I love gyros, but because I’m low carb/keto, they were not always an option in the past. I’m so happy to share how to enjoy these tasty things from your own home, it’s unbelievably pleasant to have healthy food that tastes just as good as restaurant quality for less, and without going anywhere. In my opinion, most of what I cook at home tastes BETTER than going out, and I think with practice, anyone can achieve that feeling (I was not good at cooking not too long ago)!
Anyway, gyros have been something I always wanted to make at home for several reasons.
The first being that eating at restaurants is just not something I can afford to do very much. As an alternative, in the past I have purchased the gyro meat that you can buy sliced and frozen at the grocery store. However, it’s not only really expensive for what it is, it also contains so many unnecessary ingredients, most of which are carbs (and the MAIN thing we are eliminating in this lifestyle).
Finally, another reason is that gyros here in the US are typically eaten stuffed inside of a pita bread. However, since most of us low-carbers don’t eat pitas (some folks can get away with using low carb pita breads or tortilla wraps, but I haven’t had luck with those, being diabetic) the rest of us just enjoy the strips of meat sliced from the roast eaten with a fork, and sometimes added to a salad, making it a gyro bowl, if you will. I’m sure there are other low carb ways to enjoy gyros that I’m not aware of … feel free to suggest yours in the comments!
Anyway, here is my recipe for making gyros meat from home, which I have done twice now, and it’s given me delicious gyros at home for cheap, that taste just like Greek restaurant style, but without the carbage! Easy to keep cold and slice up whenever you want some gyro meat.
INGREDIENTS
2 teaspoons beef gelatin powder
Dry seasonings:
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons dried dill
1 tablespoons dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoon ground thyme
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 medium or 1/2 a large onion, cut into quarters
3 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb ground beef (I used grass-fed 85% lean)
1 lb ground lamb
DIRECTIONS
In a small cup or prep bowl, combine the gelatin powder with a little water, and stir. Set aside for a few minutes to bloom.
Combine the dry seasoning ingredients and set aside.
In a food processor, add the onion chunks and pulse until finely minced.
Add in the garlic and pulse a bit more until just minced and blended into the onion.
Next, add in the beef and lamb, the bloomed gelatin (it will be very firm, just scrape it out with a spoon or knife). Add the dry ingredients, and finally, drizzle in the olive oil.
Blend until all combined and a meat dough forms (doesn’t have to be a perfectly fine paste).
Using your hands, pack the meat dough together very tightly into a cylinder-shaped loaf, eliminating any pockets, and smooth it out.
Pack the loaf into a tall, narrow 2-quart container such as the deli style 32 ounce container lined with plastic wrap. You can also just roll it up tightly in plastic wrap.
Chill the meat dough loaf overnight.
When ready to roast the meat, remove it from the fridge and bake at 300 F for 1 1/2 hours. I used a special steel roasting skewer that attaches to a small steel plate (shown in photos below). You could also press the meat into a loaf pan as you would a meatloaf. Another idea is to place the meat cylinder onto a wire rack over a roasting pan, and turn the meat every 15 minutes or so, to ensure the outside cooks evenly.
The meat is done roasting when the internal temp is 165 F.
Allow the meat to rest about 10 minutes before slicing.
I serve mine with lettuce and tomato, or eat it plain with a fork. Hope you enjoy!
Makes many servings. I keep the leftovers refrigerated in a wrapped container, and slice what I want to eat, and reheat the slices in a skillet until warmed up, and optionally, crisp around the edges.
The dried herbs and spices blended, and some salt
The onion & garlic minced, and the meats added into the food processor
Herbs and salt added on top
The blended meat mixture packed into a 32 ounce container
Sealed & ready to chill overnight
The chilled mixture formed a cylindrical roast, and here it is placed onto a stainless skewer/base, and centered on a baking pan
The roast rested & sliced after baking
A gyro salad, with sliced gyro meat, lettuce, tomato, onion, topped with a dressing that I whisked together, of salt, pepper, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar
