Lamb Gyros

Submitted by Air Force Mama

"Recipe and photo adapted from Michiana Eats"

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 15mins
• Ingredients: 20
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• For the lamb

• 4 -5 lbs leg of lamb, de-boned and butterflied
• 1⁄2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 lemons, juice of
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1⁄2 tablespoon black pepper

• For the finished gyros

• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1 medium red onion, sliced thinly
• 8 ounces feta cheese
• 8 pieces pita bread

• For Tzatziki Sauce

• 16 ounces of plain Greek yogurt
• 2 medium cucumbers, seeds removed, and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon of fresh mint (optional)

directions

1. When you’ve got your lamb off the bone and are faced with a large slab of meat, you’ll want to do a little more trimming to get it ready for the grill. Go ahead and remove the excess fat and any remaining membranes that you see.
2. Cut the lamb up so that each chunk you cut off is uniform in size. Some pieces will be thicker than others, but that’s perfectly fine. This way you can just pull each piece off the grill individually as they reach your desired doneness.
3. Now that your meat is trimmed and ready to go it’s time to mix up the marinade.
4. Start by adding the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, rosemary, oregano, salt, pepper, and garlic to a mixing bowl and whisk together.
5. When it’s thoroughly mixed, add it to a large zip top bag or shallow baking dish and add the lamb.
6. Make sure you toss the meat around so the marinade covers everything and then let it sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Longer is better in this case, so if you can prepare this three or four hours in advance, that’s great. Even overnight is fine if you’re pressed for time. If you do marinade it for a longer period of time just be sure to occasionally toss or turn the pieces of meat to make sure they are staying well-covered by the marinade.
7. After the meat has marinaded for your desired time, pull it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes prior to cooking to allow it to come up closer to room temperature.
8. While your meat is resting you can go ahead and get the grill started. Gas or charcoal, doesn’t matter. Use what you’re comfortable with and what you have.
9. Bring the grill up to a medium heat and begin cooking the lamb. If you have a few pieces that are much thicker than the rest, add those first and let them cook for a couple of minutes before adding the rest so that way most of the meat should get done at around the same time. Turn frequently. Continue cooking until the meat reaches around 120-125 degrees for medium-rare, or about 130 degrees for medium. When you pull the meat from the grill at these temperatures and let it rest, the meat will continue to cook and increase at least another five degrees.
10. This is where having a good meat thermometer comes in handy, but if you don’t have one and you’re familiar with cooking steaks and testing their doneness, you can use the same method here.
11. Once the meat has rested for about 10 minutes, slice bite-sized pieces, against the grain where possible and dump all of the meat into a large serving bowl. If you’d like, you can add a drizzle of olive oil and a little salt and pepper to the bowl and toss to coat to give it a little finishing touch.
12. Finally, take your pieces of pita bread and throw them on the grill, still at medium heat, and let them warm up. We’re not looking to get the bread crunchy or anything, but just want to toast it lightly and warm it throughout. It should take just 30-60 seconds.

13. Instructions for Tzatziki Sauce:

14. Start by peeling two medium cucumbers and cut in half lengthwise.
15. Take a spoon and scoop out the seeds, then give them a rough chop. Once chopped, put the cucumber into a colander or strainer in the sink and sprinkle the kosher salt on top and toss to coat. This step is important because the salt will draw out some of the excess moisture that would otherwise make your tzatziki very thin in consistency. Let the salted cucumber sit for 30-60 minutes.
16. For making the sauce a food processor can come in handy, but you can just use a grater to grate the cucumber into small pieces and then chop the herbs and garlic very fine by hand.
17. If you have a food processor, add the cucumber, garlic, and dill to the processor and pulse to puree.
18. Add the mixture to a bowl and then add the yogurt and lemon juice and fold to incorporate everything. Let it sit in the refrigerator for at least a few hours, but overnight is best. Enjoy!