Elk Gyros – By Allison Burkett

We have an annual Wild Game Party at our place (I think we’re going on 13-years) and this year our friend Allison Burkett won the Big Game category with her Elk Gyros. They were fantastic! Thanks for sharing Allison!

Elk Meat:

While they were still slightly frozen I thin sliced rump, eye of the round and bottom round roasts. Overnight they marinated in plain yogurt, lemon juice, dried oregano, and red wine vinegar. I just eyeballed all these ingredients to make sure the the meat was all coated. Then in a cast iron pan I fried the meat (in small batches) in olive oil & minced garlic with a light sprinkling of a seasoning blend of: 

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon marjoram 

salt & pepper

But honestly I made the recipe earlier in the week without the dry seasoning blend (just the marinated meat) and it was delicious as well!

Naan (flatbread):

1 cup warm water

2 tablespoons honey

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 

1/4 cup plain yogurt

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg

1/2 cup butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

Stir together warm water and honey until the honey has dissolved.

Add the water mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough attachment, and sprinkle the yeast on top of the water.  Give the yeast a quick stir to mix it in with the water.  Then let it sit for 5-10 minute until the yeast is foamy. While that was happening I combined my dry ingredients in a bowl (flour, baking powder, salt).

Turn the mixer onto low speed, and I slowly added the dry ingredients, taking a break each time it got too thick/dry to add the yogurt and egg.  Increase speed to medium-low, and continue mixing the dough for 2-3 minutes, or until the dough is smooth.  (The dough will still be slightly sticky, but should form into a ball that pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl.) I had to add a tiny bit of water to two of the batches because it was too dry.

Remove dough from the mixing bowl, and use your hands to shape it into a ball.  Grease the mixing bowl (or a separate bowl) with olive oil or cooking spray, then place the dough ball back in the bowl and cover it with a damp towel.  Place in a warm location and let it rise for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, heat the butter in a small saute pan over medium heat until melted.  Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.  Then remove butter from heat, strain out and discard the garlic, leaving the infused melted butter behind.  Set aside. I used more butter than she calls for in the recipe below.

Get a cast iron pan heating up on medium high heat.

Once the dough is ready, transfer it to a floured work surface.  Then cut the dough into 16 separate pieces. Roll each into a ball with your hands, then place on the floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a large circle (or oval, or whatever shape it takes) until the dough is a little less than 1/4-inch thick.  Brush dough lightly with the garlic-infused butter on one side, then put that side down in the hot pan and brush the other side

Cook for 1 minute, or until the dough begins to bubble and the bottom turns lightly golden.  Flip the dough and cook on the second side for 30-60 seconds, or until the bottom is golden.  Then transfer the naan to a separate plate, and cover with a towel.  Repeat with remaining dough until all of the naan pieces are cooked.

Keep the naan covered with the towel until ready to serve, so that it doesn’t dry out. 

I kind of followed this recipe with some tweaks: https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/homemade-naan-recipe/  

Tzatziki:  

1/2 of a large cucumber, unpeeled

1 1/2 cups plain full-fat Greek yogurt

2 large garlic cloves, finely minced

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon minced fresh dill

Grate the cucumber and drain through a fine mesh sieve overnight in the fridge. Combine the yogurt, garlic, oil, vinegar, and salt in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Transfer the grated cucumber and fresh dill to the yogurt mixture and stir to combine.

https://thewanderlustkitchen.com/authentic-greek-tzatziki/

Topping:

I just eyeballed this but I think we used half a red onion, a peeled cucumber, 1 can of black olives and 4 tomatoes (just the outer flesh, no runny seeds from the middle). 

Chopped it all up and coated it with olive oil, lemon juice, little bit of white vinegar, and dried dill. Don’t forget the feta!

I stole the idea from this recipe: https://belleofthekitchen.com/cucumber-greek-salad/