Instant Pot Gyro Meat

I tweaked this recipe from TwoSleevers and it turned out quite awesome. The texture is perfect!

I started out with lamb and beef. I made a double batch because grinding the meat was too much of a pain to make a single batch.

Salt and Italian seasonings (it’s easier for me to keep a pound of Italian seasoning rather than all the separate seasonings).

I pureed the onions, spices and garlic in the food processor until quite fine. I use a Breville Sous Chef food processor and it is quite amazing.

I ground the meat twice with the KitchenAid food grinder attachment.

After the first pass, a rough grind.

And finer after the second pass.

This step is really important. Mix the crap out of the meat in a stand mixer. This emulsifies the liquid and fat to give you the signature texture you need for Gyro meat.

Mix, mix, mix.

In the end you will have a gluey paste of meat that looks like this.

At this point I froze the meat for 3 days but you could also just refrigerate overnight. I do feel a rest here is beneficial to let the ingredients further combine.

I wanted to try out my Easy Kabob maker that I had purchased quite a while ago and it did a bang up job. I was surprised that it worked because when I bought it I did it solely out of curiosity.

Meat…skewered.

The other portion I cooked in the Instant pot. I wanted to compare the textures. If you don’t have a Fat Daddio’s round cheesecake pan, you must get one. So useful.

I put the bottom from a second pan on top, but you could use foil as well.

Add to Instant Pot on the rack with 1/2 cup water in the bottom, and cook on Max pressure for 30 minutes. I use an Instant Pot Max, if you use an Instant Pot that doesn’t have max pressure, cook for 35 minutes. Quick release.

After cooking, many recipes for Gyro meat call for compression with a heavy object. This is what I kluged together…a heavy can and pan lid. I left it for about 10 minutes while the meat cooled and it did compress the meat nicely.

Remove from pan and slice.

We seared these on the Blackstone Grill.

And after searing the meat was beautiful and smelled amazing!

Serve with homemade pita.

And Tzatziki sauce.

So which did per prefer? They both had different textures, but I liked the convenience of the skewers, the skewers are a little drier, crispier, and slightly saltier. But I also loved the texture (very smooth) of the meat cooked in the Instant Pot. I think I liked that a bit better, but the flavor was off the hook on both versions.

Next I’m going to make a pseudo İskender Kebab with this meat because I’ve been craving it for 20 years…

IF YOU LIKE THIS RECIPE YOU WILL ALSO LIKE:

• Instant Pot Meatballs With Mushroom Gravy
• Instant Pot Triple Mac and Cheese
• Instant Pot Johnny Marzetti
• Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff
• Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
• Instant Pot Chicken Tetrazzini

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Instant Pot Gyro Meat

Instant Pot Gyro Meat is so flavorful and perfect for gyros

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Greek

Keyword: Gyro

Servings: 8

Equipment

• Instant Pot
• Meat Grinder
• Stand Mixer
• Food Processor

Ingredients

• 3 pounds ground lamb
• 2 pounds 80/20 ground beef
• 2 white onions
• 18 cloves garlic
• 4 tablespoons Italian seasoning
• 2 teaspoons black pepper

Instructions

• Grind lamb twice, first coarsely then finely. Food process onions, garlic and spices until they are a smooth paste. Add meat and onion mixture to stand mixer and beat until the meat is a sticky paste. Refrigerate overnight. Add to springform type pan (7 inch) and place on top of rack in Instant Pot with 1/2 cup water in the bottom. Pressure cook max for 30 minutes or high pressure for 35 minutes and quick release. Place heavy weight on top of meat and allow to cool. Slice and sear on grill or flat top grill.