My recipe for homemade Gyros

Traditionally, gyros are made with large cylinder-shaped hunk of a finely ground sheep meat or mix of sheep, beef, or goat meats. That meat is slowly cooked on a rotating spit and shaved off in small chunks or slivers. But with some seasoning and ground meat you can get a similar eating experience with a little different texture of the meat. Is it exactly the same? No - but it’s still pretty darn good! (Also, disclaimer I am not of Greek descent and just a person that likes to cook simple meals with our homegrown lamb meats and tried to recreate the flavors of gyros I’ve had in restaurants!!)

Homemade Gyros: (Total time - less than 30 minutes)

Ingredients:

1 lbs. of ground lamb (from Quarter Penny Farms!!)

1/2 - 1 cup warm water or broth of choice

1 Tbsp dried oregano or finely chopped fresh

1 tsp dried basil or finely chopped fresh

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

(you may like some coriander too, but I usually don’t have it in my spice cabinet)

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt - to taste!

Diced tomatoes for topping

Diced cucumber for topping

Diced red onions for topping

Tzatziki sauce, or sour cream, or ranch dressing for topping

Pita bread or tortilla wrap of choice

Instructions:

1. Brown 1 lb of ground lamb meat from Quarter Penny Farms. I like to brown it a little more well done for this recipe.  Chop it up fairly fine with a spatula for this dish, similar to cooking taco meat.

2. Add all the spices or seasonings and 1/2 to 1 cup of warm water. Bring to simmer and cover for a few minutes. Let the water slowly cook off. I find this helps to soften and infuse the flavors of the seasoning into meat and meld it all together. I usually just eyeball spice/seasoning amounts - so add more of less to tasted depending on what flavors you like!

3. While the meat is cooking, prepare your wraps and dice up the tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions for toppings! You can soak chopped onions for a few minutes in water and then drain to remove some of the bite if they are strong.

4. Assemble your wraps. Start with the meat topped with a mix of the chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions. Serve with a dallop of tzatziki sauce, or if you don’t have it on hand we often eat these with a sour cream or even just some ranch dressing. Not authentic, but they still taste good! You can add chopped fresh parsley or oregano too as a garnish.