Gyro, Shawarma, Doner Kebab
Gyro, Shawurma, Döner Kebabi
Region: Greece
Category: Breads (Sandwiches, Panini etc)
Season: Any
Difficulty: Easy but special equipment needed and long cooking and/or non-working time

The Arabs, Turks, and Greeks all make a variation on the same theme of the vertical rotissing of seasoned meat. The Turks call it döner kebabı, the Greeks gyro (pronounced YEE-ro), and the Arabs shāwurma. It is said that the döner kebabı was born in the Anatolian town of Bursa. 

The first time I had döner kebabı was in Istanbul in 1971, and I remember eating them every chance I had. A few weeks later I found myself in Athens where I had the Greek version imported to Greece in the 1920s during the Greek and Turkish frenzy of ethnic “cleansing” that saw Greek and Cretan Muslims transferred in a population exchange with Turkey’s Greek population. In Greece, a gyro is made with slices of meat rather than ground patties. Several years later I had the Arab shāwurma in Amman, Jordan, made with slices from ground meat, but it was quite different from both the Greek and Turkish ones. Far to the East the Armenians make theirs, called karski shashlik, found in the Armenian city of Kars in northeastern Turkey. It is marinated in lemon juice, onions, parsley, and dill.

In Turkey, döner kebabı are served either plain or stuffed with onions into ekmek, Turkish-style French bread. In Istanbul the döner kebabı is a highly specialized kind of street food with purists declaring certain strict rules about its preparation. Although it’s quite common to see electric rotisseries, many feel the hardwood charcoal rotisseries with their vertical shelves for charcoal are the best way to cook the meat. The meat itself is varied with a combination of the best cuts, for instance, a mixture of top sirloin, loin, and shoulder. These cuts are not necessarily ground but rather pounded very thin, layered, seasoned, and skewered. Then they’re pressed very tightly together from both sides. This is called yaprak döner or leaf döner because the slices of meat are as thin as a leaf, and it is always served over a bed of plain rice pilaf. There are special cooks who make yaprak döner and can be hired for parties.

Under the name shāwurma the döner kebabı is found in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Palestine served rolled up in a thin half loaf of Arabic flatbread with onions, tomatoes, and perhaps a tahini-based sauce, or in Syria with pickled turnip slices and liyya, melted lamb fat.

Contrary to the fact that IÂ’m providing a recipe, this preparation is never made at home in the Middle East, mostly because it is considered street food and requires special equipment. I improvised with the horizontal rotisserie attachment to my grill which is nearly as good. This particular recipe using ground lamb is closer to the Greek-American gyro. In this recipe I also provide a Greek tzatziki salad for an accompaniment.

[photo: Ghalia al-Azmeh]

Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings
Preparation Time: 2 days in all

2 3/4 pounds ground lamb

3 slices Italian bread with crust, toasted and crumbled

2 teaspoons freshly ground coriander seed

1 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground allspice berries

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 1/4 teaspoons dried summer savory

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Twelve thin 2-inch squares of lamb fat (best off the leg)

Extra virgin olive oil for brushing

10 pide bread

1 recipe tzatziki sauce (see Note)

Sliced ripe tomatoes for garnish

1. In a large bowl, knead together the lamb, bread, coriander, allspice, garlic, onion, savory, salt and pepper with your hands. The mixture should be sticky and thick and very well blended.

2. Keeping your hands wet so the meat doesn't stick, make twelve balls of equal size from the meat mixture. Flatten each ball into a hamburger patty. Put one on top of the other, each separated by a thin square of lamb fat. When you are finished, the patty tower should be about 10 inches high. Press down. Holding the top of the meat, tip the pile onto its side. Roll gently until so that the meat is a smooth cylinder. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

3. Prepare a low charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill on low for 20 minutes.

4. Push the spit of the rotisserie attachment to your grill through the center of the meat. Affix the spit-roasting attachment to your grill and set the spit over a drip pan to catch the fat. As the rotisserie turns, the outside will become crusty, about 30 minutes. With a slicing knife or serrated bread knife slice off sections of crusty meat onto a platter. Let the remaining meat continue to cook, turning continuously with the electric rotisserie or very often if turning by hand.

5. Brush one side of the pide breads very lightly with some olive oil and warm them on or near the grill until they are soft. Lay some sliced meat in the center of the oiled sides of pide bread; spread 2 to 3 tablespoons of tzatziki and a few tomatoes on top. Roll up and serve. Continue in this manner with the remaining gyro.

Note:  To make tzatziki, blend together 2 cups high-quality full-fat plain yogurt with 1/4 to 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (use the lesser amount of oil if the yogurt is not thick), 1 small peeled, seeded, and grated cucumber with its water squeezed out, 3 to 5 garlic cloves mashed with 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill.

Posted: 10/19/2007