WE NEED ANOTHER GYRO!

It was a sad day when my favorite Greek restaurant went out of business leaving me without my regular gyro sandwich fix. Gyros are sandwiches made with thinly-sliced, seasoned lamb, beef or chicken, and placed in a pita or flatbread. Typically, the meat for gyros is a combination of ground beef and ground lamb that is commercially shaped into cylinders by hydraulic pressure. The meat is usually roasted on a vertical spit or electric rotisserie, sliced into thin pieces and added to the pita.

The process for creating gyro meat is one of the reasons why most folks are only able to eat them in a restaurant---until now. I have a delicious recipe for home-made gyros that can be prepared on a grill using a electric rotisserie!

My new American Muscle Grill (AMG) from Summerset Professional Grills has a fabulous, 100 -pound rotisserie attachment and a built-in rotisserie spit. It’s the perfect grill and rotisserie for preparing everything from leg of lamb, to poultry to beef and pork roasts. It works particularly well for creating gyros at home.

The AMG is made in the USA and inspired by 1969 Ford Mustang GT-350 classic muscle car. It has 110,000 BTU’s of raw cooking power, and can heat up from 0 to 350 degrees in 2-minutes. When using solid fuels, start with the gas or propane burners to jumpstart and accelerate the priming process getting you cooking faster! It’s like putting the pedal to the metal on a classic car and zooming down an open stretch of highway except the exhaust is perfumed with the smell of hickory smoke instead of gas!

So fire up your grill, and use this recipe for Rotisserie Gyros and Tzatziki Sauce for your next outdoor dinner party!

ROTISSERIE GYROS

1 medium onion, finely chopped or shredded

2 pounds ground lamb

1 tablespoon finely minced garlic

2 tablespoons dried or ground poultry seasoning

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Tzatziki Sauce (recipe follows):

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

16-ounces plain Greek yogurt

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

5 to 6 mint or basil leaves, finely minced

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

Return the onion to the food processor and add the lamb, garlic, poultry seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, 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.

To cook on a rotisserie, proceed as follows:

Form the meat mixture into a loaf shape and place on top of 2 overlapping pieces of plastic wrap that are at least 18 inches long. Roll the mixture in the plastic wrap tightly, making sure to remove any air pockets. Once the meat is completely rolled in the wrap, twist the ends of the plastic wrap until the surface of the wrap is tight. Store in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to overnight, to allow the mixture to firm up.

Preheat the grill to high.

Place the meat onto the rotisserie skewer. Place a double-thick piece of aluminum foil folded into a tray directly under the meat to catch any drippings. Cook on high for 15 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium and continue to cook for another 20 to 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 165 degrees F. Turn off the heat and allow to continue to spin for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees. Slice and serve on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, onions diced tomatoes, and feta cheese.

Tzatziki Sauce:

Place the yogurt in a tea towel or a coffee filter. Gather up the edges, suspend over a bowl, and drain for 2 hours in the refrigerator.

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 or basil. Serve as a sauce for gyros. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.

THE KITCHEN DIVA! is sponsored by Summerset™ Professional Grill offering a complete line of commercial grade, stainless steel gas grills, freestanding grills, BBQ islands, Fire Pits, and island components and the American Muscle Grill (AMG). For more information visit www.americanmusclegrill.com or watch a demo at https://youtu.be/wyQ5UVvOTq4