This is a homemade recipe for the mystery Doner kebab meat you see rotating on vertical rotisseries in kebab shops. It’s a miniature version but what it lacks in size is made up in flavour – and authenticity!! Use to stuff into beef or lamb Doner Kebabs OR Gyros.
Excellent large format food for gatherings – make ahead and economical! Also see Chicken Doner Kebabs.
How many times have you walked past a Doner kebab shop and glanced at those giant punching bag-sized kebab meats rotating round and round, and wondered how long has that meat been out for?? I wonder if it’s really meat, or 90% fillers??
Well wonder no more!! Shops might use fillers, but WE don’t need to!
Doner Kebab Meat recipe – beef or lamb
This homemade version of rotisserie Doner Kebab Meat can be made with either lamb or beef. While beef is a firm favourite here in Australia, in Turkey (the home of Doner Kebabs) they are made with both lamb and beef. Both are delicious, I couldn’t choose a favourite!
Though this is a miniature version of the giant ones you see in the shops and we’ve adapted the cooking method for home kitchens, the end result is so similar to the real deal it is going to amaze you!
Stand it upright, carve it up thinly and fry it up gently to get golden edges. Your house is going to smell like a kebab shop!
What is Doner Kebab meat made of?
Ahh, you’ve always wondered, haven’t you?? 🙂 Here’s what you need. Bacon* is the surprise secret ingredient for this homemade version – more on this below!
* Note: I’ve received many emails/messages questioning the inclusion of bacon in this recipe. I acknowledge 100% that this is a non-traditional addition you would obviously NEVER find in a Muslim country (because Muslims do not eat pork for religious reasons). It’s added for the extra fat, because home cooks cannot get meat fatty enough to get the desired result. Without bacon, you will be disappointed with the results, unless you hunt down extra fatty meat – I’ve provided directions in the recipe card.
Beef or lamb – get 15% fat for best results. If you inspect those kebab shop meats closely, you will see they are DRIPPING with fat!! Ours is not as fatty, but when we tried it with lean meat, it just wasn’t the same. Also remember, the flavour of meat is all in the fat. Mix lamb fat into lean beef, and you’d swear you’re eating lamb!
Streaky Bacon* – the secret ingredient, as discovered by Kenji at Serious Eats whose Gyros recipe we used as a base for ours. It doesn’t make the meat taste bacony, but it adds salt into the meat and most importantly, it adds fat. It is key, do not skip it! (Or if you do, do not complain if disappointed with the recipe outcome 😂)
NON-PORK SUBSTITUTES for bacon – two options to replicate the purpose of bacon in this recipe:
If your meat is already sufficiently fatty, use turkey bacon; OR
Add duck fat or goose fat + extra 100g/4 oz meat + 1/2 tsp salt.
Spices – a mix we figured out ourselves by sampling the meat from our favourite kebab shops; and
Onion and garlic – essential flavour base!
* Note on BACON and authenticity – As doner kebabs are mainly from Muslim countries, bacon might seem out of place given pork is not consumed for religious reasons. The reason it is included is to make this recipe accessible for home cooks. Traditional doner kebab meat is made with loads of animal fat. When you watch You Tube videos of the layered version of kebab meat, they thread a layer of meat (like chicken) then they literally COVER that layer with chopped fat then thread chicken on, and again fat. SO MUCH FAT! 😂 Using bacon is a shortcut method and more accessible to ordinary home cooks – my butcher doesn’t sell buckets of chopped fat!
How to make Doner Kebab meat
And the best part – how to make it! It is easy. Once you get your head around manhandling a giant block of meat!
In a nutshell, the meat is pureed in a food processor which transforms it into a “paste” which gives it the unique carvable meat texture (as opposed to, for example, Meatloaf where ground/mince beef is just shaped by hand and has a more “crumbly” texture).
Then roll it into a log shape using foil – this holds the shape while suspended over a pan using skewers (without it, the meat sags when raw) – then cook it in the oven. Whip off the foil at the end to brown it, stand it upright and carve!!
Carving and pan frying
The texture of the cooked meat is such that it can be carved thinly – just like in kebab shops!
Shave it quite thinly and once you’ve cut off as much as you want/need, pan fry it gently to get a blush of gold on it. This is a magic touch that really transforms the meat because once you carve off the outer browned layer, the meat inside is just pink. It’s the same special finishing touch we do with Mexican Carnitas!
