German Gyros Or Döner Kebab Recipes

HOMEMADE ROTISSERIE DONER KEBAB MEAT - BEEF OR LAMB!

Steps:

• Mix beef or lamb with all the Spices - mix well using your hands.
• Cover and refrigerate 2 hours minimum, or up to 24 hours.
• Preheat oven to 170°C/ 325°F (150°C fan).
• Line baking pan with foil.
• Check to ensure skewers are long enough to prop on the sides of the pan. (Note 5)
• Place onion, bacon and garlic in a 8 cup/2L+ food processor. Blitz until it becomes a paste (video at 29 sec),~30 sec on high, scraping down sides as you go.
• Add meat and blitz on low until it becomes a paste (video at 42 sec), scraping down sides (~1 min for powerful food processors, 2 min for less powerful). (Note 4)
• Turn meat out onto work surface. Wet hands with water, then shape into an even block 20cm/8" long.
• Place 2 x 60cm / 2 feet long pieces of foil overlapping each other by 1/3. (Note 6)
• Place meat on the end of the foil, then roll it up, tightly wrapping it in the foil.
• Twist the ends firmly to form a log 25cm/10" long, then snip off excess foil. Roll into even log.
• Thread skewers through the log.
• Place log elevated in pan by propping skewers on the edge of the pan. (Note 7)
• Cook for 1 1/2 hours, turning once after 1 hour, until the log reaches 70°C/160°F (up to 80°C/175°F is fine). The log is cooked at this point. (Note 9)
• Remove foil from log but leave skewers in place.
• Increase oven heat to 250°C/480°F, or as high as your oven can go if it can't reach this.
• Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, rotating once, until browned all over.
• Remove skewers then stand the meat upright.
• Shave meat thinly - carve as much as you intend to use.
• Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Cook shaved meat lightly coloured but still "floppy" (not crisped). Use immediately for Doner Kebabs!
• Smear hummus on warmed flatbread. Top with lettuce, tomato, and onion.
• Pile on Doner Kebab Meat. Drizzle with sauce(s) of choice.
• Roll up tightly, wrap in foil if desired (to hold together). Grab and devour!

THE HIRSHON BERLIN-STYLE DöNER KEBAB SANDWICH

Steps:

• To make the red scharf sauce:
• Clean the peppers by cutting off stems and de-seed them. Cut into pieces and cook them in one cup of water until soft. Blend the mixture (straining optional) with an immersion blender or food processor and add vinegar, plus salt & sugar to taste.
• To make the pide bread:
• Combine yeast, sugar and 2 T of the water in a small bowl, and stir until yeast dissolves. Set aside in a warm place for 10 minutes or until frothy.
• In a large bowl, sift flour and salt together. If you don't have a flour sifter, you can just whisk them together.
• Make a well in the center of the flour and salt, and add the rest of the water, the oil, the yogurt, and the yeast mixture that you set aside.
• Stir together with a wooden spoon until combined, then use your hands to bring the dough together in the bowl.
• Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead it for 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic.
• Lightly grease the inside of a large bowl with oil, then place the dough in the bowl and turn it to coat it with oil.
• Cover with a towel or plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm place for 2 hours (or until dough has doubled in size).
• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Punch down the center of the dough with your fist. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes or until dough has returned to its original size. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions, and shape each portion into 7 inch by 12 inch rectangle.
• Place on 2 non-stick baking trays (or 2 cookie sheets that have been sprayed with cooking spray) and press with fingers to indent surface. Brush with egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
• Loosely cover the dough with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rest for 20 minutes or until dough has risen half an inch or an inch.
• Shape the dough into rectangles (or as close as you can get), then cover with plastic wrap and let rise a bit longer.
• Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the base. I baked it for 7 minutes, then swapped the cookie sheets on the racks, then cooked it for another 7 minutes. I then lowered the oven temperature down to 350° to prep for the meat, and put the bread back in for 3-5 minutes.
• Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
• After baking, sprinkle with some water, then cover with a clean kitchen towel until cooled down (it will help the loaf stay soft).
• To make the Döner meat:
• Cut the meat into 2cm squares, and pass the meat through a meat grinder using the coarse plate. Combine with remaining ingredients using a rubber spatula, spread on a baking sheet and place in the freezer until cold but not frozen.
• Pass the cold mix through the mincer again, this time on the finest plate, then form into patties. Line any clean 1lb can with two layers of clingfilm, then layer in the patties, squeezing them down to remove air gaps.
• Fold over the top edges of the cling film to seal, place the tin in a bain marie of boiling water and cook in the oven at a gentle 150C, until the temperature at the centre is 75C. Then allow to rest for at least 15 minutes before removing from the tin.
• Scorch the surface with a kitchen blowtorch before slicing vertically. A fork thrust into the top will stabilise the whole operation.
• For one sandwich, cut open ¼ of the pide bread to the outer edge, but not all the way through (warm for a couple of minutes on a panini grill if you have one), then open the 'pocket'.
• Start by adding some white sauce on the bottom half, then the meat, then cucumber/cabbage, lettuce, tomato, onion, mint, and feta cheese. Put a bit of the red spicy sauce over it and enjoy.

GERMAN GYROS (OR DöNER KEBAB)

Steps:

• Slice the meat into very thin slices, about 4-5 cm/ 1.5-2 inches long, and place them in a large, non-reactive bowl.
• Marinate: Add all the spices. Grate the garlic cloves and slice the onion into thin half-rings. Add them to the meat together with the lemon juice and olive oil. Do not add any salt at this stage, salt the meat after cooking it. Mix well and place the bowl in the fridge. Leave the meat to marinate for at least 1 hour, but preferably for several hours.
• Roughly grate the cucumber (large side of the box grater). Place in a colander, sprinkle with a tablespoon of salt and leave to drain for about 30 minutes. Place in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze as much water out of it as you can.Mix the cucumber, yogurt, lemon juice, grated garlic cloves and finely chopped dill in a bowl. Adjust the taste with salt and pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius/ 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Cook meat: Heat a large cast-iron skillet or non-stick pan and cook the meat on high heat until browned and cooked through, about 2-3 minutes, but check. Salt the meat to taste. Don't overcrowd the pan, if it is too small, it is preferable to fry the meat in two batches.
• Heat bread: In the meantime, place the flatbread in the hot oven and heat for about 2-3 minutes until heated through and lightly crisp on top. Take it out and quarter it. Cut each piece horizontally (don't cut through) to obtain a pocket.
• Cabbage: Finely slice the red cabbage and place it in a bowl. Add some salt and knead the cabbage for a minute or so to soften it. Add the olive oil, some pepper, and more salt, if necessary. Mix well.
• Slice the onions and tomatoes.Smear the inside of the bread with some tzatziki, add some onion and tomato slices, some shredded red cabbage, and the meat. Serve with more tzatziki and vegetables on the side.

BEST HOMEMADE DONER KEBAB WITH CHICKEN (TAVUK DöNER)

Steps:

• Make the marinade: In a large mixing bowl, add the yogurt, tomato paste, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, and spices. Mix well to combine.
• Season the chicken: Pat the chicken dry and season well with kosher salt and black pepper on each side.
• Marinate: Add the chicken to the marinade and toss to make sure each piece is well-coated with the marinade. If you have the time, I highly recommend you cover and refrigerate the chicken for 3 hours or up to overnight. Otherwise, allow the chicken to sit in the marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes or so while you prepare the fixings/sides and heat up the grill (or your oven). (You'll get better results of you let the chicken marinate longer).
• Skewer the chicken: Divide the chicken thighs into two piles. Using a set of 2 to 3 metal skewers at a time, thread the first pile chicken thighs through, and push them snug against each other. (It helps to prop the skewers on the edges of a pan or a bowl. And if your chicken thighs are too large, you can fold them each in half and thread them through). Repeat with another set of 2 to 3 skewers to thread the second pile of chicken on.
• To cook on the grill: Heat the grill to 400 degrees F (for my grill, this would me medium-high heat). Arrange the kebabs on grates and close the grill. Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes on one side until nicely charred, then turn over and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the middle (a total of 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken thighs).
• To cook in the oven: Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Using a large pan with edges or walls, arrange the kebabs on top of the pan such that the metal skewers are resting on the edges (or walls of the pan) with some room between the chicken and the bottom of the pan. Put the pan on the middle rack of your heated oven. Roast for about 30 to 35 minutes until the surface is golden brown and charred in some parts. Remove the pan from the oven and carefully turn the skewers over, brush the top of chicken with the pan juices and return the pan to the oven for another 20 minutes (longer if you have larger pieces). You'll cook the kebabs in the oven for anywhere between 50 minutes to 1 hour or until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the middle.
• Rest: Remove the chicken off the heat and allow it to rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Carve or shave the chicken off the skewers: Prop the skewers upright on a slight angle. Using a sharp knife (held in your dominant hand), slice the meat thinly from top to bottom or however you're able to do it safely.
• Serve in pita wraps or plates. For more traditional doner kebabs, use a loaf of pita bread to wrap some of the chicken in, adding your sauce and sliced vegetables (or one of the salads listed above). Alternatively, you can serve kebab plates by arranging the chicken next to (or over) a bed of Middle Eastern rice with your salad and sauce to the side.

DONER KEBAB

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Tip all the ingredients except the oil into a food processor with a large pinch of salt and lots of ground pepper. Pulse until everything is combined and chopped together. You can also just squish everything together in a bowl but this will give you a looser finish.
• Oil a large sheet of foil, tip the meat mix in the middle and mould to a very thick sausage, roughly the shape of an aubergine. Roll up the foil tightly, twisting up the ends to create a Christmas cracker shape.
• Lay on a shallow roasting tin and roast in the oven for 35-40 mins, turning occasionally, or until a digital cooking thermometer reads 75C when pierced in the middle. Leave the kebab to cool a little, then unwrap the foil. Place back on the tray and brown under the grill or with a blowtorch.
• Place on a board and carve into thin slices. For full doner mode, you can hold the kebab up with a roasting fork or metal skewer and carve. Serve with warm pitta bread and any of the other accompaniments, including our chilli sauce and garlic yogurt sauce.