Preparation 1: Greek Tacos
2 pounds ground beef
2 pounds ground lamb
1 pound fresh Italian pork sausage
4 to 6 cloves fresh minced garlic
4 tablespoons dried oregano
Two packages of Italian salad dressing mix
Salt and pepper to taste
6-8 ripe Roma tomatoes diced (or other)
1 large cucumber diced
½ cup pitted Kalamata olives rough chopped
Juice of ½ lemon
8 oz Greek Yogurt
3 or 4 sprigs of dill chopped
3 oz. good quality Feta cheese
2 packages of Original style pita bread
In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients with your hands making sure to get all the seasonings evenly dispersed throughout the meat. Form the meat into patties that are no larger than the base of your spit.
This will keep your meat uniform and prevent uneven cooking. If your spit doesn’t have a flat base, pierce an aluminum pie pan with the top of the spit and slide it, upside down, all the way to the bottom of the spit. Instant base. I set mine in an aluminum roasting pan to catch the drippings.
Preheat your oven or grill to 400 degrees. Cook until the center reaches 160 degrees. (165 is the safe temp for ground meat but the carryover heat will continue to cook to 165). As the meat cooks it will begin to darken (caramelize). Simply give the pan a spin as necessary to brown all sides evenly. If your Gyro exterior is getting done to fast simply trim the done pieces and let fall into the roasting pan and grab them up with some bbq tongs.
Carefully slice the pita bread horizontally to make 24 thin pita taco shells. This is easily done by inserting the tip of a paring knife into the outer edge of the pita and running the knife around the pita about 1/2 inch deep. Gently separate the pita into two halves. Next, brush them with olive oil and grill them quickly so they remain pliable and not crispy.
When the meat is done, you can slice it off the spit into the delicious drippings, or lift it out and slice onto a cutting board or serving tray. Either way you will want to serve it taco style as follows (because here in California you can get anything in a taco).
For the salsa;
Combine half of the diced cucumber with all of the diced tomatoes, the Kalamata olives and one sprig of dill. Salt and pepper to taste.
For the Tzatziki;
Combine the rest of the cucumber with the dill, lemon juice and yogurt in a food processor or blender. Depending on how watery your cucumber is you may want to squeeze it dry with a kitchen towel or your sauce will become very thin. Purée the mixture until it is smooth. Pour into a container and store in the refrigerator for at least an hour prior to using. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Place the meat in the grilled pita bread, top it with the salsa, a spoonful of the sauce and some feta cheese. There you have it the perfect Greek taco.