Beef & Lamb Gyro "Sliders" - Sort Of A Fail

[mcyork28]

I love a good gyro and wanted to learn how to make them at home. I found a basic recipe online that called for 50/50 lamb to beef and cooked it on my Summit Charcoal Grill. The problem is the lamb flavor was soooooooo strong.

It's very rare that I cook lamb because my wife dosen't like it. I will order it occasionally at restaurants and typically enjoy it.

My question is what makes some lamb taste so strong and is there a recommended brand or source that tends to be better? I sourced todays from a local market.

ran onion, beef, lamb and spices through a food processor and formed into roll.

Cooked to 160 I.T.

Topped with homemade tzatzike, lettuce and tomato.

 

[SmokinAussie]

I would call that a success.

As to the lamb, it's due to the age when it's killed.

Without me explaining the complete details, here is a link to an English site, so at least your seasons match up.


From what I know in the US, it seems sheep mainly are aged to over a year and sometimes more than that resulting in a stronger flavor.

So find out where this lamb came from. Has it been a breeder, therefore given more than a few seasons? It matters quite a lot with Lamb / Hogget and Mutton.

There is a saying in England / Australia: "Mutton dressed as Lamb" which refers to buying something that looks very good and turns out to be dud or not what you thought it was.

You need to know.

Also the case, maybe you got Lamb and even still the flavor your wife didn't like. Maybe back off the 50/50 to something like 70/30 and see what she thinks.

For me, that would be a very successful gyros!

Cheers!

Bill

 

[Stingerhook]

I would have to say :thumb:.

 

[Big George's BBQ]

That looks fantastic :hungry:

 

[ModelMaker]

Good.
Ed

 

[Greygoose]

I’d eat it,,,,

 

[ssv3]

Looking great nonetheless!!

So with a leg of lamb at least, there is a gland in there (sort of like the gland in the pork shoulder) and when you find it and remove it the overwhelming lamb flavor diminishes. I learned this from a butcher, tried it and it works. To note also, Australian or American lamb is way less "gamey" than New Zealand lamb in my experience. If I can source California or Colorado lamb, it's a huge plus but I almost always buy Australian lamb. There is a difference.

 

[charcoalwilly]

Still looks good! I know what you mean though. I prefer to form the 50/50 blend into thinner patties and grill at high temp. The crust seems to mellow out the flavor and render more of the fat.

 

[Gnarlbecue]

I have been experimenting along the same lines, making smoked meatloaves sliced up for gyro sammiches a lot lately.

Around here, the local lamb is a lot stronger and gamier (which I actually like), but in my experience the New Zealand lamb available on Amazon Fresh is a lot cheaper and way less intensely flavored.

I have also heard that the gaminess is partly due to the fat content, so maybe try to source leaner lamb for your mix, and as others have mentioned, experiment with different ratios of beef to lamb like 70/30 to reduce the funk.

Yours look and sound awesome to me, definitely not a fail in my book!

You could also try different spices and herbs in the mix. A good Mediterranean spice blend can dull the rough edges of gamey lamb, and round out the flavors a bit.

I'm currently using Naturrffic Lamb rub (now called Greekish I think) with added oregano, garlic and fresh rosemary and it's excellent to my pallate.

A heavier smoke flavor and higher temps can help too.

 

[mcyork28]

Thanks for all the feedback. I took a look on their website to see what ground lamb they sold at their meat counter. It's 80/20 and from an Oregon ranch and is all grass fed.

A quick Google search brought this up:

Lambs raised on a diet of grass tend to have a more intense flavor than those raised on a diet of grain. The grassy, gamy flavors, known as “pastoral flavors,” that occur in pasture-finished lamb come from an increased amount of compounds called indoles, primarily one called skatole, found in the fat tissues.


Speaking of lamb, anybody heard from Titch?

 

[SirPorkaLot]

Thanks for all the feedback. I took a look on their website to see what ground lamb they sold at their meat counter. It's 80/20 and from an Oregon ranch and is all grass fed.

A quick Google search brought this up:

Lambs raised on a diet of grass tend to have a more intense flavor than those raised on a diet of grain. The grassy, gamy flavors, known as “pastoral flavors,” that occur in pasture-finished lamb come from an increased amount of compounds called indoles, primarily one called skatole, found in the fat tissues.


Speaking of lamb, anybody heard from Titch?

That’s your answer.

Grass fed lamb and beef both have much more intense flavors. Some like it. Some don’t.

 

[mchar69]

I didn't know that about grass-fed - thanks for the info! And the gyro looks good to me, but I do object to overly mutton flavor.

in the US, it seems sheep mainly are aged to over a year

When we raised sheep for 4-H, they were about 9 months old and between 100 and 130 pounds. Not sure if the whole country does it that way, but at some age point it's not 'lamb' anymore and it's I guess mutton. I wonder what the industry does. Same with veal. How can you get a 'veal' chop that weighs over a pound? At that point it's not veal any more.

 

[escrimps]

Don't know if it'll help with pre-ground, but most of the lamb-i-ness comes from the fat. On a roast, cutting most of the fat off helps a lot with the gaminess.

 

[robertm]

Most places that make gyros are only using 25% or less lamb. I’d adjust the ratio to better suit your pallet.

Sous vide everything had a gyro recipe several years ago. I tried it his way and was really happy with results. Lot of work though.