Greek Lamb Gyro Recipe

Making delicious Lamb Gyro is easy! Season the lamb, cook until tender, slice thinly and serve with Greek pita bread or with my Greek Lemon Potatoes

Take a look at my other Greek Recipes

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It must be that time of year… the time I wish I was on holiday in Greece! Despite our exceptionally hot summer, I am still longing to be on a Greek island, swimming daily and enjoying my favourite Greek (guilty) pleasure – GYROS!

But since our holiday is still a few weeks away – not that I am counting the days or anything – I have recreated the Greek gyros experience at home using exceptionally succulent Welsh lamb. 

What is Gyros?

Gyros, pronounced YEE-ros, is a meat dish cooked on a tall vertical rotisserie which rotates slowly in front of an electric grill  – gyros means ‘turn’ in Greek. 

You can find gyros in any fast food joint that also sells souvlaki and you would be forgiven for thinking the two are interchangeable. In fact ‘souvlaki’, like gyros, refers to the cooking method, meat cooked on a skewer – souvlaki translates as ‘little skewer’.

Both souvlaki and gyros are usually served on pita bread spread with tzatziki, sliced tomatoes, onions and occasionally fries or fried halloumi. The pita is wrapped to encase the filings and  there you have it, Greece’s favourite food to eat on the go. 

What type of meat?

In Greece, gyros is traditionally made with pork, although chicken gyros is also becoming popular (take a look at my Chicken Gyro Recipe). Occasionally you will also find lamb and beef gyros. In the US gyros is made with a mixture of ground beef and lamb.

The meat is first seasoned with spices, salt and pepper and marinated in vinegar and olive oil. It is then threaded on a large skewer building up a gyro ‘cone’ which is then cooked on an upright rotisserie. 

The gyro is the shaved or sliced usually with an electric knife before being served on pita with all the trimmings. You can also order gyro ‘merida’ (portion) served with salad and fries if you are so inclined. I am frequently inclined, when in Greece 😉

Gyros Seasoning

The spices used to marinate gyros are salt, pepper, sweet paprika and lots of Greek dried oregano (rigani). It’s well worth sourcing Greek oregano if can as it is much more aromatic.

I have used the same seasoning in this recipe and the taste is pretty authentic, even if the cooking method is not the same, vertical rotisseries being a little hard to come by at home!

HOW TO MAKE LAMB GYRO

Full measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page. Please take a look at the steps and video before attempting this recipe!

Mix oregano, sweet paprika, garlic granules, salt and pepper together in a bowl. Rub this seasoning all over your shoulder of lamb. Add olive oil and vinegar and coat the lamb. Cover and marinate for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 170C / 325 F and set a shelf on the lower third of the oven. Cook the lamb for an hour covered with foil. Remove the foil and cook for a further 20 minutes.

REST THE LAMB

Cover loosely with foil and leave to rest for 30 minutes. The lamb is cooked when the internal temperature is 70°C (158°F) for medium-well done. Best way to check is with a digital thermometer*.

Slice the lamb thinly, removing any fatty bits. Add a few tablespoons of the pan juices to the sliced lamb. Keep warm.

Make the gyros pita

Finely slice one red onion (with a mandolin* if you have one) and mix with generous amount of chopped parsley. Finely slice two large tomatoes, discarding the seeds. 

Spread your warm pita with the yogurt sauce. Add a generous amount of lamb and then top with the tomatoes and onions. Wrap the pita around the fillings and eat immediately!

RECIPE TIPS

This recipe has three distinct parts: the lamb gyros, the homemade pita (or pitta – can never decide which spelling is right), and finally the tahini yogurt sauce which I have used here instead of the more traditional tzatziki. 

Make the yogurt sauce first as it can be chilling in the fridge while you get on with the rest. Start marinating the lamb (1h) then cook (1 h 20m). When lamb goes in the oven starting making the pita (1h rising time) then roll out the pita and get it ready to pan fry. Lamb comes out of the oven and rests (30m) while you pan fry the pita. Slice the lamb, tomatoes and onion and you are ready to serve. Boom!

This recipe serves a family of four, making six pitas and enough lamb for everyone, even if the adults have two servings. If you are serving a crowd, use a whole lamb shoulder and double the pita recipe – or use my easy two ingredient flatbread recipe which doesn’t contain yeast and is much much easier 🙂

Hope you have enjoyed my Lamb Gyro Recipe! Find me on Facebook, or share a photo of your meal on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #supergoldenbakes. I can’t wait to see your take on it!

