We have made our way to Greece in our geography studies for homeschooling, so we had to choose a meal to prepare for the cultural cuisine part of the study. Greek Gyros with Lamb meat made the cut! They seemed like the obvious choice because we know we like them already but hadn’t yet tried them using Lamb. Lamb is the traditional meat used over in Greece for gyros, but we had only ever used chicken before. Plus, we really wanted to make our own homemade tzatziki sauce to pair with it. It’s incredibly fun trying to re-create meals from around the world in the most authentic way as possible!

Traditionally, the lamb for gyros is cooked using a spit grill and shaved off from the outside to be eaten. Unfortunately, we are not able to mimic that, so instead, we had to improvise with the preparation of the meat. Ground lamb is more readily available where we live, so this is what we used. It turned out amazing and as close to authentic as we can get!

For this recipe, we prepared the ground lamb by baking in a bread loaf pan. Then once cooled, we cut into thin slices and fried up the slices in a cast iron skillet. This gives the meat a nice crispy texture that you would find in Greece when traditionally prepared.

SO, what is needed to make greek gyros with lamb?

For the Lamb Meat:

Ground lamb
Onion
Garlic cloves
Coriander
Cumin
Italian seasoning
Black pepper
Salt

The Sandwiches:

Pita bread
Shredded lettuce
Red onion
Tomatoes
Crumbled feta cheese
Tzatziki sauce

How to prepare the lamb meat:

You’ll want to use a food processor to puree the garlic cloves and onion.

Food processor with puréed onion and garlic.

Then place the lamb meat into a large mixing bowl and add seasonings. Then pour onion and garlic puree over top.

A mixing bowl with raw ground lamb meat and seasonings on top.

Mix ingredients together using your hands.

Now place meat into a bread loaf pan and press down on all sides.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Allow the meat to cool in pan completely. Remove from pan and chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Save any remaining grease from pan for frying with meat later.

Once completely cooled, remove from fridge and place on a cutting board. Slice meat into thin slices.

Lamb meatloaf on cutting board with knife, partially cut into slices.

Pour remaining or leftover grease from meat into a skillet or cast-iron pan. Place meat into skillet and fry on medium heat on each side of meat until browned and crispy.

Slices of lamb meat frying in a cast iron skillet.

Remove from pan and now you’re ready to assemble your gyros!

Assembling the gyros:

Warm the pita bread in oven or microwave just slightly. Layer the sandwich with lettuce, lamb, onion, tomato, tzatziki sauce, and feta cheese. Then serve and enjoy!