nur zwiebeln bitte
February 4, 2006 4:30 PM Subscribe
I am in love with the way they make doener kebabs in Berlin. However, now that I'm living in a much less civilized city (Washington, DC), all I can find are authentic Turkish kebabs. While these are excellent, they're just not the same! Help me figure out how to make them just like they do in Germany.
I like the sauces they put on them, but I think that'd be easy enough to imitate. There's something they do to the meat, possibly having to do with a) spices or b) that big spinny thing. I bought some "shawarma spices" from a middle eastern supermarket the other day, so what should I do now? How can I emulate that style of roasting with only standard kitchen appliances?
I like the sauces they put on them, but I think that'd be easy enough to imitate. There's something they do to the meat, possibly having to do with a) spices or b) that big spinny thing. I bought some "shawarma spices" from a middle eastern supermarket the other day, so what should I do now? How can I emulate that style of roasting with only standard kitchen appliances?
Best of luck to you - the roasting spit, I believe, is a real key to the process; without it I don't think your beef/lamb combination will come out tasting the same at all... Since you're in D.C., have you been to Adams Morgan and walked up and down the streets looking for a middle eastern place? Or, failing that, go to the Lebanese Taverna and get the schawerma there, it was the best I ever had.
posted by jonson at 4:54 PM on February 4, 2006
posted by jonson at 4:54 PM on February 4, 2006
If you look in the back of Hurriyet, they're always selling used doner spits! Sometimes even with a whole restaurant/Imbiß attached, often in Berlin or the Netherlands.
posted by baklavabaklava at 5:02 PM on February 4, 2006
posted by baklavabaklava at 5:02 PM on February 4, 2006
when i moved to the area i now live in i got super-excited by all of the signs touting kebabs, they had been my favorite food when i was in europe for a few weeks. when i found out all of the kebabs that exist over here are the meat-on-a-non-spinning-stick ones, though, i almost jumped off of several bridges. if this question gets answered i'll be the happiest boy in america.
posted by soma lkzx at 5:07 PM on February 4, 2006
posted by soma lkzx at 5:07 PM on February 4, 2006
Thank you, boringchikapa.
I and a friend stole this ad from a kebab shop in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, when we were at Uni, and I've been looking for somewhere prominent to post it every since.
In answer to your question, the upright spit sort of lamb or chicken kebab is also commonly found pretty much everywhere here in the UK. Dirty and delicious, served in a pitta with chilli sauce or garlic, and a very sad carrot and lettuce salad. But when it's three in the morning, and you're wasted and hungry, there is nothing better in the world.
posted by armoured-ant at 5:17 PM on February 4, 2006
It looks like shwarma to me. You can get it at Turkish places and those kebab/falafel/pita shops.
posted by leapingsheep at 5:17 PM on February 4, 2006
posted by leapingsheep at 5:17 PM on February 4, 2006
I notice here in Australia that Kebab is the same thing as Gyros in the US. And Kebab in the US is skewered meat and vegetables. Have no idea what a kebab is called here.
Also, just to note, Pita bread is called Pide and it is more like a long flat loaf of Thomas' English Muffin bread than a round flat hollow sandwich bread I knew so well in the States. Pide (pronounced PEE-da) is also called Turkish bread here. Don't know if you can get the hollow round bread here or not, as I haven't come across it. The Pide is so good, it's really not worth getting the other stuff anyway.
posted by qwip at 9:03 PM on February 4, 2006
Also, just to note, Pita bread is called Pide and it is more like a long flat loaf of Thomas' English Muffin bread than a round flat hollow sandwich bread I knew so well in the States. Pide (pronounced PEE-da) is also called Turkish bread here. Don't know if you can get the hollow round bread here or not, as I haven't come across it. The Pide is so good, it's really not worth getting the other stuff anyway.
posted by qwip at 9:03 PM on February 4, 2006
I don't know from doener kebabs, but that sure looks like a close cousin to a Gryos to me. The Marathon Deli in College Park, Maryland, about 30 non-rush-hour minutes from downtown DC, makes a damn fine one.
posted by mojohand at 9:11 PM on February 4, 2006
posted by mojohand at 9:11 PM on February 4, 2006
I'm half-Lebanese and I've eaten the German Doener Kebab before, which I've never encountered in the US.
The principle difference is that it's served on a Kaiser style roll instead of in pita bread, and there's a little more spicing, no tahini Some yogurt if I remember correctly, but not sure.
Your best bets are Turkish grub, or a kebab place and bring your own Kaiser roll :)
posted by onalark at 9:56 PM on February 4, 2006
The principle difference is that it's served on a Kaiser style roll instead of in pita bread, and there's a little more spicing, no tahini Some yogurt if I remember correctly, but not sure.
Your best bets are Turkish grub, or a kebab place and bring your own Kaiser roll :)
posted by onalark at 9:56 PM on February 4, 2006
The US "Gyro" is not the same as the German Doner. I think the meat is the same - but the bread and for sure the sauce choices are not. I can't find the spicy red sauce anywhere. The UK Donner has the red sauce, but not the cheese, which was Feta I believe.
