Ground Beef Gyros

Cyrene's Note:

This is a great summer meal and quick and easy to put together and tastes wonderful. Refreshing served with the cucumber sauce and is even low in fat. I think this came from Quick Cooking. It's a favorite in our house.

• Total Time: 22 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 12 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 (8 ounce) container plain yogurt
• 1⁄3; cup chopped seeded cucumber
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onions
• 1 garlic clove , minced
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Filling

• 1 lb lean ground beef (I use ground turkey)
• 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon salt (optional)
• ¾ teaspoon pepper
• 4 pita breads
• 3 cups shredded lettuce
• 1 large tomato , chopped
• 1 small onion , chopped

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine first 5 ingredients.
2. Cover and refrigerate.
3. In separate bowl, combine ground beef and seasonings.
4. Mix well.
5. Shape into 4 patties.
6. Grill, covered, (you can also use a toaster oven or broil these) over medium to high heat for 10 to 12 minutes or until meat is no longer pink, turning once.
7. Cut patties into thin slices.
8. Stuff into pitas.
9. Add lettuce, tomato, and onion.
10. Serve with yogurt sauce.

Reviews

[Pam-I-Am]

Wow, this is a terrific recipe for Gyros. I wanted to use ground beef as ground lamb is so expensive and hard to find around here. You couldn't tell the difference in the taste! I think the oregano and garlic were the key. I almost added real onion instead of onion powder and am glad I didn't. Real onion would have made the meat too loose to cut into slices. Instead of making burger patties, I made it into one long low loaf and baked it in the oven at 350 for about 35 minutes. Came out perfect. It was nice and dense and as a result was very easy to slice for the sandwiches. The cucumber sauce was delish. I also used Olga Bread for the pita bread as it's such a delicious bread for gyros. My 11 year old dd was in heaven eating this. Thank you for posting. It will be a repeat in our home.

[SloppyJoe]

These were really good. Even DH who loves traditional Greek food said they were good. I followed the list of ingredients but I also used the preparation method according to Gyros - an Authentic Recipe for Making Them at Home by kneading and smashing the meat because I wanted the right texture. I formed the meat in two small blocks and grilled them. Once they were grilled the logs were sliced thin and put in Pita breads that were topped with thinly sliced red onion, garden fresh tomatoes and Tzatziki by Evelyn/Athens. Not being a lamb lover, I finally have a Gyro I can enjoy. Thanks for posting!

[Charmie777]

Wow, we loved this. I double the whole thing and served them on homemade naan-type bread. Great!