And here’s a close up of the Doner Kebab Meat being pan fried. Just lightly pan fried, not to crisp it, just to get a hint of gold on it like they do in Kebab Shops to freshen up the meat.
It only takes a minute or so because it’s so thin.
Doner Kebabs
And here is a big fat juicy Doner Kebab! Wildly popular here in Australia, particularly after a late night out at the pub with mates!
Made with Lebanese bread or other thin flatbreads, smeared with hummus, topped with Doner Kebab Meat, lettuce, tomato, onion and sauces such as yogurt, garlic and chilli sauce. Optional extras include cheese (which I think is a blasphemy!) and tabbouleh.
Imagine it over CHARCOAL!!
I’ve had to make do with a boring old oven to cook this. I would LOVE to to make this over charcoal one day! Imagine it on a spit, rotating slowly over hot coals….that smokey flavour would be to die for!
One day, one day…
Doner Kebab vs Gyros vs Shawarma
Gyro, shawarma and doner kebab all have the same meaning. Those words all translate to “turning” or “rotating meat” and they refer to the rotisserie cooking technique.
Which word is used depends which part of the Mediterranean or Middle East you’re in. Gyros is Greek. Shawarma is Israel and Arab countries (spicing is much stronger). Doner Kebab is what they call it in Turkey.
While there are of course some differences in the finished dish (type of flatbread, sauces used) and the seasonings used for the meat, they are similar in spirit!
As for what animal meat it is, it varies. Chicken, beef, lamb and pork are all used to varying degrees, depending on the country. Also whether it’s layered (like in Chicken Doner Kebab) or smooth meat style (which is what I’m sharing today) also varies depending where you are.
One thing’s for sure. I’m yet to meet a Doner Kebab/Gyros or Shawarma that I haven’t loved!
Recipes I’ve shared
Here in Australia, Doner Kebabs is common though you will find Gyros in ethnic areas. In America, it’s the other way round – Gyros is the common version. Harder to find Doner Kebabs!
Nowadays, you’ll find both all around the world. Last year, I had some amazing Doner Kebabs in the heart of Paris of all places!
Here are Gyros/Shawarma/Doner Kebab recipes I’ve previously shared:
Excellent large format food to make ahead
Two more big things this homemade Doner Kebab Meat has going for it:
Excellent for making ahead – it stays 100% fresh because the meat is so juicy (ahem! Fatty…… 😇). Cook the log through, cool, fridge or freeze, then reheat in the oven; and
Excellent for feeding a crowd – this makes lots! 1 kg / 2lb probably serves 8 people – shaved meat goes further. Maybe 6 if you stuff very generously. Fry the slices on a BBQ so you can cook lots at the same time, though you can also just pan fry it a bit in advance then reheat in the microwave (I did this, and it worked perfectly).
And if that’s not enough to convince you to make this, then just do it to get a kick out of how it is a dead set replica of the kebab shop meat. Or your favourite gyros cart. Depending on where you live! – Nagi x
PS I honestly cannot stress enough how your house is going to smell just like your local neighbourhood kebab shop!!
Watch how to make it
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Homemade Rotisserie Doner Kebab Meat – beef or lamb!
Ingredients
- 1 kg / 2 lb lamb or beef mince (ground meat) , preferably 15% fat (Note 1)
- 200g / 7oz streaky bacon , roughly diced (Note 2)
- 1 onion , diced (brown, yellow, white)
- 2 clove garlic , roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil or olive oil (for frying)
Seasoning Spices:
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 3 tsp salt , kosher/cooking salt (Note 3)
- 1 tsp black pepper
Doner Kebabs:
- 8 flatbreads (Lebanese bread authentic!)
- 1 iceberg lettuce , finely shredded
- 6 tomatoes , halved and sliced
- 2 red onions , finely sliced
- Hummus
- Yogurt sauce , optional (recipe Note 8)
- More Sauce options: chilli sauce/Sriracha (I use this), BBQ, sweet chilli, tomato sauce/ketchup
- Extra options: tabbouleh, shredded cheese
Instructions
Marinate Meat:
- Mix beef or lamb with all the Spices – mix well using your hands.
- Cover and refrigerate 2 hours minimum, or up to 24 hours.
