Mediterranean Meatball Gyros

These Mediterranean meatball gyros were our first gyros, ever! Yes, you read that correctly. The very first gyro I had was one I made myself. However, these are meatball gyros made with beef. As my coworker pointed out, a gyro is the meat that’s cooked and used in this dish. The dictionary gives me, “is a Greek dish made of meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie, normally pork, chicken, beef, veal, lamb or mutton, or other alternatives.”

We never really explored mediterranean dishes, with the exception of hummus (permission to call us basic). We’ve wanted to try gyros and falafels ever since moving to NYC. Every time I pass a food cart, I want to buy one. However, Fatima had a unique experience with street meat a few years ago, and because of it, we’ve shed away from going back to another food cart.

At first, I was skeptical of two things: mixing in the cumin and the cucumber-yogurt dressing. One of the only dishes we use cumin in is our turkey chili. It’s a strong spice. I knew if I put too much in, it could mess up our dish. As for the cucumber and greek yogurt dressing, cucumber scares me. While it can be refreshing, cucumber juice can sometimes taste sour.

While these meatball gyros were the first ones we’ve had, this recipe exceeded our expectations. So much so, that I could have eaten everything on my own. But my wife’s got my back, so we were able to enjoy these together for two nights in a row! Now, we’re looking for a classic Greek gyro recipe. Do you know of any good ones?

If you like the way these look and are more interested in tasting them, check out the recipe on Our Life Tastes Good!