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[KingSparta]

I Have Been Eating A Lot Of Gyros Lately.

Miami Subs Have Them I Get One With A Large Sprite, $7.18

The Only Problem Is They Do Not Have Feta Cheese.

I Can't find Lamb To Create My Own So I Have Been Trying Different Meats.

Today I Am Going To Try Ground Pork

Stake-ems Don't Work Well.

[DarkPenguin]

Stake-ems Don't Work Well.

I'm a little disturbed that you even tried to use stake-ems.  I think I'd have tried shaving a uniroyal first.

I get mine at Dino's Gyros.  Very good.

[KingSparta]

Gyros

Well The Stake-ems Did Not Work Out For Me

Tonight I Used New York Strip.

For The Cucumber Dressing Or "Tzatziki Sauce" I Used:

12 Oz Of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
4 Oz Of Feta Cheese
Ranch Dressing Mix (Powder)
2 Cloves Of Garlic
1 Cucumber
1\2 Of A Onion

There Is No Need For Milk Or Other Fluids, Since The Cucumber Provides For The Fluid. I Used Yogurt Before But The Dressing Became To Watery, And The Philadelphia Cream Cheese and the Feta Cheese Made The Dressing Nice And Cheesy.

Mixed That All Up (Pureed)

For The Filler:

Sliced Up The New York Strip, I Seasoned it With Goya Adobo All Purpose Seasoning

Cut Up A Tomato
1\2 Onion
Some Lettuce

I Steamed The Peta Bread Over The Meat As it Was Cooking.

Sue Asked For Another

Sue Had A Glass Of Duplin - Magnolia Wine With It (It Is A Semi Dry Wine).

[JimH]

Sounds like Chef Gourmet.  It's too late now, but I would have suggested a little Henry Mancini.  Call me next time you're cooking.

[KingSparta]

Well Sue Deserves A Rest, She Got Some Shots In Her Back Today (Due To Her Advanced Arthritis In Her Back).

They Are Hoping It Helps Her A Bit With Pain, She Is Off From Work Until Monday

Next Time I Am Going To Strain The Cucumber Pulp.

She did Love It So For That I Am Happy.

[John Gateley]

I've seen gyros meat in grocery stores...

j

[mesue]

I Have Been Eating A Lot Of Gyros Lately.

Miami Subs Have Them I Get One With A Large Sprite, $7.18

The Only Problem Is They Do Not Have Feta Cheese.

I Can't find Lamb To Create My Own So I Have Been Trying Different Meats.

Today I Am Going To Try Ground Pork

Stake-ems Don't Work Well.

I can't imagine what a Miami Subs Gyro is like but the words steak-ums and gyro should not be used in the same post! Ick!

If you ever get to Florida, go to Plaka's restaurant on the sponge docks in Tarpon Springs, Florida for one of the best gyros you will ever eat. I grew up about 15 minutes from there. Oh, I am drooling just thinking about it. It's the thing I miss most since moving away from that area.

Here's a YouTube of Plaka's (not my video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svkorhdCj4I

Excuse me... I must now go search for a gyro joint in my area...

PS: I think the meat is a combo of lamb and beef. I didn't think there was feta in the sauce but I could be wrong. My sister is married to a Greek man (from Tarpon Springs), and she makes really good Greek food but I don't know if she has ever made gyros.

[JohnM]

I Used Yogurt Before But The Dressing Became To Watery

You have to let the yogurt... [I can't find the words, I'm a Finn with swedish as my native tongue...] I'll try to explain it how we do it... the yogurt for the zaziki that is

Put the yogurt in the coffee filter of your (drip) coffeemaker and let the yogurt drip for a couple of hours until thick enough (discard the exess fluid).

John

[KingSparta]

I didn't think there was feta in the sauce but I could be wrong.

No But It Is A Option In Some Greek Gyro Places To Have The Gyro Topped With Feta Cheese

[AoXoMoXoA]

There is a Greek Orthodox Church in my town and this week they are having their annual Greek Food Festival.
The Gyro's were excellent!

And, no, I did not see any Steak-ums used there 

[Frobozz]

Mmmmm...  Mr. Gyros in Seattle.  I like the gyro with a little bit of hot sauce.

I just made myself a Turkish coffee.  Yum.  Time for a MTB ride.

[olarte]

I've seen gyros meat in grocery stores...

j

WHere is that? I've been looking for fresh or even frozen gyro meat for years and could never find it.... even on the net.

The closest I came to was getting Ground Lamb and ground beef, mixing it together 2/3 lamb with 1/3 beef, adding spices (garlic, cumin, salt) and pan frying the patties to make Gyros. They were ok but not like the authentic meat.

[olarte]

If you like Gyros you should also try to make Stuffed Grape Leaves. they are actually easy to make, freeze well, and don't need anything special other than the leaves which you can actually buy at any middle-eastern shop, or even on the internet.

The recipe can be found on the internet, and it takes about 30min to hand roll a jar of leaves. They are Great and go well with lemon, or yougurt sauce.

