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I absolutely love a good gyro. Chef Adam Perry Lang calls them a "hyperseasoned crowd-pleaser" in his first book, Serious Barbecue. I have to agree because the bold flavors and tender morsels of meat make my mouth happy.

A batch of gyros that I cooked on the Big Green Egg last weekend.

What's a Gryo?

Gyro is a spicy ground lamb (or a mix of lamb and beef) that is roasted upright on a vertical rotisserie, basting itself as the fat renders. Thin slices of the meat are shaved off and typically served in a pita with sliced tomato, onion, and tzatziki sauce. The meat is slightly dense compared to the more loose texture of hamburger, yet very tender.

In Knoxville, your best bet for a great gyro is Yassin's Falafel House. His gyros are loaded with the highly seasoned meat, and the pitas are thick yet delightfully soft in texture.

A Crusty Strategy

For me, the best gyros have slices with crispy edges from the outer edges of the roasting meat. The crispy edges are like having bark in your BBQ, in that it adds texture and boosts the flavor. I've made Alton Brown's recipe and Chef Adam Perry Lang's smoked lamb gyro, and they were both delicious. But they both use a loaf or large roll for their process, which gives less of the crispy bits to go around. So I have started making my gyros as kabobs to get more of the crusty tidbits.

Grilling my second test batch of this recipe on a PK Grill set up with GrillGrates.

I use a Fresno chile in my gyro meat recipe because I enjoy their mild heat. I have substituted a single serrano chile with excellent results. If you want more heat, use 2-3 serranos. 

I use some ground beef for 2 reasons. First, lamb is expensive, and second, I'm not a massive fan of lamb. I made a batch using just ground beef, and it tasted like seasoned hamburgers which was not what I was looking for. I think you HAVE to have a good bit of lamb in there to make it taste like gyros.

Gyros on the Grill

On Our Grills February

It is time for the monthly "On Our Grills" where a group of slightly imbalanced fools brave culinary adventurers take on 4 mystery ingredients.  The only rule is that the protein component must be cooked with some sort of live fire (grill, smoke, fire roast, etc).   The idea is to push our comfort zone, try new things, and compare notes on how we each approached the challenge.   February's challenge ingredients are:

lamb chops

napa cabbage

blood orange

elbow macaroni

I struggled with coming up with a menu that went together because napa cabbage is naturally used in Asian dishes and lamb chops seem anything but.  I thought about using the orange to make a marinade for the chops or a vinaigrette for a napa slaw.   I would never do well if this was a timed contest because it took me about 3 hours to finally decided what to make.

Blood Orange

I decided on a orange salad that Sam & Meakin of My Carolina Kitchen brought to our blogger get together last spring.   It is a simple mix of blood orange, thin sliced red onion, olives, feta cheese, and a vinaigrette.  Since this salad is sweet and tart, I made a vinaigrette to match.

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 clove garlic, ground to paste

2 pinches salt

black pepper

1 Tbsp agave nectar

3/4 cup olive oil

Alexis and I gobbled this down while the rest of dinner came together.  

Elbow Macaroni

This was the component that I just "mailed in".   I simply cooked the noodles, tossed them with jarred sun dried tomato pesto, and feta cheese.

Lamb Chops

I choose to use loin chops instead of the rib chops that most people associate with "lamb chops" because I wanted to be different than everyone else.  It was a strategic decision.  (<---He's lying, it was the only kind of chops they had for sale.)   I consulted Derrick Riches from About.com for some general ideas for cooking times and flavors.  I marinated them for an hour in a mix of olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic, and oregano.   I grilled them over direct heat at 400f for 5 minutes per side until they were an internal temp of 140f.  

Napa Cabbage

This was the shocker for us.  I went with a recipe for Napa Cabbage Gratin from Slashfood SOLELY because it was the first napa recipe that was not an Asian slaw, salad, or spring roll.   This turned out to be the star of the meal, a total surprise for us.   

Napa Cabbage Gratin

adapted from Slashfood

3 Tbsp butter
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
1 head napa cabbage, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp nutmeg, fresh ground
2 Tbsp sherry
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup half and half
3/4 cup smoked manchego cheese
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 425f.  Melt butter and saute onions until translucent (about 5 minutes).  Add the napa cabbage and sherry, cover with lid and cook 7-8 minutes. 

Add the nutmeg, half and half, and about half of the cheese, tossing with tongs.  Season with salt and pepper - I just used a couple of pinches of each.  Cover and let simmer for a for more minutes.   I think part of what made this dish so great was the manchego cheese.   It was a batch that I cold smoked at Christmas and has aged very well.  

Divide the mixture into 3 gratin dishes.  Mix the remaining cheese and bread crumbs together and use this mix to cover the gratin dishes.  Bake until the top is golden brown, which was about 35 minutes for us.

Results

This was a probably my favorite challenge meal yet because we were 4 for 4, firing on all cylinders.  I found out that I actually LIKE lamb when I make it instead of eating it at a restaurant.  The salad was as good as when Sam made it and the napa gratin was crazy good.  

Check out the other participants below to see what they came up with using these same 4 ingredients.

Grill Adventures by Broadcast Marc
Grill Adventures by broadcastmarc was started in March of 2010. I started the BBQ thing when I was 30, before that we ate a lot outside. had fun, but when the kids came into our life we started serious cooking. Most of it is really healthy I think). The grill has a special place in my heart because we love to do things outside. Everything I make is an adventure, and sometimes we use the books. We try to grill as much as we can year round.
Marc's February Challenge Recipe:


The BBQ Grail
The BBQ Grail website was created in 2007, initially to document the author’s quest to find the perfect backyard BBQ experience. Since that time The BBQ Grail has become one of the more popular BBQ blogs on the internet and is listed onAlltop.com as one of the top BBQ blogs.
Larry's February Challenge Recipe

Bob’s Brew and ‘Que
Bob started Bob’s Brew and ‘Que in August of 2009 with the intent of sharing his views on food and drink. Originally focused on BBQ and Homebrew, it was inevitable that the influences of his upbringing in the San Francisco Bay Area and it’s wealth of ingredients as well as his heritage as an American of Japanese ancestry would help focus his blog, as it has his approach to food and drink.
Bob’s February Challenge Recipe

No Excuses BBQ
The No Excuses BBQ website was started in January of 2009 as a way to record the author's goal of cooking outdoors at least once a week throughout the year and showing the results to the world. Somewhere along the way things got out of control...
No Excuses BBQ’s February Challenge Recipe

Grilling with Rich

I am a young person breaking into the great world of barbecue. I enjoy everything about barbecue from the culture to the food. I am just a regular guy trying to have fun and enjoy the food and the process of cooking the food on the grill.  At Grilling with Rich.com we go beyond just the normal cooking adventures and dig deeper into the large world of BBQ’ing, both professionally and for amateurs. Grilling with Rich focuses on the adventures of a regular guy and his quest to understand and learn as much as possible about the BBQ world.

Grilling with Rich's February Challenge Recipe