Guest Post: Homemade Gyros and Tzatziki Sauce

This recipe comes from Mara @ I Made Dinner!

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Homemade Gyros

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, finely chopped or shredded

2 pounds ground lamb, beef, or turkey

1 tablespoon finely minced garlic

1 tablespoon dried marjoram

1 tablespoon dried ground rosemary

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Tzatziki Sauce, recipe follows

Directions:

1. Process the onion in a food processor for 10 to 15 seconds and turn out into the center of a towel. Gather up the ends of the towel and squeeze until almost all of the juice is removed. Discard juice.

2. Return the onion to the food processor and add the lamb, garlic, marjoram, rosemary, salt, and pepper and process until it is a fine paste, approximately 1 minute. Stop the processor as needed to scrape down sides of bowl. Seasoning may need to be adjusted up a bit for turkey.

3. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

4. Place the mixture into a loaf pan, making sure to press into the sides of the pan. Place the loaf pan into a water bath and bake for 60 to 75 minutes or until the mixture reaches 165 to 170 degrees F. Remove from the oven and drain off any fat. Allow to cool a bit, remove from loaf pan, and slice. This mixture also works as burgers on the grill!

Tzatziki Sauce

Ingredients:

16 ounces plain Greek yogurt

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped

Pinch kosher salt

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

5 to 6 mint leaves, finely minced

Directions:

Place the chopped cucumber in a tea towel and squeeze to remove the liquid; discard liquid. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the drained yogurt, cucumber, salt, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and mint. Serve as a sauce for gyros. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups