An authentic gyro is roasted in a vertical spit, but this crockpot version is a great homemade alternative to the real thing. I discovered this recipe through Pinterest at Rainy Day Gal. Her recipe is an adaptation of one by A Year of Slow Cooking. I couldn’t find ground lamb, so I used beef instead. I’m not sure what lamb would have been like, but it tasted great with the beef and turkey combination.
I used a Middle Eastern herb blend called Za’atar that my brother and his fiancee had given me for Christmas. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to try it. For those of you on Vancouver Island, you can find it at Hazelwood Herb Farm in Ladysmith BC. It’s a blend of sumac, thyme, sesame seeds, oregano, basil, summer savory, sweet marjoram, salt and lemon peel. It worked really well in the gyros, and it’s delicious in hummus too. If you can’t find Za’atar anywhere near you, here’s a link to make your own homemade Za’atar. Or you could just use oregano, as the original recipe calls for.
I have to admit that blending the meat in a food processor was sort of gross, but once it was in the crockpot, the aroma that wafted through our house as it cooked was incredible. I couldn’t wait to try it. You could eat it just like a meatloaf if you wanted.
I decided to serve it in warm pita bread with greek salad and tzatziki sauce. The boys found them a little hard to eat so they ended up pulling them apart and using a fork. They still really enjoyed the gyros, and so did Tony and I. We didn’t use all the meat, so I chopped it up and used it in Greek pizza the next next. I don’t have a photo of that because we ate it up so quickly!
Crockpot Gyros
Adapted from Rainy Day Gal
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground turkey
2 tsp Za’atar herb blend
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp kosher salt
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Juice from 1 lemon
Place ground beef and turkey, spices and salt in a food processor and blend well. Form it into a loaf with your hands. Place onion and garlic into the bottom of your crockpot. Lay the meat loaf on top. Squeeze lemon juice over top. Cover and cook for 4 hours on low (or 2 hours on high).
Slice the meat and serve in warmed pita with Greek salad and tzatziki sauce. Wrap them in foil to hold them together.
Food and Whine 
Hello Megan!I sent you an email on May 13 trying to get in touch with you about one of your previous blogs. I also wrote a post on my Google+ thanking you for one the essays that you wrote about 9 years ago which helped me write my own. https://plus.google.com/100238012174176423914/posts/5v4D7EmQkDPI'm looking forward to hear from you :)Amin
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Sorry Amin, I must have missed your email, I don’t use google+ very often except to share blog posts. I’m so glad that my essay helped you. Wow! How did you know that was mine?? I was a university student when I wrote that.
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It’s fine 🙂 No problem.I saw your email address on the main page of your old blog, Cafe Des Poetes (http://cafedes.tripod.com). I searched it in google and found your new blog, The GD Diaries. Then I found this website and your profile on Google+ :)It was a little bit shocking. Seeing a picture of someone that was taken 9 years ago (or maybe more) here (http://cafedes.tripod.com/aboutme.htm) and then finding your new blog and see how much time has passed. I can’t still believe that it’s been 9 years since 2004!!So, yeah.. It’s very nice to hear from you.. Your essay really inspired me for writing my own, which is for my grade 12 english class.. Thank you again :} I’ll check this blog everyday from now on 🙂
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That’s amazing! I didn’t even realize my old literature site was still up almost a decade later. I feel old now, lol.
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Yeah. Time passes quickly.. Well, although you’re kidding, but you’re not old 😀 even a 80 year old person is young if they have a young heart. The rest don’t matter.I was actually thinking of asking you to start posting on your website again. Not specifically on tripod, but I can help you to bring posts from the old blog to another free service, like blogger or wordpress, so you can start writing in it again if you want. That would actually be great. Specially now that it’s been a decade from your last post and if you write again on literature, we can see how much you and the way you think might have changed.If you still like to write about literature, let me know and I’ll try to help you transfer your blog to a new system so I can read more from you. I can also submit my own essay to the new blog :-)I also have a blog, but it’s mainly focused on my interactions with technology. although i might right personal things in it as well: http://aminbandali.com
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Yummy! Just bookmarked! Please feel free to share with our G+ Community, The Crock Pot Crowd. We welcome posts and recipes from bloggers! Congrats on your Top 25 Foodie Moms nomination, too! It’s a TOUGH competition! :)http://bit.ly/Zmy5vZ
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What’s all the other yummy stuff inside?! I just did the meat. I’ve only had gyros from a restaurant and am attempting them myself!
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Hi Jennifer, It’s Greek salad and tzatziki sauce inside.
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Wow, you obviously have no idea what gyros is. This is beyond whitewashed.
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Well I don’t have a vertical rotisserie in my home to make an authentic gyro, so this what I made with what I had. The wonderful thing about food is you can make it whatever you want it to be.
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Hi. Can you tell me how many this recipe will feed. It looks yummy. Thank you.
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I’d say it should feed about 6 people.
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