Döner kebab

Ingredients

Meat

• 1 kglamb shoulder or beef, in thin slices
• 200 gminced lamb, to bind
• 1onion, grated and squeezed
• 4 clovesgarlic
• 200 gyoghurt
• 1 tbsppaprika
• 1 tspcumin
• 1 tsporegano
• 1 tspblack pepper
• 2 tspsalt
• 2 tbspoil

Bread

• 4 piecesof fladenbrot, Turkish flatbread, or pide

Salad

• shredded white and red cabbage
• lettuce
• sliced tomato
• cucumber
• sliced onion
• sometimes sliced carrot

Sauces

• garlic yoghurt sauce
• herb sauce, kräutersoße
• chilli sauce, scharf

To serve

• wrapped in paper, eaten standing up

Directions

1. Layer thinly sliced marinated meat in a loaf tin, packed tightly, then roast it slowly. Press each layer down hard as you build it. Pack it as tightly as you possibly can, since air gaps make the block fall apart when sliced. Line the tin and press a weight on top.
2. Roast at 150°C for about an hour and a half, until cooked through. A low slow roast is what keeps it moist, and a hot oven dries the outside before the middle cooks.
3. Let it cool completely, and chill it if you can. A cold block slices thinly and cleanly, where a warm one crumbles. Slice it as thinly as possible with a sharp knife. Thin slices are what döner is, and thick chunks give a quite different thing.
4. Fry the slices in a very hot dry pan for a minute until the edges char. Squeeze the grated onion dry before adding it, since onion water slackens the mixture.
5. Marinate the meat overnight if you can. German döner uses fladenbrot, a thick flat sesame-topped bread, cut into a triangle and split into a pocket.
6. Crush the garlic to a paste with salt rather than chopping it, which distributes it evenly. Warm the bread, cut it open, and spread sauce inside the pocket first. Putting salad below the meat keeps the bread from going soggy.
7. Wrap it in paper and eat it immediately, standing up. Dürüm is the same filling rolled in a thin lavash wrap rather than in bread.

Technique

• Turkish guest workers created the Berlin sandwich version in the early 1970s.
• Kadir Nurman is most often credited, though others claim it too.
• Chill the roasted block before slicing, and crisp the slices in a hot pan.

Substitutions

• Chicken in place of lamb, which is very common in Germany.
• Any thick flatbread in place of fladenbrot.

Variations

• Dürüm, rolled in a thin lavash wrap.
• Döner Teller, served on a plate with chips.
• Made with chicken, as Hähnchendöner.

History

Turkish guest workers created the Berlin bread-pocket version in the early 1970s; Kadir Nurman is among those credited with selling it from 1972.

Frequently asked questions

What is Döner kebab?

Döner kebab is a street food from Germany: spit-roasted meat in flatbread with salad; Berlin’s Turkish-German staple. Turkish guest workers created the Berlin bread-pocket version in the early 1970s; Kadir Nurman is among those credited with selling it from 1972.

How long does Döner kebab take to make?

Döner kebab takes 40 min plus overnight marinating of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 4 sandwiches. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Döner kebab?

Yes, within limits. Chicken in place of lamb, which is very common in Germany. Any thick flatbread in place of fladenbrot.

What is the most important thing to get right in Döner kebab?

Crush the garlic to a paste with salt rather than chopping it, which distributes it evenly. Warm the bread, cut it open, and spread sauce inside the pocket first. Putting salad below the meat keeps the bread from going soggy.