We like gyros. My husband loves to eat them at Greek restaurants. I make a version at home that is definitely not authentic but we think it is very good. I usually grill the meat for them and serve them with yogurt sauce on pitas or tortillas.
I saw a recipe a while ago on Crockpot 365 that caught my attention. It was a crockpot version of gyros. I liked the idea but thought I could change the seasoning a little bit to make it more like we like them. You can see her version here. I used beef and ground pork because that is what I have a lot of. I also used Greek seasoning in it.
I think her way of layering the onions on the bottom of the crock pot and then laying the meat on top works well. My meat was very lean. I think you would have to be careful if your meat was not lean. If the meat had a lot of fat it would end up sitting in a pile of grease but it did work well for me. We really liked this. It was a great crockpot meal.
Crock Pot Style Gyros
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork or turkey
- 1 onion sliced
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons Greek seasoning
Place onion and garlic in the crock pot. Mix together meat and Greek seasoning. Form into two small loaves and place on top of onions and garlic, like this.
Cook on low for 4-5 hours or until done
Sauce:
- 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
- 8 ounces of plain yogurt
- 1/2 teaspoon of Greek seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Mix together and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.
Slice the meat and serve on pita or tortillas with shredded lettuce and yogurt sauce.
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Mmmm! Sounds and looks great! Thanks for sharing. I saw your paperback swap logo – I love that site; we’ve gotten so many great books from there.Have a great week.
Renee’
http://rmboys.wordpress.com/
Thanks for sharing. These look really good. They will go great when we study Greece.
Oh boy, I’ll need to try this one…
OH OH I love Gyros, I’m definitely trying this one.
Do you ever use lamb? I think lamb is my favorite of all meats. Also, I think tzatziki sauce is easy to make. Not that I’ve ever made it, I just know that’s what the Greeks put on it.
Catherine, my husband likes lamb a lot and I know that is what is authentic but it is really expensive here in the stores. I feel bad buying it when I have a freezer full of other meat. Do greeks ever use other meats in gyros? And what is in the real tzatziki? Or does it vary by family and region?
You know, I heard that the gyro is actually more so one of those ethnic New York things…when the Greeks came over to the US. I think the same is true for many Jewish foods; people think they originated in Israel but they really originated from Jews in NY city in the old days.
Though I have never been to the motherland LOL (Greece), apparently the gyros made in Greece use pork or chicken most of the time, roasted and sliced. But then the Greeks that come to the US use lamb and beef. Don’t know why. I know that the most authentic way is to roast and slice the meat.
I think in Greece they use goat’s milk yogurt for the tzatziki but I’m sure it would be fine with regular yogurt. There seems to be decent recipes online : )
Thanks Catherine. I thought you would know more than me on the subject of Gyros!
This looks great! Thanks for sharing!
MJ
Sounds wonderful. And delicious! And even better yet, EASY!
Confessions of an Apron Queen
When I saw gyros on Mr. Linky, I had to come over. I love ‘em!!! This sounds so fabulous…I’ll have to try it.
Thanks!!
~melody~
Hi Lynn, I’m so glad these worked out for you! they were really fun for me to make, and then even more fun to eat.
xoxo
steph
Phil will be very happy that I have this recipe. We are huge Gyro fans.
These look great…love me some gyros!
Where do you buy this Greek seasoning?
I buy the greek seasoning at my grocery store. They have it in the spice section. I have also seen recipes for homemade greek seasoning, but by the time you buy all the spices to go in the seasoning I figure the buying it premade is cheaper and easier.