[John Gateley]

WHere is that? I've been looking for fresh or even frozen gyro meat for years and could never find it.... even on the net.

It's been a few years, but what I found was pre-cooked frozen gyro meat (already shaved off the huge cylinder of meat).
I think it was in a kit that included some pita bread and tzaziki sauce.

j

[KingSparta]

This Is A Company That Supplies Kits, they Also Supply Miami Subs, And Some Other Greek Food Stores.

The Problem Is They Have Never Answered A E-Mail I Sent To Them " Where Can I Find A Kit".

I Found Out What Company Supplied Miami Subs, When I Asked For Extra Cucumber Sauce, And i Looked Up The Company That Was Printed On The Container.

http://www.greciandelight.com/

Note In The FAQ:

http://www.greciandelight.com/faqs.htm#q4

4. What products do you sell in retail?
- We sell gyros sandwich kits and Pita Wraps, which can be found in your grocer's deli section

[KingSparta]

Put the yogurt in the coffee filter of your (drip) coffeemaker

Today I Tested That Out With The Yogurt, And The Cucumber

It Worked Good.

[KingSparta]

I Found A New Place To Buy Gyros In Fayetteville, NC

I Think Tomorrow I Will Go There For Lunch.

[KingSparta]

Here Is Another Company That Provides Gyro Kits

http://www.kronosproducts.com/retail.html

[olarte]

Here Is Another Company That Provides Gyro Kits

http://www.kronosproducts.com/retail.html

Well they don't seem to sell retail.... you can get 5lbs of gyro meat, sliced from amazon.com but it costs about $55 with shipping.

I think I'm going to try and make my own, in a meat loaf pan, then slice it and brown the slices in a pan.
Found these two recipees and it really should not be that hard do do...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_30420,00.html

http://www.mediterranean-food.net/index.php?option=com_mtree&task=viewlink&link_id=3040&Itemid=26

Also if you like Stuffe Grape Leaves (you can get them at any middle-easter market) here is a good recipe for that.

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Vegetables/StuffedGrapeLeaves.htm

[KingSparta]

I Am Thinking Of Doing The Same But I Cant Find Any Lamb.

[olarte]

I Am Thinking Of Doing The Same But I Cant Find Any Lamb.

Uhm... our local stop & shop has ground lamb... ask the butched at your local, or large supermarket in your area I, sure you can find some.

I plan to put about 70% lamb, and 30% beef.

I heard of two tricks...

1. Regrind the mixed meat in a food processor to give it a finer consistency.

2. If you want to simulate the spit, and have a George Foreman or other similar rotisserie, make a circular\loaf shape loaf of the mixed meat wrap it in cellophane tight and put in the fridge for 2 hours to firm it up after that you should be able to place it in the rotisserie.

for now I plan to do a meat loaf of it, cut thin slices it, and brown these in a pan when I make the gyro... then use the pan to brown the pita bread.

good luck finding ground lamb... if not you can get the frozen meat from here, they seem to have much better shipping than amazon.com, although it's the same store... strange. 17.50 vs. 8.00

http://parthenonfoods.com/gyro-meat-sliced-p-1840.html

[KingSparta]

good luck finding ground lamb

Today My Wife Went To Fort Bragg, NC And Found Ground Lamb In The Commissary.

[KingSparta]

Today When I Was Working Sue Went To Wal-Mart And Bought A 14 Cup Food Processor.

I Mixed 2 Lbs Of Lamb With 1 1\2 Lbs Of Hamburger.

That Pretty Much Was Max Load For The Food Processor

When Putting The Mixed Meats Into The Bread Pan It Filled It Up To The Top (Maybe A Bit Too Much).

So Next Time I May Mix 2 Lbs Of Lamb With 1 Lbs Of Hamburger.

We Are Letting It Set For 24 hours In The Refrigerator

We Will See How This Cooks Up Tomorrow.

I Will Take Some Pictures Tomorrow Also.

It Does Smell Good.

[KingSparta]

The Gyro Was A Disaster.

We Are Trying To Find Out If The Dogs Will Eat It, But They Are Trying To Bury It Under The Linoleum.

[John Gateley]

That's too bad, but what happened??

j

[KingSparta]

I Am Not Sure, The Taste Is Off

I Will Be Experimenting More With The Mixture...

[olarte]

uhm that's too bad... maybe too much beef vs. lamb?

I did about 2 1/2 of lamb with 1 lb of beef, and I think even that needs a bit more lamb.

It came out ok, not great, but ok...

What i'm wondering though is if it's actually cheaper.

I spent 15$ in meat and by the time the fat\liquids drained, I ended up with 3/4 of one meat loaf enough for 5 good gyros.

but I'm wondering if buying the frozen slices at 5lbs (enough for 20-25 gyros) for about $56 including shipping may actually be a better deal.

I also made the grape leaves but they did not cook enough so the rice was a bit undercooked. oh well...

