Grilled Lamb Gyros with Cava Mezze Tzatziki

And so it begins.  The NFL preseason has started and I made my first football fare of the season.   Now to be perfectly honest, I really don’t know anything about football. Even though I was a cheerleader (I think I just blankly stared at the games while mindlessly chanting and daydreaming about tight fitting uniforms).  Once I was in college, I recall asking a boyfriend, "So, um, how much is a down worth?” to the response of endless laughter.  Actually, I even just had to google “preseason NFL” to make sure it really was preseason and not just some weird part of the Olympics.  Doh.

Despite not really knowing or caring a lick about football (college or NFL alike), I do love one thing about the sport: the food that accompanies it.  Because to me, there is something inherently appealing about sitting around all day on the couch, stuffing myself full of delicious grub.  Now, that's a pastime!

For this season of gluttony kick-off, I decided to make lamb gyros.  My last leg of lamb from Washington’s Green Grocer was probably top ten most delicious things I have ever made and this one was no different.  Maybe even better. This go round, I didn’t roast it in my oven, I actually grilled it (finished it in my Dutch oven since a rainstorm sizzled the slow-grilling after about two hours).  I must say, the smoky charcoal flavor of lamb was incredible.  It was stand-alone delicious, and since I ordered a six pound leg, we have plenty of leftovers for just that.  

The gyros were super easy to assemble, especially since I used the ready made tzatziki.  Chopping is all the work that is required.  I used Naan bread, but we also made a few secondary sammies on two big slices of a baguette and that was just as delicious.  

The meal was hearty and robust -- just the way a good football game should be... right?!  Isn’t that how they are?!  Gooooo team!  

Grilled Lamb Gyros with Cava Mezze Tzatziki

makes six gyros with plenty of leftover meat
1 five-six pound bone in leg of lamb
3 cloves garlic, minced
hefty sprinkling of rosemary, oregano, salt, and pepper (my salt is red Himalayan, hence the pink tone to my raw lamb pic)
juice of 1 lemon
smidge of olive oil
six cups chopped Romaine lettuce
six cups diced tomatoes (I used my Romas from last week’s box and they were perfect)
2 cups diced purple onions
6 slices of Naan bread for the gyro roll
2 cups tzatziki (I just used about two containers of the Cava Mezze Tzatziki

Whisk together garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and all seasonings.  Then, coat lamb.  Cover and  refrigerate for at least four hours.  Overnight would be best.  When you are ready to grill your lamb, take out of the fridge and let come to room temperature first.  Because this is grass-pastured meat, this is an important step.  Throwing cold pastured meat on the grill just doesn’t work as well, in my experience.  Grill, turning every once in a while for a few hours...slow and low here, folks, slow and low.  I have a charcoal grill, so there seems to be no exact heat setting, but I’d say if it were a regular propane or gas grill it would be a low setting. Here is a pic of mine uncovered (definitely put the lid on -- gives it a great smoky flavor!)  Since it started pouring down rain, I actually took mine off the grill after about two hours and finished it in a pot inside my oven.  This actually worked out great because it became so insanely tender -- literally fell off the bone. If you do this, cook on about 250 for a few hours.  The internal temperature just needs to reach about 160. Before cutting your lamb for the gyros, let it stand for 15 minutes or so.
Warm your gyro bread in the oven for a few minutes.  Then to serve the gyros, slather a generous (the more the better IMHO) amount of tzatziki on the Naan bread. Add some slices of your grilled lamb, tomato, onion, and lettuce. Roll up. Eat!