I would kill for one. Someone needs to get on the ball and start a chain of Donner Kebab shops in the US.
posted by jopreacher at 11:07 PM on February 4, 2006
I would kill for one. Someone needs to get on the ball and start a chain of Donner Kebab shops in the US.
posted by jopreacher at 11:07 PM on February 4, 2006
After a summer in Rome, I too came to DC seeking Doner. You are in luck for DCist has come to our rescue with THIS, posted a couple years back. IT FEATURES NO FEWER THAN FOUR DONER DINERS.
posted by The White Hat at 11:39 PM on February 4, 2006
posted by The White Hat at 11:39 PM on February 4, 2006
Dirty and delicious, served in a pita with chili sauce or garlic, and a very sad carrot and lettuce salad. But when it's three in the morning, and you're wasted and hungry, there is nothing better in the world.
posted by Ian A.T. at 12:12 AM on February 5, 2006
posted by Ian A.T. at 12:12 AM on February 5, 2006
Alright: the Schilderswijk in The Hague where I live is the neighbourhood with the highest percentage of foreign ancestry people in the Netherlands, and the place is crawling with bakeries, butchers, tobacconists, hole in the wall operations and carts that sell döner kebab. It comes in two forms: either a big mass of ground meat, or slices of meat piled up as in the linked pictures, both roasted on a spit. Mostly it's beef, sometimes (in places that aspire to be a restaurant) it's lamb, and the new variety is chicken meat, which is spiced a bit differently. The canonical spice for beef and lamb döner is called köfte, shoarma spices are Israeli/Lebanese (not sure where it's originally from, but most of the shoarma places in Holland were started by Israelis at first, and the Turks, Kurds, Sikhs etc. got in on the act later (when that happened the Israelis abandoned shoarma and started the falafel thing (and then the Turks, Kurds, Sikhs etc. got in on that act later as well))), and are somewhat different; I think köfte is a bit heavier on the chili and lighter on the cumin. Also, the pita is Israeli, and it's quite flat. A nice Turkish pide is made from a different dough, it tastes a bit more fatty, feels more 'elastic', and has a crunchier crust.
To make it yourself at home, I would say experiment with ground meat. As far as I can tell, the big spindles that get roasted are stocked with a mass of very finely ground meat that hangs together much more thoroughly than the average meatball. I don't know how they do that. But you don't have to achieve that at home anyway, you just need some meat (beef or lamb, finely ground or thinly sliced), season it with köfte, I think you could add some paprika too, and then roast that stuff. Having seen it made in Berlin, you can probably figure out some way to get it crunchier after the meat is done: you cut up what you have, the patty or the slices, and grill those smaller slices just before stuffing them in the bun.
(Opeten of meenemen? Eet smakelijk. == To eat or to go? Enjoy your meal.)
posted by disso at 3:35 AM on February 5, 2006
To make it yourself at home, I would say experiment with ground meat. As far as I can tell, the big spindles that get roasted are stocked with a mass of very finely ground meat that hangs together much more thoroughly than the average meatball. I don't know how they do that. But you don't have to achieve that at home anyway, you just need some meat (beef or lamb, finely ground or thinly sliced), season it with köfte, I think you could add some paprika too, and then roast that stuff. Having seen it made in Berlin, you can probably figure out some way to get it crunchier after the meat is done: you cut up what you have, the patty or the slices, and grill those smaller slices just before stuffing them in the bun.
(Opeten of meenemen? Eet smakelijk. == To eat or to go? Enjoy your meal.)
posted by disso at 3:35 AM on February 5, 2006
I visit Istanbul every summer and I am still a big fan of Berlin Doners. Mainly, they sell a lot and the meat is frsh, doesn't have time to dry out, and they usually offer the customer a choice of sauces. But mainly it is the bread, those big english muffin-type loave which are quartered into doner bread. I belve this is because a lot of the Turks in Berlin and Germany are either Kurdish or from Erzincan and Bingol in eastern Turkey - the poorest regions, and their style of ekmek (bread) is the big flat yeast loaf.
In Istanbul doners and other kebabs are usually served in a loaf of french bread - Istanbul has a long tradition of french style bakeries dating back to the European settlements in Pera/Galata. Bread is the staple along the Black Sea as well - it gets really good around Trabazon, and the best bakers are usually Hemshin, Muslim Armenians from the Kackar mountains who make the best baguettes in the world.
Istanbul kebabcis also sell "Durum kebab" which is served rolled in a loaf of spongey Anatolian flat bread. Very good, but not at all like the classic Kreuzberg Doner.
Anything beats curry wurst.
posted by zaelic at 5:20 AM on February 5, 2006
In Istanbul doners and other kebabs are usually served in a loaf of french bread - Istanbul has a long tradition of french style bakeries dating back to the European settlements in Pera/Galata. Bread is the staple along the Black Sea as well - it gets really good around Trabazon, and the best bakers are usually Hemshin, Muslim Armenians from the Kackar mountains who make the best baguettes in the world.