Preparation:
- 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)
Puree Meat:
- 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)
Shape Doner Kebab Meat:
- 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)
Cooking:
- 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.
Shaving / pan frying (kebab shop style!):
- 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!
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!
Recipe Notes:
- Get good quality 20% fat meat, get an extra 200g/6oz meat and add and extra 1/2 teaspoon salt. Best quality you can afford ie cheapest fattiest meat at the grocery store doesn’t taste as good as high fat mince from the butcher;
- Get 20% fat meat and use turkey bacon instead of pork bacon; or
- duck fat or goose fat + extra 100g/4 oz meat + 1/2 tsp salt. Use 100g/4oz duck fat, unmelted straight from jar, mix it into the meat. Duck fat provides the fattiness that bacon provides tainting the meat with duck flavour (most other animal fat tastes like that animal, whereas duck fat tastes “clean” hence why they are so good for the famous Duck Fat Potatoes).
2 cups (500g) Greek yoghurt
2 garlic cloves, minced using garlic mincer or finely grated
1 tsp cumin (optional)
2 – 3 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper 9. Uncooked meat – if you don’t have an meat thermometer and you carve away and find the inside is a bit undercooked, don’t worry, the thin slices cook in a flash on the stove! 10. Storage – keeps exceptionally well due to the high fat content! Options:
- Cook log but don’t brown. Cool in foil, then unwrap and cling wrap (don’t leave in foil). Refrigerate up to 5 days OR freeze. On day of, thaw, wrap in foil and reheat in oven (temp per recipe) until heated through (insert knife to check), about 20 minutes. Then unwrap and brown then use per recipe.
- Use some now, save some for later – either store uncarved log or carved meat (not pan fried). Then pan fry fresh just before using.
- Freezing – cooked log or carved meat can be frozen for 3 months. Thaw then pan fry before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Same expression whether he’s gagging over a giant hunk of Doner Kebab meat or panting from exertion at the park….
Hello from Wales!
Knew this recipe had to be tried to believe the comments. It was mind blowingly good. To feed 4, 3 of those hungry boys it cost a quarter than if we’d ordered out. We’re inundated with grills and kebab shops around here so we’ve had a few. I followed the recipe except for using all lamb mince.
I used authentic Lebanese bread to serve, with home made punchy garlic rough And ready mayo, greek feta salad, patatas bravas and roast garlic and lemon aoli. So, so good and 4 very happy tummies afterwards. Beautiful authentic flavour, juicy and didn’t seem fatty like some doner meat. Thankyou for sharing, looking forward to making again. And again…
im going to do this for christmas , but mix lamb and beef mince together
This is fantastic. Husband has declared it the best kebab he has ever had, kids cleared their plates. It was so tasty, not greasy, and every last bite was eaten. Making it again this week!
HAS ANYONE TRIED THIS IN A LOAF LIKE SPAM?
Hi Mary – Yes. It absolutely works in a loaf too. You can really do it in any shape you want. But I’d keep it flattish and not too high so it cooks through quickly before the outside gets a chance to start drying out.
I made this tonight and we all loved it I will for sure be making this again
Wow!!! Finally a Doner meat recipe that is fantastic! This was so good and definitely one to keep. Thank you!!!
This was sooooo good, I used the food processor for the onions & garlic (added parsley & mint too) and then paddled the hell out of that mixed with the meat in my KitchenAid. Turned out excellent!
I just made this today. The flavor was delicious but a bit too salty for our preferences. I will be following this recipe again in the future though and plan on decreasing the salt. Thank you for this recipe!
after 20 years away from England my donor cravings got too much… and as no-one here sells it I followed this recipe and made it myself.
texture is great, slices perfectly, colours beautifully in the pan. Next time I’ll double the spices, the blend is good but a bit underdone at these levels. But overall- its great!
Recipe came out amazing. Making good complimentary saffron rice is key IMO. Just regular plain rice isn’t the same with doner.
I used lamb 15% fat with the bacon. I was super skeptical using bacon as I love Authentic Doner and I wanted that taste. You were completely on point that the bacon DOES NOT change the taste profile. The taste was amazing. Wife and son loved it. (Wife couldn’t tell there was anything but lamb)
Sham on this this is not your recipe Infact is the first one to get viral on YouTu that come up with the idea of the blend and bake shame and block this comments but at least give ctedits
Umm, look at Recipe Note 11.
