Gyros

<Mitch@this_is_not_a_real_address.com> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Do you make your gyros with just lamb, or a lamb/beef mixture.

In the past I've used a recipe that just uses ground lamb and beef.
I was looking at Alton Brown's recipe, and he purees the mixture into
a paste.

I was going to combine the 2: Use the lamb/beef mixture, but also
puree it instead of just making it into a meat loaf.

Any thoughts?

Whenever I asked people in Chicago what was in their Gyros meat, I was told
it was lamb and beef. Okay, fine. First time I made AB's recipe, I used all
lamb. Really good.

Then I decided to try lamb and beef at about half and half, and if was okay,
but not as good. I tried 1/4 beef and it was better. But I still think the
all-lamb was best.

If you use AB's recipe, don't be tempted to double the recipe unless you
also plan on making 2 loaves. I tried doubling, and it just didn't want to
stay on the spit. I suppose if you're making it in a loaf pan, it would be
different, but the rotisserie version would be my choice.

Does your version have the same spices as AB's? When I first started
Googling for recipes, the spices were so varied, I couldn't believe it.

Donna

On Tue, 25 Apr 2006 00:27:21 GMT,

Mitch@this_is_not_a_real_address.com said:

Do you make your gyros with just lamb, or a lamb/beef mixture.

In the past I've used a recipe that just uses ground lamb and beef.
I was looking at Alton Brown's recipe, and he purees the mixture into
a paste.

I was going to combine the 2: Use the lamb/beef mixture, but also
puree it instead of just making it into a meat loaf.

Use 2/3rd lamd to 1/3rd beef. Pureeing is good. Using just
ground meat doesn't produce a very good texture for gyros.

-sw

Steve Wertz said:

Pureeing is good. Using just ground meat
doesn't produce a very good texture for gyros.

Ah, that's the secret. I wondered how exactly
the commercial gyros places make that log of
meat used in the vertical rotissiere. I would
guess they use a combination of pureed and
ground (what ratio?), plus binders like
carrageenan or algin.

Mark Thorson said:

Steve Wertz said:

Pureeing is good. Using just ground meat
doesn't produce a very good texture for gyros.

Ah, that's the secret. I wondered how exactly
the commercial gyros places make that log of
meat used in the vertical rotissiere. I would
guess they use a combination of pureed and
ground (what ratio?), plus binders like
carrageenan or algin.

I think it's mostly pureed. They use something in there that
soaks up fat and fills in the gaps so it's really dense. I don't
know what that is though.

When I puree it, it's still kinda airy where the fat has rendered
out. I know Kronos isn't using a super-lean beef and lamb
mixture though. I've seen the nutritional info.

I love Kronos gyro meat. They're the ones that make most of the
gyro meat cones.
http://www.kronosproducts.com/

Iropnically, their "all beef" version is their "premium" version.
I much prefer their "traditional" over the Titan and Premium
versions.

-sw

Steve Wertz said:

Mark Thorson said:

Steve Wertz said:

Pureeing is good. Using just ground meat
doesn't produce a very good texture for gyros.

Ah, that's the secret. I wondered how exactly
the commercial gyros places make that log of
meat used in the vertical rotissiere. I would
guess they use a combination of pureed and
ground (what ratio?), plus binders like
carrageenan or algin.

I think it's mostly pureed. They use something in there that
soaks up fat and fills in the gaps so it's really dense. I don't
know what that is though.

When I puree it, it's still kinda airy where the fat has rendered
out. I know Kronos isn't using a super-lean beef and lamb
mixture though. I've seen the nutritional info.

I love Kronos gyro meat. They're the ones that make most of the
gyro meat cones.
http://www.kronosproducts.com/

Their meat is the best. I Jones big time for Kronos gyros.

Quoted message said:

Iropnically, their "all beef" version is their "premium" version.
I much prefer their "traditional" over the Titan and Premium
versions.

Agreed.

-L.

Mark Thorson said:

Steve Wertz said:

Pureeing is good. Using just ground meat
doesn't produce a very good texture for gyros.

Ah, that's the secret. I wondered how exactly
the commercial gyros places make that log of
meat used in the vertical rotissiere. I would
guess they use a combination of pureed and
ground (what ratio?), plus binders like
carrageenan or algin.

No binders. The meat is emulsified, in a fasion similar
to hot dogs and bologna.

--
Reg

"Mark Thorson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Steve Wertz said:

Pureeing is good. Using just ground meat
doesn't produce a very good texture for gyros.

Ah, that's the secret. I wondered how exactly
the commercial gyros places make that log of
meat used in the vertical rotissiere. I would
guess they use a combination of pureed and
ground (what ratio?), plus binders like
carrageenan or algin.

