Lamb Gyros

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 1/2 hours

Serves: 4 - 6

Is there anything better than slices of rotisserie-cooked lamb on flatbread with tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and tzatziki? It’s even more enjoyable when shared around a campfire with good company!

This recipe is a real crowd-pleaser and an easy way to cook for a group. I use baking paper to wrap each gyro, which makes cleanup minimal.

Ingredients for the Lamb:

• 2 kg deboned lamb shoulder
• 2 cups extra virgin olive oil
• 7 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cracked pepper
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• Juice of 1 lemon
• A bunch of fresh rosemary (for basting)
• Flatbread
• Tzatziki
• For the Greek Salad:
• 3 deseeded truss tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 1 telegraph cucumber, sliced
• 1 red onion, sliced into moons
• 200g Kalamata pitted olives
• 100 g feta cheese
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• Extra virgin olive oil

Homemade Tzatziki is better, cheaper, and tastier!

Ingredients:

• 200 grams of real natural Greek yogurt
• 1 telegraph cucumber, grated and strained
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, grated
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Dried oregano
• Olive oil to liking

Instructions

Grate the cucumber into a cheesecloth or tea towel (a sifter also works). Squeeze out as much water as possible.

Add salt and then pour the cucumber into the yoghurt. Grate the garlic and add it along with the squeezed lemon juice. I find that the lemon helps to reduce the harshness of the raw garlic.

Mix everything into the yoghurt and season to your liking with a sprinkle of oregano and a drizzle of olive oil. Allow to stand.

Flat Bread

• 500g of natural fat Greek yoghurt
• 500g of self-raising flour
• Generous pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of oregano
• 8 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1. In a bowl, mix the yogurt, flour, baking powder, salt, and oregano until the ingredients are completely combined and form a smooth dough.
2. Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes.
3. Divide the dough into eight pieces and roll each piece into an oval shape. Set aside with a damp cloth on top until ready for cooking.
4. Preheat a skillet over medium-high heat.
5. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet for frying each piece of bread dough before pressing it into the pan.

Instructions

1. Using a sharp knife, trim excess fat from the lamb and cut it into 1 to 1.5 cm (0.5 in) slices. Each piece should be slightly shorter than a gyros disc, approximately 15 cm (6 in) across. Ensuring the pieces are evenly sized is crucial for even cooking.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of olive oil, 6 cloves of crushed garlic, salt, cracked pepper, oregano, rosemary, and paprika. Rub this mixture into the meat and let it marinate in the fridge for at least 3 to 4 hours, or ideally overnight.
3. Prepare a campfire so that there is a nice bed of coals to cook with. If using charcoal chimneys, two loads are perfect to start with.
4. With the rotisserie skewer facing up and a gyros disc attached, push each piece of meat down to the disc. Continue threading the lamb until all the meat is stacked evenly in a criss-cross pattern. Fit the top disc on securely.
5. Position the spit so the meat is at a height where you can keep your hand there for no longer than 2 to 4 seconds. Leave it to rotate continuously for about an hour.
6. Prepare a basting mixture using 1 cup of olive oil, 1 crushed garlic clove, and lemon juice. Brush this mixture onto the meat every 20 minutes using the fresh rosemary.
7. While waiting for the meat, prepare your flatbread dough and let it rest. Make the tzatziki and combine all the ingredients for the Greek salad, drizzling olive oil over the top.
8. When the lamb is ready, place the dough on the coals below the spit and cook each side for about 2 minutes, then brush with olive oil. Alternatively, you can cook the flatbread in an oiled skillet over medium-high heat.
9. Once the outside of the lamb is cooked, stop the spit (you may need to raise it if it’s too hot), shave off some lamb with a sharp knife, and catch it in a dish.
10. With the lamb cooked, build your gyros: tear off some baking paper, lay a flatbread on top, add tzatziki, layer on the lamb and salad, then wrap it up and enjoy!
11. Return the spit over the fire, brush the lamb with the rosemary, and carve off more meat every 15 minutes until you've enjoyed so much delicious lamb that you can barely move!

Notes: The marinade is perfect for 2 kg of meat but can stretch to 4 kg if you are feeding 10 to 12 people. Any extra cooked meat can be frozen to enjoy later. I love using leftover lamb in bibimbap, which isn’t traditional, but it works exceptionally well once coated in gochujang sauce, served over rice with a fried egg and plenty of veggies like cucumber and carrots.

If you don't have gyros discs, you can substitute half a large round onion core on either end and stack the meat in between. This helps space the meat away from the prongs for easier carving.