Donair

Ingredients

Meat

• 1 kglean minced beef
• 1 tbspplain flour
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspblack pepper
• 1 tspdried oregano
• 1 tsppaprika
• 1 tsponion powder
• 1 tspgarlic powder
• ½ tspcayenne

Sauce

• 397 gtin sweetened condensed milk
• 80 mlwhite vinegar
• 1 tspgarlic powder

To serve

• 4pita breads
• 1onion, diced
• 2tomatoes, diced

Directions

1. Put the beef, flour and all the spices into a mixer with a paddle, or a food processor, and work it for a full 5 minutes.
2. Work it until it is a smooth, sticky, almost pasty mass with no visible grain of mince left in it. This is not seasoned meatloaf: the protein has to break down so that it slices thin without crumbling.
3. Form it into a tight loaf, pressing out every pocket of air, and set it on a rack in a roasting tin.
4. Bake at 175°C (345°F) for 1 hour 15 minutes, until firm and cooked through.
5. Cool it completely and refrigerate, ideally overnight. Warm donair meat cannot be sliced thin and will simply tear.
6. For the sauce, whisk the condensed milk with the garlic powder, then add the vinegar a little at a time while whisking continuously.
7. Add the vinegar slowly. It thickens the condensed milk as it goes in, and poured in all at once it seizes into lumps that will not whisk out.
8. Chill the sauce for at least an hour, during which it thickens further.
9. Slice the cold meat as thinly as you can and fry the slices briefly in a hot dry pan until the edges crisp.
10. Warm the pita, pile in the meat, add the onion and tomato, and pour over a great deal of sauce.
11. Wrap it in foil and eat it over a sink, which is the only realistic advice anyone can give you.
12. It was created in Halifax in the early 1970s by Peter Gamoulakos, who reworked the gyro with beef and a sweet condensed-milk sauce, and it became the city’s official food in 2015.

Technique

• The sweet sauce is what makes it a donair rather than a gyro, and it startles everyone who meets it for the first time.
• Slice the meat cold and crisp it hot. Sliced warm it shreds and the texture is gone.
• The loaf freezes well sliced, which is how most Halifax kitchens hold it.

Substitutions

• Evaporated milk with sugar if you have no condensed milk, though it is thinner.
• Lamb mince, or half beef and half lamb, which is closer to the gyro it came from.

Variations

• Donair poutine, with the meat and sauce over chips and cheese curds.
• On a pizza, which is a genuine Halifax institution.
• Made with a mixture of hot sauce and donair sauce for those who find it too sweet.

History

Created in Halifax in the early 1970s by Peter Gamoulakos, who reworked the gyro with beef and a sweet condensed-milk sauce; the city’s official food since 2015.

Frequently asked questions

What is Donair?

Donair is a street food from Canada: halifax spiced beef in pita with sweet condensed-milk sauce. Created in Halifax in the early 1970s by Peter Gamoulakos, who reworked the gyro with beef and a sweet condensed-milk sauce; the city’s official food since 2015.

How long does Donair take to make?

Donair takes 20 min plus overnight chilling of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 wraps. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Donair?

Yes, within limits. Evaporated milk with sugar if you have no condensed milk, though it is thinner. Lamb mince, or half beef and half lamb, which is closer to the gyro it came from.

What is the most important thing to get right in Donair?

Wrap it in foil and eat it over a sink, which is the only realistic advice anyone can give you.