In some versions of this giant meatloaf on a spit thin slices of veal are
layered horizontally in the mince. This holds the loaf and reduces the
tendency for it to spread and fall off the spit. This is obviously more
expensive and might not be used in bulk commercial productions.

Another technique, according to a bulk butcher of my acquaintance who is the
chevapi* king of Sydney, the way to make mince hold together is to have the
right mix of meat and fat, to add salt and to work the mix for a time before
attempting to shape it. Passing through the mincer a few times works for me
and although it grinds the mix somewhat finer than one pass it leaves a
degree of texture.

David

* (a spiced skinless sausage from the balkans)

Thanks for the tips...I'll let you know how it turns out.

I agree that the spice/herb combinations vary wildly from recipe to
recipe!

Mitch@this_is_not_a_real_address.com said:

Do you make your gyros

I don't, and no one without a proper equipment does either. Do you have
the equipment?

Quoted message said:

with just lamb, or a lamb/beef mixture.

Gyros is made with lamb, mutton, beef, or pork. Döner kebap, the
Turkish version, is never made with pork, of course. There are also
chicken versions.

Quoted message said:

In the past I've used a recipe that just uses ground lamb and beef.
I was looking at Alton Brown's recipe, and he purees the mixture into
a paste.

That is ridiculous and I suspect Alton Brown knows this perfectly well.

Quoted message said:

I was going to combine the 2: Use the lamb/beef mixture, but also
puree it instead of just making it into a meat loaf.

What you and most of the others in the thread are describing, are more
or less poor approximations of the commercial gyros/döner/shawarma.
This dish may be loosely based on some ancient homemade dishes, but the
present incarnation is modern and is a restaurant/commercial eatery
dish, and as I said, requires special equipment, particularly a vertical
spit, rotating in front of an electric or gas source of radiant heat.
It also requires a special machine to form a tight meat cone, as doing
this properly by hand would usually be too hard even for an experienced
professional cook. Most gyros/döner stands get their meat cones frozen
from some central source; they don't make them themselves. In most
cases, it is a true fast-food operation, in the worst sense of the word.

That said, even the best commercial versions leave rather a lot to be
desired, the dish being among the most overrated of any of 'em, as far
as I'm concerned. Why imitate mediocricy?

Anyway, here is what I posted before, regarding actually making real
gyros/döner. Make your own conclusions.

Making real gyros is not simple, I have to say. Do you have the
necessary equipment (a vertical, slowly revolving spit, akin to a
rotisserie), at least? Correctly made gyros or döner kebap is
definitely not a trivial undertaking for a home cook and, if one aims
for a really good result, is a challenge even to a skilled, professional
one. Here's how it is made: Most of the meat is sliced, the rest is
minced. Then, the meat is marinated overnight in a mixture of onion
juice, oil, salt and pepper. Then, the slices are arranged on the spit,
with the tight spaces between them filled with minced meat. The whole
thing is tightly formed and slowly cooked on the rotating spit, with the
meat getting "baked" together into a tight whole. Gradually, as the
outside gets cooked, one shaves off some meat with a sharp knife from
top to bottom, exposing, little by little, the raw interior to the heat,
and continuing in this way until all the meat is cooked and shaved off.
The cooked meat is, of course, supposed to be served throughout the
rather long process, with the juice/sauce that collects underneath.

Victor
Here in Germany, döner kebap is much more popular than anywhere else in
the world. There are some 1,300 döner stands in Berlin alone, way more
than in Istanbul, let alone Athens. But then, of course, gyros/döner is
not all that traditional in its supposed ancestral lands...

The gyros came out perfect! We had company over, and there was alot
of moaning and "mmmm"-ing.

I used 2 pounds lamb, ground it up, combined it with 1 pound ground
sirloin, and pureed everything into a paste.

Pressed it firmly into a loaf pan, cooked it to 160 degrees, then
removed from the oven and placed bricks on it for 20 minutes.

The finished texture and flavor was absolutely perfect.

Served it with whole wheat pitas and a low-fat yogurt cucumber sauce.

It rocked the house.

On Wed, 26 Apr 2006 17:22:04 GMT,

Mitch@this_is_not_a_real_address.com said:

I used 2 pounds lamb, ground it up, combined it with 1 pound ground
sirloin, and pureed everything into a paste.

Can you tell me what the spices were that you used? My partners would
*love* this!

serene

Quoted message said:

Can you tell me what the spices were that you used? My partners would
*love* this!

1.5 tsp onion powder
1.5 tsp garlic powder
1.5 tsp dried oregano
1.5 tsp dried marjoram

3 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt
4 cloves garlic, minced