Friday, July 15, 2016

Beef Gyros with Tahini Tzatziki Sauce

Yum

Homemade Greek Style Beef Gyros with a Tahini Tzatziki sauce is a figure friendly way of enjoying this Greek staple at home on a budget. 

My kids and husband love Gyros so when we asked our son what he wanted as a celebration dinner for his end of the school year awards and grades, he simply asked for Gyros.   We enjoy the Gyros that are delivered to our home from a near by neighborhood Greek/Pizza restaurant so we ordered it and came to over $50 dollars just for the four of us.  Although we enjoyed our meal, I felt a little bad that we spent so much money on just one take-out meal.  

I cook at home almost every day so $50 usually feeds our family of four for about 3-4 meals.   So I had to set out to make Gyros at home and make them more budge friendly.  I knew the kind of flavors I like with Greek food like fresh mint, cumin and oregano would definitely be used.  I had to come up with a way to make the meat texture come out more like gyro meat than a hamburgers.  That's when the food processor came to the rescue.  I decided to blend the meat out to be smoother so it would not have the texture of hamburger and it worked out perfectly. 

I made these Gyros for the family and they could not believe that I made them at home.  My son even exclaimed that he preferred these to our regular Gyros!  I was so thrilled because they were not only budget friendly (6-8 Gyros cost me less than $25), but they were made with lean beef so it was not as "heavy" and greasy as the traditional Gyros that we were used too.

I love making my own take-out at home and saving money and calories as well.  Next time you are thinking Greek... think about these Homemade Beef Gyros!




Beef Gyros with Tahini Tzatziki Sauce
Recipe by Ramona from Kitchen Simmer

Ingredients for Gyro Beef:
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (93% lean)
1 medium onion
1 jalapeno
small handful fresh mint leaves
1 heaping Tbs dried oregano leaves
2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp granulated garlic powder
1/2 tsp allspice
2 tsp salt or more for taste
1 tsp black pepper

Ingredients for Gyro Assembly:
Pocket-less Pita  or Naan
Gyro Beef (see recipe above)
Tahini Tzatziki Sauce (see recipe blow)
Lettuce
Sliced Tomatoes
Sliced Red onions
Sliced Cucumbers
Feta Cheese if desired

Tahini Tzatziki Sauce:
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 cup small diced cucumbers
2-3 Tbs Tahini 
1/2 cup up to 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 tsp dried chives (2 tsp fresh)
1 tsp granulated garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
2-3 Tbs fresh lemon juice (to taste)
salt and black pepper to taste 

Special Equipment Needed:
Large Capacity Food Processor (10 cup)
Skillet


 Directions:
Step 1:  Make Tahini Tzatziki sauce by combining all the ingredients together and refrigerating for  at least 30 minutes.   Note:  Make this sauce to your taste, add as much lemon juice and salt as you like. 

Step 2:  In a large capacity food processor process the onion, mint and jalapeno.  Then add it to the breadcrumbs, oregano, cumin powder, allspice, garlic powder, salt and black pepper.  Mix well. 

Place the ground beef in the food processor and top with the breadcrumb and onion/mint mixture. Pulse at first to start the mixing process and then blend carefully until the meat and breadcrumb mixture is well mixed. 


Once the meat the seasoning and is mixed well, gently make oblong patties 3/4 inch thick.  Heat a skillet/griddle with a little oil and cook on medium heat until cooked through, then flip and brown both sides.     

Step 3:  Prepare all fresh garnishes for the Gyros.

Step 4:  Assembly the the Gyro by cutting the patty in half (butterfly open)  if you wish.  This gives you the thinner slices like the traditional Gyro meat. Heat the pita or naan on a dry skillet until warmed through, then place the cut gyros and top with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers onion and Tahini Tzatziki sauce.   Enjoy.









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