The Backstory
Gyros are traditionally a Greek food made with slices of spiced meat that have been cooked on a spit or a vertical rotisserie and served with a salad, all wrapped up in a pita or flatbread. Gyro (pronounced YEAR-O or YEE-RO) comes from the Greek guros, meaning “a ring”, relative to the rotating spit that the meat is cooked on. Following World War II, the Doner Kebab appeared in Athens by immigrants from Anatolia and the Middle East. It was a type of kebab made from stacked and seasoned lamb skewered and put on a vertical spit. As the meat cooked and crisped on the outside, it was thinly sliced or shaved from the rotisserie. It was sometimes plated and served with a salad, or more commonly stuffed in a pita or flatbread. The vertical rotisserie goes as far back as the Ottoman Empire and the town of Bursa (in modern-day Turkey) is considered the birthplace of the vertically roasted kebab, first as an entire roasted leg of lamb.
In Greece, gyros are common among street vendors and typically made with pork. Chicken is popular and lamb or beef are found more rarely. Customarily, Greek-American gyro meat is usually made with a finely ground mixture of beef and lamb, mixed with spices including cumin, oregano, thyme, and rosemary. The cut slices of seared meat are piled into pita breads and topped off with tzatziki sauce, red onions, tomatoes, feta cheese, and a sprinkling of dried oregano.
Feta Cheese
Feta is a brined curd white cheese made in Greece from sheep’s, goat’s, or sometimes cow’s milk. The Greek word Feta actually translates to “slice”, as it is packaged and sold in blocks. In Europe, feta is traditionally produced using only whole milk, rather than pasteurized. The finished produce has a slightly grainy texture in comparison to other cheeses and is either served in slices, cubed, or crumbled (rather than grated or shredded). There are a lot of wonderful cheese makers out there and farmstead feta can be found at a lot of local farmers markets. We love to visit our local Texas Goat Dairy Farm for feta, but if you don’t have access the grocery stores sell many brands and varieties too.
Tzatziki Sauce
Tzatziki, commonly used as a dip or a sauce, consists of a yogurt base, with cucumbers, garlic, salt, olive oil, and sometimes lemon juice, dill, mint, or parsley. It can be served as a refreshing vegetable dip or as a sauce alongside flatbread or falafel. It also can be used as a type of “dressing” for salads and goes beautifully atop the components of a Greek gyro.
Falafel
Some Gyros also include Falafel – a deep-fried ball, or flat patty, made from ground chickpeas, fava beans, or both. Herbs, spices, and onion are commonly added to the dough. It most like originated in Egypt, but is present in Greek cuisine, found in gyros alongside the traditional meats and on its own as a vegetarian option.
The Inspired Burger
My husband and I LOVE gyros. They’re deliciously satisfying and provide a taste of “something different” when we’re tired of the mundane dinner options. Our love of gyros combined with the “what’s for dinner, tonight” question inspired these delicious gyro burgers. And let me tell you, they’re a hit any way you serve them. Try them as full-on mouthwatering burgers or make the slider version for your next small group gathering. Party plans? Ditch the buns and roll the meat into bite-size meatballs and serve skewered with a leaf or two or fresh mint and tzatziki sauce to dip into on the side.
Gyro Inspired Lamb Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 lb. grounb Beef*
- 1 lb. ground lamb
- 2 tsp. Kosher salt
- 1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. crushed red pepper (red chili flakes)
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. dried dill
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 Tbl. fresh minced garlic
- 1/2 sleeve Club crackers (20 count)
- 1 duck egg**
- 1/2 (heaping) to 1 cup crumbled feta cheese, to taste
- 5 hamburger buns
- unsalted butter, softened
- garlic powder, to taste
- kosher salt, to taste
- *You can substitute ground wild hog or bison for the ground beef.
- **You can substitute 1 large or jumbo chicken egg for the duck egg.
Instructions
- Place the club crackers into a sandwich size or larger Ziploc plastic bag and seal the bag closed, pressing the air out of the bag. Using the heel of your hand or a kitchen mallet, crush the crackers to crumb-size pieces.
- In a medium or larger sized mixing bowl, place both meats, cracker crumbs, salt, pepper, red chili flakes, oregano, dill, onion powder, minced garlic, feta cheese, and the egg into the bowl. Using your hands, massage the meat until all ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. Do not over mix.
- Divide the mixture evenly into approximately 6 to 7 oz. portions. Lightly toss each meat portion from hand to hand, forming a ball, then pat into a disk. Note the size of your hamburger buns. The patty should be at least as wide as your bun and try to keep them relatively round in shape and about an inch thick. Place formed patties on a sheet pan or tray.
- TIP: Make a divot in the middle of the burger patty with your thumb to help it keep it's shape and to cook more evenly.
- NOTE: Patties can be made ahead of time and chilled in the fridge. Just remove them from the fridge while you heat the grill, letting them come to room temperature (approx. 15 to 20 minutes) before grilling.
- Preheat the grill to medium or medium-low heat. (High grilling temperatures will cause the cheese to melt out of the patties.) Oil the grate with a neutral-flavored oil, such as canola or vegetable oil. Make sure your burgers are at room temperature before grilling. Place the burgers on the grill and close the lid. Grill for 10 minutes, flip (no pressing/flattening), and close the lid again. Grill for another 10 minutes. Check temperature for desired doneness and remove from the heat when they're finished cooking.
- While the burgers are cooking, butter the insides of the hamburger buns and place them in a single layer on a sheet pan, buttered sides up. Sprinkle the buttered buns generously with the garlic powder. Pinch and lightly sprinkle the kosher salt over the garlic buttered buns. Toast the garlic buttered buns in the oven on HIGH Broil, center oven rack, until the buns are toasty and golden. Remove from the oven and reserve for burger assembly.
- Assemble the burgers with your favorite condiments. Mayonnaise goes great, or try them with a homemade green onion aioli. Go full gyro and take your burgers to the next level with a homemade feta tzatziki sauce and all the gyro fixings! (Fixings: sliced red onions, tomatoes, and baby spinach or butterhead lettuce leaves.)
A Simple Feta Tzatziki Spread (From Anne Burrell)
Ingredients
- 2 cups plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta
- 1 Tbl. white wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped
- 2 sprigs fresh mint leaves, finely chopped or chiffonade
- 1 small bunch fresh dill, finely chopped
- 1/2 English cucumber, coarsely grated
- Kosher salt
Directions
Combine the yogurt, feta, vinegar, garlic, mint, dill and cucumbers. Season with salt. Let sit for at least 1 hour at room temperature before serving.
