Gluten In Gyro Meat?

[durhamgrrl]

Hey! Does anybody know if gyro meat has gluten in it? Today for lunch I had falafel- that they say has no flour in it, hummus, and gyro meat. I feel totally glutened. I'm guessing it was the gyro meat b/c I've eaten the falafel and hummus before with no problem.

Anybody know? What's in that stuff??

[Mango04]

Falafel often contains gluten.

Here's an example of a recipe. You can see it contains bulgar.

http://www.recipezaar.com/114320

I've seen lots of other versions of falafel that contain wheat in various forms (not neccesarily flour). The gyro meat could have also been marinated in or spiced with something that consisted of gluten.

Hope you feel better!

[Smunkeemom]

the local gryo place has gluten free meat (they let me physically read all the seasonings they use), but it's the local place and they may have a slightly different recipe. I would just ask next time if you can see what they use to cook it, most of the time they will let you see if you explain that it's for health purposes.

I do know that the cucumber sauce here has gluten in it

[penguin]

the local gryo place has gluten free meat (they let me physically read all the seasonings they use), but it's the local place and they may have a slightly different recipe. I would just ask next time if you can see what they use to cook it, most of the time they will let you see if you explain that it's for health purposes.

I do know that the cucumber sauce here has gluten in it

Why on Earth would they put gluten in cucumber sauce? All it should be is yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice or vinegar, and salt. Maybe some dills. Honestly, that's nuts!!!

Most greek restaurants get their gyro meat from the same company in the states, and you can tell which by the posters they have around with the pretty Greek lady eating a gyro, I can't remember which though. One is corfu, but there's another major one. Kronos maybe?

Make sure you pronounce gyro properly...it's pronounced yee-rrrroh (rolled r like in spanish)

[durhamgrrl]

I like pronouncing it AND eatin it!

Unfortunately, I can't get them to tell me what's in it. The owner doesn't speak much English. Hmmm....

[lorka150]

Falafels are chickpeas with spices, deep fried... No meat. In addition, there is cross contamination (more than likely) in the fryers.

[durhamgrrl]

I'm not so worried about the falafel, it's the gyro meat I'm concerned about. I just can't seem to find out what's in it. I had falafel AND gyro meat- no pita, no cucumber sauce, no tahini.

[Guest nini]

I thought Falafel had gluten in it...

[dionnek]

I always get sick when I eat gyro meat (prior to being dx'd - I don't eat gyro anymore!).

[lovegrov]

A standard gyro meat recipe (you can find them simply by doing a google search) would be gluten-free. Lamb or lamb and beef mixed with spices and herbs and then cooked. But nobody here can tell you if the specific one you ate had gluten because we don't know the brand. You'd need to go back to the restaurant itself and find out the brand. Ask to see the ingredients. Call the company. But it's impossible for us to guess whether or not it's gluten-free.

richard

[pinky]

I stopped eating gyro meat when I went gluten-free because I looked up some recipes, and they all included SOY SAUCE (which usually has wheat in it).

[penguin]

If it's authentic gyro meat, there is no way they would put soy sauce in it. I've never seen a greek recipe with soy sauce in it.

Wheat in greek is "stitos" bread is "psomi" meat is "kreas"

I forget how to ask questions in greek, since I haven't had the opportunity to speak it in a year, but if you say something along the lines of:

"e-nay stitos sto kreas?" - Is there what in meat?

"e-nay psomi sto kreas?" - Is there bread in meat?

It's really crude, and I'm pretty sure I didn't conjugate anywhere near correctly, but if you're at a greek place where the guy hardly speaks english, it'll get you by.

Here's a link for a restaurant card in greek http://www.celiactravel.com/gluten-free-cards/16-greek.html

And most recipes for falafel call for flour in the chickpea mixture. I'm willing to bet it was the falafel that glutened you.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Here is a good recipe for gyro meat: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cooking/re...6_30420,00.html. I've made this with ground chicken and it tasted really good, which surprised me.

It does not contain gluten--but the frozen gyro meat our supermarket sells DOES. I assume that many gyro meats do--it's basically a meatloaf, after all.

Also, the mix for falafel that I used to use (I think it was made by Fantastic Foods) contains wheat starch--I think most do. Here is a recipe for falafel--omit the bread crumbs and substitute instant potato flakes:

http://vegetarian.allrecipes.com/az/SnsFlflndCcmbrSc.asp.

The cucumber/yogurt sauce in Greek restaurants might have wheat starch in them to thicken the yogurt so it doesn't get runny, especially if it is commercially prepared.

[qwertyui]

In Ontario, there is a restaurant called Mr. Greek. They are all over the place. I looked at the packaging for the Gyros, and the 2nd ingredient was toasted wheat crumbs. So - if you are eating at a chain restaurant, chances are you are being glutened. I was quite upset, because that was my favorite dish there!

[Moongirl]

Hate to burst your bubble on this but most falafel do contain gluten. Here is a recipe for example...

300 g chickpeas

4 tablespoons bulgur

3 garlic cloves

3 tablespoons plain flour

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

3 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground red chili pepper

1 tablespoon tahini

They use the bulgur to hold the stuff together when it is fried.

[durhamgrrl]

By the way, if you're ever making your own falafel, Joy of Cooking has a GREAT recipe. I just substitute the 2T flour with 2T chickpea flour. Delicious!

I'm going to go to the Gyro place tomorrow morning to see if I can get their recipe before they get swamped for lunch. My fingers are totally crossed!!