Shame on this this is not your recipe Infact is the first one to get viral on YouTube that come up with the idea of the blend and bake shame and block this comments but at least give ctedits
Some posters have problems with crumbling texture. It might be due to high temperature.
Fat breaks down at higher temperature. Rule of thumb, always keep your mince as cold as possible.
So it’s no secret, but we use phosphates, to give the meat that special texture and juiciness. I use a readily available brand in Thailand, Lobo. One small package goes a long way.
Your recipe is fine. I use a simple sous vide rice cooker set up, too pre cook stuff like this, I save energy, and follow scientific times and temperatures. Food safety.
So check out Douglas Baldwin, if you want to go down that road. He is the authority on sous vide food safety. He will turn your world up side down, without the hype.
Made this was amazing twice once in the rotisserie in the air fryer and you are right i cooked it on the coals my second time and it was amazing thanks for such an easy flavorful recipe
Hi Tania,
Did you have the meat wrapped in foil when you cooked it over coals? If not was there a particular method?
Cheers,
Brendan.
Hi Brendan
My method was to wrap it in the foil as it was in the fridge overnight then put it in the rotisserie air fryer for 35 minutes then took the foil off when i put it on the coals so flavours could go through the meat.
Hi Tania. Just wondering, about the first time you made it in the air fryer. Did you only need to cook it in the foil for 35 mins in the air fryer (as opposed to 1.5 hours in the oven) then, after removing the foil, a further 10 mins in the air fryer again to brown?
Thanks!
Hi Kim
No i cooked the whole time in the airfryer and it was for the 1.5 hours and then did the 10 minutes without the foil for it to brown
Cheers for the reply Tania, greatly appreciated. Don’t have an air fryer but think I’ll whack it on the oven before transferring.
Thanks again!
That will the job too brendan i put it on about 170°c fan forced. So it would do the same job good luck let me know how you go.
Made this for dinner tonight and it turned out amazing. Yum!
Definitely adding this recipe to the rotation.
Having the same issue using 20%beef and a food processor. Just comes out horribly dry. Maybe overprocessing because the meat doesn’t form a loaf – more like a paste when blended with the onion and bacon
Hi Geoffrey – Sorry to hear you had trouble. There are two steps that are critical to the meat’s correct texture. (1) Resting the meat sufficiently after adding the seasoning – This allows the salt enough time to alter the meat proteins so they bind better (2) Processing the meat enough so it becomes a paste – A smooth paste makes the meat stick to itself so it won’t crumble. If you do these two things it should definitely work! I cannot think why otherwise it’d come out crumbly. – Nx
I LOVE this recipe! I made it today and followed the recipe exactly with the exception of the meats. I used 1 lb of beef and 1.3 lbs of pork because I’m fond of eating the Greek Gyros which are made with pork only. That said, it turned out delish! I must say I was surprised by the addition of cinnamon and I loved the smell it imparted while cooking. Was happy to have it sit way in the background too. Next time I make it, I thinking I will up the amount of oregano and garlic, possibly add a couple of tsp of paprika as well since mine didn’t have the pretty pinkish color seen above.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe! Looking forward to treating the family at our next beach trip in 2022.
It keeps coming out crumbly!! Any advice? I’m using beef with 20% fat and 200g bacon.
Hi Nagi thank you for another delicious recipe that is packed full of flavour and easy to make, the Chilli sauce definitely takes it to another level, The whole family loved it and requested this recipe be added to the monthly rotation.
Hi Bob, sorry you’re having issues here – when you say crumbly, does it look dry or is it the texture? Are you placing it into a food processor? N x
Yeah it’s dry and crumbly. I make it at my bar in Nicaragua and never have any complaints, but it’s not coming out like real doner meat. the store bought bacon isn’t great here. I’m going to try it again with proper streaky bacon from the butcher and let the meat rest overnight instead on just the 2 hours and hopefully the proteins will break down more
I was sceptical but this really is just like UK kebab shop doner meat! So tasty. I used a lamb & beef mix. We enjoyed ours with garlic sauce, pitta & salad. Yummy!
I was sceptical but this really is just like UK kebab shop doner meat! So tasty. We enjoyed ours with garlic sauce, pitta & salad. Yummy!