Smoked Gyro Meat
On January 05, 2023 (Updated May 07, 2024)
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This smoked gyro meat is a perfect blend of ground beef and lamb smoked to tasty perfection. Serve it in a pita with tzatziki sauce, and you’re ready to have the best gyro of your life!
Smoked Gyro Meat
If you love gyro meat, you’ve got to try this smoked variety!
This gyro meat tastes like a perfect blend of Mediterranean meets Middle Eastern spices, all kissed with wood smoke. The combination of beef and lamb creates the perfect texture for piling high inside a pita and drizzling with tzatziki sauce.
Ingredients for Smoked Gyro Meat
Now that you’re ready to make this awesome smoked gyro meat, you’ll need to grab a few ingredients before diving in. Here’s what you’ll need to make this meat.
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 1 medium onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 Tablespoon dried ground rosemary
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
How to Smoke Gyro Meat
Once you have all your ingredients purchased and assembled, you’re ready to make this meat. Plan on a little bit of time to make this meat. It will take around 4 hours to refrigerate and smoke. Here’s how to smoke gyro meat.
- Make the meat. Add onion, garlic, and seasonings to a food processor and pulse until blended. Add the beef and lamb and continue to process until smooth.
- Form the loaf. Lay plastic wrap on a work surface and pour out the meat. Form into a large loaf, rolling up the sides of the plastic wrap to press out any air. Twist the ends of the plastic wrap to seal.
- Refrigerate. Place the wrapped meat in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
- Prepare to smoke. When ready to cook the meat, preheat your favorite smoker to 275 degrees F. Remove the gyro meat from the plastic wrap and slide it on a vertical rotisserie pan. If you don’t have a rotisserie pan, you can lay it flat on a grill pan.
- Smoke the gyro meat. Place the rotisserie pan on the preheated smoker. Close the lid, and smoke for around 4 hours or until the temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
- Rest. Remove the meat from the smoker and tent it with foil until the temperature reaches 175 degrees F.
- Slice and serve. Slice the meat nice and thin and roll it up in pita bread with sliced onions, tomatoes, and tzatziki sauce. Enjoy!
How Long to Smoke Gyro Meat
It takes approximately 4 hours to smoke gyro meat with the smoker running steady at 275 degrees F.
This time may vary, so be sure to keep an eye on temperatures while the meat cooks. Remove the gyro meat from the smoker when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. After you take the meat off the smoker, tent it with foil and rest until the meat increases 175 degrees F. The best way to track temperatures while the meat cooks is with a reliable meat thermometer.
More Lamb Recipes
Looking for more smoked lamb recipes? Hey Grill Hey is the place to go for the most delicious BBQ lamb recipes around. Check out a few of our favorites below.
Smoked Gyro Meat Recipe
Follow the video below and let’s make something delicious! I’m all about helping you make better BBQ, feed the people you love, and become a BBQ hero. If you want to see more of my recipes, tips, and behind-the-scenes action, follow along on my social channels. You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube!
Smoked Gyro Meat
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 1 medium onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 Tablespoon dried ground rosemary
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Make the seasoning blend. Add the onion, garlic, and seasonings to a food processor and pulse until the onion and garlic are extremely small.
- Add meat. Add the ground lamb and beef to the processor and process until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Form the meat. Lay two large pieces of overlapping plastic wrap on a flat work surface. Turn out the contents of the processor bowl into the center of the plastic wrap and form it into a log shape. Roll up the sides of the plastic wrap and press out any excess air. Shape the meat into a log that is about 6 inches wide and 6 inches tall. Refrigerate the meat for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
- Preheat. Preheat your smoker to 275 degrees using your favorite hardwood. I prefer pecan or alder for this recipe.
- Smoke. Remove the gyro meat from the plastic wrap and slide it onto a vertical rotisserie pan or lay it flat on a grill pan. Place the gyro meat on the smoker, close the lid, and cook for about 4 hours or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 165 degrees F. Remove from the smoker, tent with foil, and allow the carry-over cooking to bring the meat up to 175 degrees F.
- Enjoy. Your meat is ready to slice thinly and serve on pita bread with tomatoes, onions, and tzatziki sauce! I like to remove the loaf from the spit before slicing, so each piece gets a bit of a smoky/crunchy exterior.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My entire family loves this recipe. I smoke several loaves at at a time; We enjoy one hot off the smoker and freeze the others for later use. This is a staple for our camping trips! Thaw, slice, heat, and serve with my homemade Tzatziki. Thank you for sharing your creations!!
This was fantastic. I haven’t made a recipe from this site that I didn’t love. This was a big hit with the whole household!
Hello I am from Kosovo European Kosovar Thank you for Smoked Gyro Meat I Love It.
This came out great. I suggest after wrapping, placing it in a bread pan and place something heavy on it while it sits in the fridge overnight. This compresses the meat and helps hold the shape while smoking it. I used a grilling pan on the smoker.
Making a homemade Gyro was always something I wanted to try. This recipe was super easy and the results were fantastic. It was almost impossible to keep the log shape once on the rotisserie pan but it did not seem to affect the cook. There is just enough for leftovers as my family of four came back for seconds and thirds.