The highlight of my career as a recipe developer is hearing from the people who cook my recipes. When you choose to make one of my dishes, and when you and your family love it, I feel like the Grinch at the end of Dr. Seuss’ beloved How the Grinch Stole Christmas. My heart grows three sizes!
One of my most regular customers is my sister Elaine and her husband, Joey. They cook Well Plated several nights a week, and I squeal with delight when she sends me photos of their two little girls (ages 1 and 3) devouring one of my recipes.
Of course, in addition to being a Well Plated frequent flyer, being my sister also gives her a direct line to the source. When she has a new recipe idea for me, I take it seriously.
Thus, we can all thank Elaine for today’s sheet pan gyros!
The concept of baking a big sheet pan of gyro meat that each member of the family can top as they please was a request she made a few weeks ago, and my immediate thought was YAS.
Mediterranean flavors are my fave, and anytime we can sheet pan something (yes, sheet pan is a verb around here), I am all in.
Behind the Recipe
Seasoned So Nice
To season the meat, I used inspiration from the Greek Pita Pizzas in The Well Plated Cookbook, a recipe that I consider one of the most delicious and underrated in the book. (PSA: If you’ve avoided them because you’re not into lamb, it’s a-ok to swap beef.)
Cumin, a touch of cinnamon, and lots of fresh garlic give the meat depth and warmth. It’s tasty on its own, but so much better slathered in toppings, as any good gyro should be.
Choosing the Meat
Since traditionally gyros are made with a blend of meats, my first test batch used half lean ground beef, half lamb.
I loved the additional complexity lamb provides, but I know it’s not everyone’s favorite, so for my second batch, I used entirely lean ground beef.
The meat turned out a little dry, so my final recommendation if you’d like to do all beef is to use half 90/10 lean ground beef and half 85/15, which is closer to traditional hamburger meat.
The Sheet Pan Process
This turned out to be the hardest part. Meat naturally releases moisture as it cooks, and since it’s baking on a sheet pan, the juices have nowhere to go, and they pool a bit.
Fortunately, this is quickly remedied by draining off the excess liquid as soon as the meat comes out of the oven. It pours away easily, and the meat tasted great.
For those really into the nitty-gritty, I also tried elevating the meat on the sheet pan (kind of like you might with a meatloaf), but it did little to help.
I still needed to drain it, the extra rack made slicing the meat more difficult, and I was stuck with extra dishes. No thanks!
Getting the Strips
For the right texture, you want to score the meat both before and after it goes into the oven.
Scoring before helps the meat shrink less as it bakes and gives you lines to follow once it’s out of the oven.
Scoring after gives you gyro-like strips to stuff into your pita.
Serving
One of the best parts of Greek food is the toppings!
We smeared our pitas with plain Greek yogurt, but in a perfect world, I would have time to make my favorite tzatziki.
I also added red onion, thinly sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, and feta.
If you have 5 extra minutes, prep Pickled Red Onions as the first step in this recipe. By the time the meat is done, they’ll be ready to use!
Instead of pita, you can also serve this meat bowl-style over brown rice (or Lemon Rice, mmm).
Recipe
The biggest heads-up here is that the meat is going to release a lot of liquid on the sheet pan, but trust the process. I drained it right into the trash, though if you prefer, you could pour it into a bowl or cup.
This meat really benefits from a creamy topping. It’s great with tzatziki f course, though plain Greek yogurt or even cottage cheese both work nicely.
Tools
Bench Scraper. If you don’t have one of these yet, it’s $7 and you are missing out. Here, it’s key for scoring the meat, but I use it all the time to move piles of chopped vegetables, and even to clean my counters after baking bread or pizza dough.
Precut Parchment Paper Sheets. Readers constantly tell me this has been the biggest life upgrade. No more fighting paper that rolls up or dealing with messy tears.
11x17 Sheet Pan (Half Sheet Pan). They last for years and years. If your pans are dark or damaged, this is your permission slip to upgrade.
Ingredients
For the Gyro Meat:
1 pound lean ground beef (I used 90% lean)
1 pound ground lamb (or 85/15 ground beef)
3 cloves minced garlic (about 1 tablespoon)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Olive oil, for brushing
For Serving:
Pita bread, brown rice, white rice, or Lemon Rice
Tzatziki sauce, plain Greek yogurt, or cottage cheese
Chopped veg: cucumbers, red onion, tomato
Crumbled feta
Finely chopped fresh parsley
Hummus, a fun bonus on the side
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