Mediterranean-Style Gyro Burger Recipe

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Way back in the day, in the early aughts, I spent a summer working in Athens, Greece. As a recently graduated culinary student (and, as such, very broke), my Athenian diet consisted almost solely of cheap gyros. Despite the low price tag, these gyros were the most flavorful and filling food I'd had in my life up until that point. Between the savory, succulent spit-roasted meats, the crisp-fresh veggies, the warm pita, the twangy tzatziki, and that handful of oregano-dusted fries, these gyros were handheld magic. So, all these years later, when tasked with creating this Mediterranean-style gyro burger recipe, I immediately knew that it had to feature those iconic, reminiscent gyro elements.

For the ever-important gyro-inspired burger patties, I opted for a 50/50 blend of ground lamb and ground beef. Following the traditional gyro flavor profile, I seasoned this burger mix with plenty of oregano, cumin, garlic, pepper, and paprika. Instead of tzatziki sauce, I wanted to craft a slightly less runny spread that would still have that same creamy-twangy flavor profile, so I went with a whipped feta and yogurt combination nicely seasoned with EVOO, parsley, and mint. The heap of fresh toppings (tomatoes, cucumbers, leafy greens, and red onion) add fabulous crunch with, of course, a handful of crisp fries for textural contrast and burger drip absorption. This burger ended up being a little too stacked for a pita, so instead, I reached for a pillowy olive oil loaf as the bun.

To begin this recipe, start with the whipped feta dip, for which you will need plain Greek yogurt, feta cheese, olive oil, fresh parsley, and fresh mint. Next, for the burger patties, you will need ground beef, ground lamb, salt, paprika, dried oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper.

When it comes time to assemble the burgers, you will need an olive oil loaf, heirloom tomato (or vine-ripe tomatoes), cucumber, red onion, baby salad greens, and cooked frozen french fries.

To make the feta spread, place the yogurt, feta, olive oil, parsley, and mint in the bowl of a food processor. Blend the ingredients until smooth, then cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Make the burger mix by placing the ground beef and ground lamb in a large bowl.

Season the ground meats with salt, paprika, oregano, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper. Use your hands to mix the ingredients together until well blended.

Portion the ground meat mix into 4 even patties.

Preheat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat.

Once hot, add the patties and grill for about 5 minutes per side, or until cooked through.

To assemble the burgers, spread the creamy feta mixture over the split loaves.

Divide the grilled burger patties between the dressed loaves.

Top the burgers with tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, and salad greens.

Top with french fries before capping and serving the burgers.

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This meaty combination of ground lamb, ground beef, and savory spices is a really versatile mix, well-suited to all sorts of fun culinary creations. It's also a meaty mix well-suited for storage, should you end up with leftovers. I purchased my ground meat combo in 1-pound portions, so I had some leftovers. I doubled the batch in this recipe and froze the leftovers for later use.

After crafting and eagerly eating these burger patties, I could see this mix working just as well as meatballs. Just add a little breadcrumb and egg to the raw mixture, combine, portion, and roll. These Mediterranean meatballs would be great on sandwiches (another gyro twist), on mezze-themed salad platters, or simmered in some zesty marinara sauce. Or, simply cook the meatballs, poke them with toothpicks, and serve as an appetizer.

If rolling meatballs sounds like too much work, then a skillet-cooked crumble of this meat mixture (no egg or breadcrumb needed) would be super tasty in a Greek salad bowl or Greek-fusion taco. Also, instead of Mediterranean meatball marinara, you could make a tasty meaty ragu to serve over pasta.

The grill, in my humble opinion, is the superior method for cooking these burgers since it somewhat mimics that spit-roasted appeal of traditional gyros. Since that kind of al fresco cooking is not always accessible or weather compatible, however, there are a handful of other ways you can cook these burgers.

As you can tell by this recipe (or by looking at many of my other recipes), I'm a big fan of stove-top grill pan cooking. They achieve that similar grill-mark char without having to leave the house. I have a pretty large grill pan that I use on the regular, but I understand that not all grill pans can comfortably fit four burger patties. If that is the case for you, feel free to cook your burgers in batches.

For a smash burger-style of patty, I highly recommend using a large cast iron skillet. Instead of forming the meat mixture into patties, roll the mix into large balls. Thoroughly preheat your skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the meaty balls, allow to sear for a minute or so, then smash flat with either a burger press or heavy-duty metal spatula. Before attempting a smash burger, double check the leanness of your ground meats. If either are advertised as "lean" or 90/10 fat ratio, add a hearty dollop of mayonnaise to the raw meat mixture. This will help keep your burgers from drying out and falling apart when you smash them.

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