WARNING: A bit of story and lots of pics......
So this idea has been bouncing around my big head since I read jcam222's Awesome homemade gyro post. I finally took the plunge after digging into Daveomac's easy peasy ham post which was beyond Awesome. Lots of great info by a lot of you in that one. In my search to find STPP for my ham journey I came across a site that sells STPP along with a bunch of other molecular gastronomy ingredients. They had some recipe videos so I cruised through a few and I came across a Gyro Cone recipe. It looked really good and I decided to try it first because it was All Lamb and they swore it was the real deal. Before I give you my review I have to tell you that I have had a love affair with Gyros going back to the fair days of my youth and continuing through my drunken late night college days with many a 2am encounter. I even recall waking up in an OSU dorm room with $1 Gyros in my coat pocket. You'd think the memory of that smell would have turned me off of them but no. My wife and I have had many a late night Gyro in the Flats during our dating days and the idea of making one at home has intrigued us both. So thanks to jcam, DaveO and many other here who gave me the nudge I needed.
Okay, now onto the recipe. Since it is not mine and I followed it almost to a T I will not list it here but I will give the link for anyone who would like it. No, I am not promoting them and for those who think this is not the place for the www I am sorry. Not trying to disrespect just aiming anyone interested to a Killer recipe for Gyro meat that Tastes, Smells and has the texture of those late night carts and stands.
I really wanted to do an all lamb version. Yes it was pricey but man was it worth it. I bought a 3 lb Leg of Lamb and carefully trimmed the silver skin and boogery fat. It left me with just over 2 lbs of lamb. You can see the little bit of trim I took off so I was a little miffed at the purchase weight. I think they weighed it after netting and cryovacing(Damn New Zealanders, lol). Ground it once on the smallest plate and mixed. The recipe used a food processor but I wanted no part of that.
Test patty made both my wife and I do a little dance as the smell and taste were both close to perfect. I formed the cone and with what wouldn't fit I made a small loaf. While that rested overnight I just winged some Tzatziki.
3/4 of a large cucumber peeled and seeded and in food processor with 3 cloves garlic
squeezed as much water as possible using a strainer and then back into the processor with fresh mint and fresh dill.
Added that mixture to 2 cups of greek yogurt along with a few shakes of Accent(yes, we are an MSG bunch). Into the fridge it goes.
Having the right Pita is crucial. Luckily we have this brand at Alescis, a fantastic local italian deli & grocery. Just not the same without that warm, fluffy pita.
So onto the Treager it went. 300 degrees and Post Oak blend pellets. I didn't get the Al Pastor pan that jcam used but this was so good I may buy one. I was hoping the Moo Glue used in the recipe would keep it standing. Also the first time I got to use my new Chef IQ wireless babies. About an hour and 20 min later this is what we had.
As I said, the taste, smell and texture were almost perfect. I would lay money that I could fool anyone if I said I bought these at Gyro George's. The Only thing missing was that almost gooey caramelization that happens on those rotisserie cone units. You know, the best Gyros are always when they cut that sticky, dark brown exterior. So, maybe I will root around the garage for my old propane heater I used when I used to ice fish. If I could figure out a way to rotate the cone in front of that baby we could just let it go outside and cut as it browns like the real deal. Anyway, I thought I should share since I can honestly say this recipe has been tested by a SMF'er and I wholeheartedly give it a 10+ and my son and wife both agree.
Recipe link:
https://blog.modernistpantry.com/recipes/simple-homemade-gyro/
So this idea has been bouncing around my big head since I read jcam222's Awesome homemade gyro post. I finally took the plunge after digging into Daveomac's easy peasy ham post which was beyond Awesome. Lots of great info by a lot of you in that one. In my search to find STPP for my ham journey I came across a site that sells STPP along with a bunch of other molecular gastronomy ingredients. They had some recipe videos so I cruised through a few and I came across a Gyro Cone recipe. It looked really good and I decided to try it first because it was All Lamb and they swore it was the real deal. Before I give you my review I have to tell you that I have had a love affair with Gyros going back to the fair days of my youth and continuing through my drunken late night college days with many a 2am encounter. I even recall waking up in an OSU dorm room with $1 Gyros in my coat pocket. You'd think the memory of that smell would have turned me off of them but no. My wife and I have had many a late night Gyro in the Flats during our dating days and the idea of making one at home has intrigued us both. So thanks to jcam, DaveO and many other here who gave me the nudge I needed.
Okay, now onto the recipe. Since it is not mine and I followed it almost to a T I will not list it here but I will give the link for anyone who would like it. No, I am not promoting them and for those who think this is not the place for the www I am sorry. Not trying to disrespect just aiming anyone interested to a Killer recipe for Gyro meat that Tastes, Smells and has the texture of those late night carts and stands.
I really wanted to do an all lamb version. Yes it was pricey but man was it worth it. I bought a 3 lb Leg of Lamb and carefully trimmed the silver skin and boogery fat. It left me with just over 2 lbs of lamb. You can see the little bit of trim I took off so I was a little miffed at the purchase weight. I think they weighed it after netting and cryovacing(Damn New Zealanders, lol). Ground it once on the smallest plate and mixed. The recipe used a food processor but I wanted no part of that.
Test patty made both my wife and I do a little dance as the smell and taste were both close to perfect. I formed the cone and with what wouldn't fit I made a small loaf. While that rested overnight I just winged some Tzatziki.
3/4 of a large cucumber peeled and seeded and in food processor with 3 cloves garlic
squeezed as much water as possible using a strainer and then back into the processor with fresh mint and fresh dill.
Added that mixture to 2 cups of greek yogurt along with a few shakes of Accent(yes, we are an MSG bunch). Into the fridge it goes.
Having the right Pita is crucial. Luckily we have this brand at Alescis, a fantastic local italian deli & grocery. Just not the same without that warm, fluffy pita.
So onto the Treager it went. 300 degrees and Post Oak blend pellets. I didn't get the Al Pastor pan that jcam used but this was so good I may buy one. I was hoping the Moo Glue used in the recipe would keep it standing. Also the first time I got to use my new Chef IQ wireless babies. About an hour and 20 min later this is what we had.
As I said, the taste, smell and texture were almost perfect. I would lay money that I could fool anyone if I said I bought these at Gyro George's. The Only thing missing was that almost gooey caramelization that happens on those rotisserie cone units. You know, the best Gyros are always when they cut that sticky, dark brown exterior. So, maybe I will root around the garage for my old propane heater I used when I used to ice fish. If I could figure out a way to rotate the cone in front of that baby we could just let it go outside and cut as it browns like the real deal. Anyway, I thought I should share since I can honestly say this recipe has been tested by a SMF'er and I wholeheartedly give it a 10+ and my son and wife both agree.
Recipe link:
https://blog.modernistpantry.com/recipes/simple-homemade-gyro/