[KingSparta]

Well Today Is Experiment #2

1. Two Lbs Of Beef
2. 8 Cloves Of Garlic
3. Salt
4. Pepper
5. Onion

Blended In The Food Processor

I Left The Other Spices Out.

[KingSparta]

but I'm wondering if buying the frozen slices at 5lbs (enough for 20-25 gyros) for about $56 including shipping may actually be a better deal.

Maybe but then i would be bored.

Experiment #2 Was OK, But was nothing more than a hamburger on flat bread.

I think the problem was the amount of spices I put in Experiment #1

[JimH]

Is the linoleum OK?

[KingSparta]

Is the linoleum OK?

The Linoleum Cost Me About $3,800 Last Year (They Had To Put New Plywood Down) To Get The Floor Level.

The Dogs Would Not Eat Experiment #1

When I tried to give it to them, they cowered in the corner

I gave them some bacon to make it up to them

They Still Love Me

[KingSparta]

I Cooked The Lamb Up And Tasted It, And It Was Good.

So It Must Have been The Spices (Too Much)

I Also Tested Using My Beef Jerkey Press.

This Way I Can Use It To Create Strips Directly Into The Frying Pan Without Baking It In A Loaf.

[KingSparta]

2 pounds ground lamb

Or

1 Pound Ground Lamb And 1 Pound Of Ground Beef

1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
1\2 Teaspoon dried marjoram
1\2 Teaspoon dried ground rosemary
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

For A Bit More Zest

Add  1 Teaspoon of Goya Adobo All Purpose Seasoning

And Or

Replace 2 Teaspoons Of Salt With Two Teaspoons Of "Better Than Bouillon" Beef Base

The Strips Come Out Nice And Juicy...



Steaming The Flat Bread



"Tzatziki Sauce"



The Finished Product



http://www.spartasoftware.com/MyPictures/Dinner/Gyro/index.html

[bigpoppa206]

For The Cucumber Dressing Or "Tzatziki Sauce" I Used:

12 Oz Of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
4 Oz Of Feta Cheese
Ranch Dressing Mix (Powder)
2 Cloves Of Garlic
1 Cucumber
1\2 Of A Onion

There Is No Need For Milk Or Other Fluids, Since The Cucumber Provides For The Fluid. I Used Yogurt Before But The Dressing Became To Watery, And The Philadelphia Cream Cheese and the Feta Cheese Made The Dressing Nice And Cheesy.

Mixed That All Up (Pureed)

ACK!!!!!!!!!  Not sure what that was but making Tzatziki is actually easy once you know how.  First get some Fage Greek Yogurt -16oz or so size - (now carried in all Whole Foods and Trader Joes stores, possibly more.)  I use the 0% version that is just as creamy as the full fat version and being a Greek style yogurt, it is EXTREMELY thick.  But I digress, here is the recipe I use:

Ingredients:

16 oz Fage Total 0% yogurt

2 cells of garlic (more or less to taste)

Salt and pepper to taste

A bit (I use a teaspoon) of dried dill weed

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 cucumber

Preparation:

Peel and seed the cucumber.  A peeler works great for removing the skin quickly.  Seed the cucumber -- easiest way is to take a teaspoon and just scrape out all of the seeds in the middle.  That's why it was so watery!  In fact, the next step is to actually squeeze the cucumber in a cheesecloth to remove as much moisture as possible.  Throw everything into a food processor, crush the garlic and add it with the rest of the ingredients to the yogurt.  Mix until well-blended (original recipe says “smooth and uniform.”) which for me is about 30 to 45 seconds.  That's it!  Cover and keep in the refrigerator (not in the freezer!) until serving.

Additional notes:  One variation calls for a tablespoon of white vinegar and a tablespoon of lemon juice instead of the two tablespoons above.  Nice alteration!  Also, you can drop a leaf or two of fresh mint in there to spice things up.  Pretty much goes well with anything.  Be careful on the garlic, it gets MUCH stronger the second day after sitting the in the refrigerator overnight, which is not a bad thing.

Total time for preparation, less than 10 minutes and well worth it!

[KingSparta]

The Original Cucumber Sauce Is A Bit Bland

For The Cucumber Dressing Or "Tzatziki Sauce" I Used:

2 Cloves Of Garlic
1 Cucumber
1\2 Of A Onion
5 Scallions

Liquefy And Allow To Drain Thru A Filter To Get The Extra Water Out.

Then Blend In

8 Oz Of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (For Original Use Drained Yogurt, Sour Cream Can Also Be Used)
4 Oz Of Feta Cheese (Not Part Of The Original Recipe)

A German Couple I Know Uses Sour Cream And Not The Yogurt Her Mom Taught Her How To Make It When She Was A Kid.

[olarte]

I use the English type cucumbers which are seedless and "sweeter"

[KingSparta]

I Found Another Place That Makes Gyros Today, A Lady At Work Went To The Mall And Got One, I Don't Think i Have Been In That Mall For Like 5 Years.