1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) Garlic
▢ 1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) dried marjoram
▢ 1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) Rosemary dried and ground
▢ 2 teaspoons (2 teaspoons) Salt kosher
▢ ½ Teaspoon (½ Teaspoon) Black Pepper freshly ground

Instructions

How to make Gyro Meat - Sous Vide Instructions

First, process the onion in a food processor, high power blender or 10 to 15 seconds or grate the onion.
1 Onion
Place the grated onion into a paper towel-lined colander and press until almost all of the onion juice is removed. Discard juice.
Place all of the gyro meat ingredients into a mixer fixed with the paddle attachment.
2 pounds (907 ⅕ g) ground lamb, 1 Onion, 1 Tablespoon Garlic, 1 Tablespoon dried marjoram, 1 Tablespoon Rosemary, 2 teaspoons Salt, ½ Teaspoon (½ Teaspoon) Black Pepper
Blend the ingredients on medium speed for 4 minutes. The meat will be well blended and almost gummy.
Press the gyro meat blend into a vac and seal the bag, removing all the air from the bag.
Set the sous vide to 150 F. Place the sous vide bag in the water and cook for 2 hours.
Remove the meat from the sous vide and when ready to serve, discard the juices from the bag.
To serve, sear the gyro meat on a hot skillet, giving it a bit of color. Slice thinly and serve with gyro sandwich accompaniments.

How to make Gyro Meat - Oven Instructions

First, process the onion in a food processor, high power blender or 10 to 15 seconds or grate the onion.
Place the grated onion into a paper towel-lined colander and press until almost all of the onion juice is removed. Discard juice.
Place all of the gyro meat ingredients into a mixer fixed with the paddle attachment.
Blend the ingredients on medium speed for 4 minutes. The meat will be well blended and almost gummy.
Place the mixture into a loaf pan, press the meat into the sides of the pan, flattening the meat to a loaf.
Place the loaf pan into a water bath, a rimmed pan filled with enough water to come up ½" up the side of the loaf pan.
Bake at 325 for 60 to 75 minutes or until the mixture reaches 165 to 170 degrees F.
Remove from the oven and drain off any fat.
Place the loaf pan on a cooling rack and place a brick wrapped in aluminum foil directly on the surface of the meat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees F.
Slice and serve on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, chopped onion, tomatoes and feta cheese.

How to make Gyro Meat - Rotisserie Instructions

First, process the onion in a food processor, high power blender or 10 to 15 seconds or grate the onion.
Place the grated onion into a paper towel-lined colander and press until almost all of the onion juice is removed. Discard juice.
Place all of the gyro meat ingredients into a mixer fixed with the paddle attachment.
Blend the ingredients on medium speed for 4 minutes. The meat will be well blended and almost gummy.
Form the meat mixture into a cylinder shape and place on a double thickness of plastic wrap that are at least 18 inches long.
Roll the mixture in the plastic wrap tightly, making sure to remove any air pockets. Once the meat is completely rolled in the wrap, twist the ends of the plastic wrap until the surface of the wrap is tight.
Store in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to overnight, to allow the mixture to firm up.
Preheat the grill to high.
Once fully chilled, slide the meat onto the rotisserie skewer and secure it.
Place a double-thick piece of aluminum foil folded into a tray directly under the meat to catch any drippings.
Cook on high for 15 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium and continue to cook for another 20 to 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 165 degrees F.
Turn off the heat and allow to continue to spin for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees.
Slice and serve on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, chopped onion, tomatoes, and feta cheese.

Nutrition

Notes

How to make the Tzatziki sauce:

Remove the seeds from the cucumber and finely dice the cucumber. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and let sit for 15 minutes.
Drain away the excess liquid.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and mint. By combining these ingredients together, the garlic is broken up and more easily distributed through the sauce.
Add in the cucumber and Greek yogurt, Stir to combine.
Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.

Makes 1 cup

Beef Recipes

Mediterranean

I am Sarah Mock. Welcome!

Sarah Mock is a classically trained Chef and graduate of Johnson & Wales University. A culinary blogger for 16 years Sarah helps the home cook prepare her recipes with professional results.

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