[Rohan]

A standard gyro meat recipe (you can find them simply by doing a google search) would be gluten-free. Lamb or lamb and beef mixed with spices and herbs and then cooked. But nobody here can tell you if the specific one you ate had gluten because we don't know the brand. You'd need to go back to the restaurant itself and find out the brand. Ask to see the ingredients. Call the company. But it's impossible for us to guess whether or not it's gluten-free.

richard

I'm in greece at the moment, looking for some guidance!!!!!

Especially regarding meat/fish - gyros or souvlaki. I've got the celiac.com dining cards, but had two goes at it today for 2 non gluten-free meals!!!! not feeling good at all now

can anyone help me negotiate greece? mainly lunch and dinner (BYO my breakfast)

[artc98]

There is ABSOLUTELY gluton in Gyro meat. Bread crumbs are added to the meat mixture to bind the meats together. Kronos, the largest gyro processor in the world shows this as part of their processing.

[chrisv]

By the way, if you're ever making your own falafel, Joy of Cooking has a GREAT recipe. I just substitute the 2T flour with 2T chickpea flour. Delicious!

I'm going to go to the Gyro place tomorrow morning to see if I can get their recipe before they get swamped for lunch. My fingers are totally crossed!!

We have a Montfort chain here in Ontario, which I used to enjoy. Since discovering that gluten is a problem for me (in the process of being diagnosed with celiac disease - my sister had a scope and is a confirmed sufferer), I've been hit and miss with some foods, but am getting better at asking for the ingredients in restaurants. I missed the boat yesterday at Montfort, and took the waitstaff's assurances that the "only thing with gluten is the bread." I asked specifically about the falafel and the salad dressing. Seems she was wrong.

[bbuster]

I asked at our local gyro place and they said their meat did have gluten. I did not ask for any specifics.

[ravenwoodglass]

It amazes me how common it is in Gyro's to put gluten in the meat. It is done for the sole purpose of 'stretching' the meat. IMHO it is shameful. I was head chef in a restuarant that served Middle Eastern food. We Never Ever added any gluten ingredients to our gyro meat.

It is really easy to make, it is made and baked like a meat loaf and then sliced. Once sliced we would freeze the slices seperately and then bag them after they were frozen to pull out individual servings. The only extra step we used was to process the meat and spice mixture in a food processer to basically double grind the meat. If you really like gyros you may want to find a Middle Eastern cookbook or look up recipes on line and make your own.

[bbuster]

If you really like gyros you may want to find a Middle Eastern cookbook or look up recipes on line and make your own.

I do love gyros, but my son is the only Celiac in the family and he has never had one.

Whenever my husband and I go out to eat without the kids, I usually ask about gluten-free offerings to see if it's a place we can bring my son, and also just to show there is customer interest.

[GlutenFreeManna]

Gyro meat is SO easy to make. It's one of the things I made that was naturally gluten free prior to going gluten free. Here's a sample recipe: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/traditional-gyro-meat/Detail.aspx

You can use other types of ground meat as well. I often do all lamb or all beef. I've also made it with bison and ground chicken. If you really like it and make it often enough, mix up a big batch of the dry spices and keep them in a spare spice jar, then you can just sprinkle your Greek seasoning on the meat without measuring out all those spices.

Cucumber sauce is easy to do as well. Just plain yogurt and chopped cucumber. Add a little onion or garlic powder if you like. I use lettuces leave in place of pitas but you could use a corn tortilla.

[SandraP]

On 5/16/2006 at 8:29 AM, durhamgrrl said:

I'm not so worried about the falafel, it's the gyro meat I'm concerned about. I just can't seem to find out what's in it. I had falafel AND gyro meat- no pita, no cucumber sauce, no tahini.

I am Newly Diagnosed. And I am saying goodbye to a lot of foods! ? I was hoping gyro meat wasn’t one of them. My Greek friend calls gyro meat “Greek bologna”! Probably because no one knows what’s in it! ??? I also had to give up dairy so I was hoping I could get gyro meat on my Greek Salads that would make up for feta! ?

[Ennis-TX]

2 hours ago, SandraP said:

I am Newly Diagnosed. And I am saying goodbye to a lot of foods! ? I was hoping gyro meat wasn’t one of them. My Greek friend calls gyro meat “Greek bologna”! Probably because no one knows what’s in it! ??? I also had to give up dairy so I was hoping I could get gyro meat on my Greek Salads that would make up for feta! ?

There is dairy free feta from a violife and you can order it online, as to the Gyro meat...I am curious, I am in the food industry and always passed over the gyro meat. I will go check the restaurant supply store next time and check they gyro meats to see how common it is to have gluten and what ingredients are there, I will get pictures if I can.
Pulled some info from the 3 main supplies of Gyro meat.

UPDATE, Pulled my online list from my supply company and searched the brands.

Midamar INGREDIENTS: Halal Beef, Halal Lamb, Water, Soy Protein Concentrate, Breadcrumbs (Bleached Wheat Flour, Sugar, Salt, Partially Hydrogonated Soybean and Cottonseed Oil, Yeast) Salt, Monosodium Glutamate, Dehydrated Onions, Spices and Flavorings.

Grecian Delight Foods a MAJOR supplier of cones and sliced meats that places can even source from costco
...ALL contain gluten https://greciandelight.com/foodservice/gyros-specialty-meats/gyrocones/

And Kronos is the other supplier selling them in portion packets, cooked, raw, and up to the 40lb cones.  You need to call them http://kronosfoodscorp.com/mediterranean/about-kronos/kronos-faqs/
http://kronosfoodscorp.com/mediterranean/products-and-brands/food-service-products/meats/authentic-gyrokones/