Middle East / Bread
Döner Kebab
Döner kebab (döner kebap in Turkish) literally means "rotating grilled meat" (any type of meat applies). They were first developed in Bursa. Authentic Turkish döner is made with bread, salad and meat from lamb; regardless, mostly beef or a mix of beef and lamb is used in Europe. Although frozen kebab is available at convenience stores, they don't match fresh home-made kebab and may not be consistent with your taste and spicing. This article has the recipe for a complete European-style pita kebab. In Azerbaijani it is pronounced as dönər.
Ingredients
- ground beef or other minced meat, 4 1/2 lb; other minced meat may be used2 kg
- chicken salt or seasoned salt11–12 tsp
- black pepper, adjust to taste6 tsp
- plain yogurt, 4/5–1 1/4 cups2–3 dl
- garlic, chopped1–3 clove
- salt1 pinch
- basil1 tsp
- black and/or white pepper1–1 1/2 tsp
- green, lemon, or red pepper, optional
- chile pepper or powder, optional
- cayenne pepper, optional
- tabasco sauce, optional
- tomato purée, 70 g / 2 1/2 oz1 can
- salt1/2–1 tsp
- white pepper1/2–1 1/2 tsp
- black pepper1/2–1 1/2 tsp
- basil1 tsp
- oregano1 pinch
- ketchup, adjust to taste
- pita bread
- salad, see notes
- rice
- chips / French fries
Quantities are auto-calculated from the original recipe as a guide. Items without numbers (e.g. “to taste”) are not changed.
Method 13 steps
Mix all the ingredients into a farce-like chunk.
Use a mixer or your hands to get air out of the chunk.
Optionally, make a hole in the chunk with a knife so that excess fat can drain out.
Wrap it tightly in aluminium foil, using more than 2 layers of foil to prevent rupture.
Put it into the oven and set the temperature to 100 °C (210 °F). Let it cook for 4 hours. Note that 4 hours applies even if you scale down the recipe. Let's say, if you want a 1 kg chunk (half of the original portion), you should not leave it for 2 hours; 4 hours apply for every size. The idea is that it gets cooked slowly.
When it is done, remove it from the oven, open the foil, and let it cool down. If you did everything correctly, you should be able to use a shredder or a knife to cut it in thin slices.
Combine all the ingredients for the sauce(s) you are making.
Mix well.
Sandwich-style: Slice the pita bread from the middle, then layer the salad, kebab, and dressings like you would do with a hamburger.
Reel-kebab: The roll wrap for a reel-kebab can be done using the same technique as for burritos (using pita bread).
Kebab pizza: Simply prepare a pizza and top it with kebab.
Kebab with rice: Fill roughly over a half of a plate with kebab, and the rest with cooked rice. Dress with ketchup or any of the sauce recipes mentioned in this article.
Kebab with chips: Same as kebab with rice except that the rice has been replaced by chips (a.k.a French fries).
