If you remember the Greek Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce I made last summer, you will remember the recipe required a brick, of all things. (And it’s worth making just to tell the story of how you’ve been cooking with a brick!) This past Sunday, Teresa and I decided to try a Grilled Greek Salad with Lamb Gyros Meat. The meat recipe is similar, in that it also requires said brick, but this one uses just lamb rather than a mix of beef and lamb. Both are from the incomparable Alton Brown. And both are equally delicious.
This year’s further twist is that we decided to grill the Greek Salad upon which the gyros meat is served, thinking that would add even more flavor to this already joyously flavorful dish. You could easily just plop it all into a pita and make the best Gyros sandwich of your life if you prefer.?
This delicious salad is everything a Greek Salad should be: crunchy, crispy, and refreshing, all kissed with a tangy dressing. But it has the added twist that much of it is gently and deliciously grilled. Top all of that off with the Lamb Gyros Meat and everyone’s favorite creamy condiment, Tzatziki Sauce, and this will likely become one of your favorite dishes! It has so many flavors and textures that make it a completely satisfying meal.
And don’t get me started on the grilled Halloumi Cheese – a cheese whose melting point is high enough to be placed on a grill – melty, creamy, tangy – just YUM!! This Grilled Greek Salad is the perfect meal if anyone you are serving may be shunning carbs, or those who are, at least, reserving their carb intake for dessert.
Serve it with a side of hummus and pita bread or crackers and this Grilled Greek Salad with Lamb Gyros Meat will become a summer staple in your house. And keep that brick handy, just in case you need to make this again next week. Enjoy!
PrintGrilled Greek Salad with Lamb Gyro Meat
A classic Greek Salad cooked on the grill! Top with homemade Lamb Gyro Meat for a fantastic Summertime Salad! Or scoop into pita bread and top with Tzatziki Sauce for a Gyros Sandwich!
You can choose whether to grill or not grill your salad ingredients, but grilling will bring out the sweetness of the cherry tomatoes and onions, and will also make the Halloumi cheese a bit melty. So delicious!
- Prep Time: 45 min
- Cook Time: 75 min
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 8-10 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients
For the Lamb Gyros Meat
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 lb. ground lamb
- 1 large clove garlic, chopped
- 1 T dried Marjoram
- 2 T fresh, or 1 T dried Rosemary
- 2 t Kosher Salt
- 1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
For the Salad
- 1 head Romaine Lettuce
- 1 1/2 c Cherry Tomatoes
- 1 medium Red Onion, cut into 8–10 crescents, through the root
- 1 cucumber, seeded, halved lengthwise, and sliced
- 8 oz. Halloumi Cheese, cut into cubes
- 16 Pepporoncini Peppers, pickled
- 3/4 c Kalamata Olives, pitted
- 1 1/2 t Dijon Mustard
- 1 T Dried Marjoram
- 1/2 t salt
- 1/4 t Black Pepper
- 1/4 c White Wine Vinegar
- 1/4 c Extra Virgin Olive Oil
For the Tzatziki Sauce
- 16 oz. plain Greek yogurt
- 1 medium Cucumber, seeded, finely chopped
- 4 Garlic Cloves, finely minced
- 1 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 t White Wine Vinegar
- 5 mint leaves, minced
- pinch of salt
Instructions
Prepare the Gyros Meat
- Preheat oven to 325F. In a food processor, process the onion for about 15 seconds until it is minced. Pour the minced onion into a tea towel, wrap and squeeze the liquid from the minced onion, draining into the sink. Squeeze until very little of the liquid remains. Return the onion to the processor. Add the lamb, garlic, marjoram, rosemary, salt and pepper. Process until the meat mixture is a fine paste. This takes about a minute. You will likely need to scrape down the sides once or twice during the process.
- Scrape the lamb mixture into a loaf pan. Press the mixture all the way to the sides of the pan. This will help the meat form the best shape for slicing. Place the loaf pan into a 9x13x2 baking pan. Put the baking pan into the oven, then pour hot water (boiling or nearly boiling) into the baking pan until it is about half-way up the side of the loaf pan, being careful the water doesn’t go into the loaf pan of meat.
- Bake until meat reaches 165-170F, about 60-75 minutes. Drain off any fat from the meat. Place the loaf pan on a cooling rack. Take a brick that has been wrapped tightly in aluminum foil, and place it over the surface of the meat for 15-20 minutes. Remove meat from the pan, thinly slice, then serve on the salad, topped with the remaining dressing and a dollop of Tzatziki Sauce.
Prepare the Tzatziki Sauce
- Mix together the yogurt, chopped cucumber, minced garlic, oil, vinegar, salt and mint leaves. Keep refrigerated until serving time.
Grill the Salad
- Heat your grill to Med-Med High. Place the salad ingredients on separate skewers: 2 skewers for cherry tomatoes, 2 skewers of Halloumi cheese, 2 skewers of onion wedges.
- Make the marinade: In a jar with a lid, add the dijon mustard, marjoram, salt, pepper and vinegar. Shake to mix. Add the olive oil, cover and shake vigorously to emulsify.
- Pour half of the marinade over the skewers, reserving half for dressing the salad.
- When grill is hot, grill skewers until tomatoes are charred (1-2 minutes per side), cheese begins to brown on the outside (2 mins/side) and onions begin to char (3-4 mins/side). Remove from grill. If you would like to char the lettuce, separate the leaves and place on the grill about 15-30 seconds.
Assemble the Salad
- Arrange or combine the lettuce, onions, cheese, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, and pepperoncinis. Drizzle the remaining marinade/dressing over the salad. Top with slices of gyro meat. Add a dollop of tzatziki sauce.
- Serve with wedges of pita bread and more tzatziki sauce.
Notes
Special equipment needed: 5-6 metal skewers or wood skewers that have been soaked in water at least 30 minutes, and a Food Processor.
This recipe was adapted from Alton Brown’s Lamb Gyro Meat with Tzatziki Sauce
Nutrition
- Calories: 500
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oooh, love that you grilled the salad ingredients, too! grilled lettuce tastes so sweet (well after i got over my aversion to cooked lettuce lol), and i bet it would be so good here (:
Thanks, Heather! Yes, I grilled the lettuce, but next time I don’t think I will brush it with olive oil first, it got a little limp, so I think keeping it dry is the way to go!
So delicious!!
Thanks, Freda!