My most popular lamb recipes

• Slow cooker Greek lamb kleftiko with potatoes
• Pressure Cooker Lamb Dhansak curry
• Greek lamb burgers with tahini dressing
• Spicy Korean crispy lamb with udon noodles

Greek lamb gyros with pita

Lucy Parissi | Supergolden Bakes

Take a bite of this delicious lamb gyros served on pita bread with garlicky yogurt sauce, tomatoes and onions and pretend you are on a Greek holiday…

4.77 from 13 votes

Print Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Greek

Keyword: Greek lamb gyros

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Resting time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 742kcal

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

For the tahini yogurt dipping sauce

• ▢ 200 g | 7oz Greek yogurt
• ▢ 2 tbsp tahini
• ▢ 2 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ juice of 1/2 lemon
• ▢ 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• ▢ 1 garlic clove minced
• ▢ 1 tsp salt or to taste

For the pita

• ▢ 300 g (2 ½ cups) bread flour plus more to dust
• ▢ 130 g (scant 1 cup) Greek yogurt
• ▢ 120 ml (½ cup) water
• ▢ 3 tbsp olive oil plus more to fry
• ▢ 1 tbsp sugar
• ▢ 1 tsp dry active yeast
• ▢ 1 tsp salt

For the lamb

• ▢ 1 kg | 2 lb 2oz half shoulder of lamb
• ▢ 1 tbsp oregano
• ▢ 1 tbsp onion granules
• ▢ 1/2 tbsp sweet paprika
• ▢ 1 tsp salt
• ▢ 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• ▢ 2 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 2 tbsp white wine vinegar

To serve

• ▢ 2 large tomatoes sliced thinly
• ▢ 1 red onion sliced very thinly
• ▢ 2 tbsp chopped parsley

Instructions

Make the tahini yoghurt sauce

• Mix yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, minced garlic, salt and chopped parsley together in a bowl. Cover and keep in the fridge until needed.

Make the homemade pita

• Put the flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a bowl (or your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook).
• Add the water, yogurt and olive oil. Mix together with a spoon and once the dough comes together use your hands to lightly knead in the bowl until well combined. Cover the bowl and leave the dough to rise for an hour – it won’t rise significantly.
• Tip the dough onto a well-floured tabletop. Briefly knead and form into a log. Cut into six equal portions. Keep any dough you are not using covered with a damp cloth.
• Roll each portion out, adding more flour if the dough is sticky. Keep the pitas separated by greaseproof paper and covered with a damp cloth once rolled out.
• Heat a large non-stick frying pan and wipe with a little olive oil. Cook the pita over high heat, for a couple of minutes per side until nicely coloured. Keep warm or pan fry/grill to reheat before serving.

Preparing and cooking the lamb

• Mix oregano, sweet paprika, garlic granules, salt and pepper together in a bowl. Rub this seasoning all over your shoulder of lamb. Add olive oil and vinegar and coat the lamb. Cover and marinate for at least an hour.
• Preheat the oven to 170C / 325 F. Set a shelf on the lower third of the oven.
• Cook the lamb for an hour covered with foil. Remove the foil and cook for a further 20 minutes. Cover loosely with foil and leave to rest for 30 minutes. The lamb is cooked when the internal temperature is 70°C (158°F) for medium-well done.
• Slice the lamb thinly, removing any fatty bits. Add a few tablespoons of the pan juices to the sliced lamb. Keep warm.

Make the gyros pita

• Finely slice one red onion and mix with generous amount of chopped parsley. Finely slice two large tomatoes, discarding the seeds.
• Spread your warm pita with the yogurt sauce. Add a generous amount of lamb and then top with the tomatoes and onions. Wrap the pita around the fillings and eat immediately!

Video

Notes

• Make the yogurt sauce first as it can be chilling in the fridge while you get on with the rest. Start marinating the lamb (1h) then cook (1 h 20m). When lamb goes in the oven starting making the pita (1h rising time) then roll out the pita and get it ready to pan fry. Lamb comes out of the oven and rests (30m) while you pan fry the pita. Slice the lamb, tomatoes and onion and you are ready to serve.
• Recipe makes 6 pitas – enough for the amount of lamb specified. Double the recipe if making a 2 kg (4lb) whole lamb shoulder.

Nutritional Info

Calories: 742kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 46g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 112mg | Sodium: 1334mg | Potassium: 944mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 1383IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 179mg | Iron: 8mg

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