Doner shop in Instanbul
source Wiki Commons
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Good Morning Motlies - and today we are back talking about food.
As many of you know, I live in Germany where the national dish is not schnitzel or sauerbraten but is probably Doner kebab. I was once at the 24 hours Spa Francorchamps bike race, and the local hard case biker gang said as they left "As soon as I get back I need to eat a good German doner"
Doner Kebab, also known as Shawarma in Muslim countries, or Gyros in Greece, or Durum in Belgium, is basically pressed meat mounted on a vertical spit which rotates before a heat source. Traditionally this would have been hot coals, but is now more commonly gas fired. The Doner Kebab originated in Turkey, and was originally made with lamb. Unsurprisingly it migrated to the mid East via Lebanon and Syria, and was renamed Shawarma. As emigration became more common, the doner expanded its foorprint across the world. Germany with its Turkish "Guest Workers" is probably the biggest market with sales estimated at over $3 billion per year. The UK was introduced to Doners by Turkish Cypriot immigrants.
Over time, a variation based on chicken evolved, and now most kebab shops have two spits, one with chicken the other with..........?
Which is where this becomes interesting. Different countries have evolved different meats and different breads to create their Doners. Here in Germany, the standard Doner is pressed veal served in a quarter Turkish flat bread, while in the UK it would be lamb served in a pitta bread. In Mexico there is even a pork version, which would not go down well in Kuwait. Almost invariably served with a helping of salad and a sauce, it is a complete food - like for example Cornish Pasties.
Most Kebab shops offer other dishes such as grilled sausage on a skewer (cevapici), spiced with herbs, or small chunks of meat (Souvlaki in Greek )also grilled on a skewer. These will be served in the same way - either a bread pocket or on a plate. I remember travelling from Athens to Salzburg on a train in 1973, which took almost 48 hours, and surviving on Souvlaki cooked over a charcoal grill on the train - those were the days.
Souvlaki platter - source Wkik Commons
So if you feel like making your own ( and you have the equipment) here is recipe video.