Istanbul kebabcis also sell "Durum kebab" which is served rolled in a loaf of spongey Anatolian flat bread. Very good, but not at all like the classic Kreuzberg Doner.
Anything beats curry wurst.
posted by zaelic at 5:20 AM on February 5, 2006
It might help if you're using the correct term for your search. I'm not sure if it's the same thing, but in Ottawa I think what you're looking for would be called donair. Here I don't think it's as popular as shawarma (beef) or shish taouk (chicken), both served al fresco or in a pita, but it is widely available.
Maybe you picked the wrong national capital?
posted by mikel at 5:32 AM on February 5, 2006
Maybe you picked the wrong national capital?
posted by mikel at 5:32 AM on February 5, 2006
I had the best Döner somewhere around Schloss Charlottenburg, and gyros have tasted like dust to me since. They're not the same, and it's not the same as a schwarma, either.
I don't live in DC, but do I have a rotisserie that I can put on my grill. Recipes? Or Madison, WI döner huts?
posted by mimi at 6:34 AM on February 5, 2006
I don't live in DC, but do I have a rotisserie that I can put on my grill. Recipes? Or Madison, WI döner huts?
posted by mimi at 6:34 AM on February 5, 2006
I used to think a kebab and a gyro were the same, until Achim Reus moved to Athens, GA from Stuttgart, Germany. He noticed we American's didn't know the glory that is the kebob, so he opened Achim's K-Bob, dedicated to bringing the kebob to the American appetite.
Now, that doesn't help you or answer your question, but at least you know you can visit Athens (which really, isn't that far from Washington, D.C.) and get yourself a real kebob.
posted by ewagoner at 7:58 AM on February 5, 2006
Now, that doesn't help you or answer your question, but at least you know you can visit Athens (which really, isn't that far from Washington, D.C.) and get yourself a real kebob.
posted by ewagoner at 7:58 AM on February 5, 2006
In Egypt and the Persian Gulf, those are called shawerma, as people here have already pointed out. Here in the US, I've seen them at Greek restaurants, called gyros there (sounds like it's derived from some root like "gyrate or gyroscope" because of the turning spit), and at Arabic restaurants in the US they're not so readily available, but they're also called shawerma if available (got them at a Palestinian cafe in Richardson, TX). In the Middle East I only saw shawarma on the street or at hole-in-the-wall places, whereas at restaurants they all have shish-kabobs--chunks of meat on a skewer, and when friends get together they do shish-kabobs on their patios.
The meat on a stick is called kabob here in the US and in Egypt and the Gulf, thoughout the Middle East, actually, and it's eaten with rice, not bread.
There's a lot of variability in the sauces served with them, the tahini vs yogurt, veggies, etc even between Middle Eastern countries--we loved the ones we got on the street in Qatar, but the Egyptian ones weren't as tasty. The ones we get here in the US at Greek restaurants are good, and the ones at the Palestinian cafe are also good. But the shawarma we got on the street in Qatar were the best, probably because there are so many nationalities there, and so many people there like spicy food.
So for once I think the terminology used in the States is more true to the usage in the Middle East. If you want something like the Doner kabob, explore Greek restaurants and look for small Arabic restaurants.
Also, you might see if you can find the thinly sliced meat used for Philly cheesesteak sandwiches and maybe see about grilling that with your spices, and mix up your tahini and yogurt and spices and see how that works for you. The bread used here would be pita--stuff the meat in there and see how it works for you.
posted by gg at 11:52 AM on February 5, 2006
The meat on a stick is called kabob here in the US and in Egypt and the Gulf, thoughout the Middle East, actually, and it's eaten with rice, not bread.
There's a lot of variability in the sauces served with them, the tahini vs yogurt, veggies, etc even between Middle Eastern countries--we loved the ones we got on the street in Qatar, but the Egyptian ones weren't as tasty. The ones we get here in the US at Greek restaurants are good, and the ones at the Palestinian cafe are also good. But the shawarma we got on the street in Qatar were the best, probably because there are so many nationalities there, and so many people there like spicy food.
So for once I think the terminology used in the States is more true to the usage in the Middle East. If you want something like the Doner kabob, explore Greek restaurants and look for small Arabic restaurants.
Also, you might see if you can find the thinly sliced meat used for Philly cheesesteak sandwiches and maybe see about grilling that with your spices, and mix up your tahini and yogurt and spices and see how that works for you. The bread used here would be pita--stuff the meat in there and see how it works for you.
posted by gg at 11:52 AM on February 5, 2006
Chowhound is a much better place to ask.
If it really is basically a Gyro as many have discussed here, you should try Zorba's in Dupont Circle. Their Gyro is great.
But there are tons of awesome Kebab restaurants here. Particularly:
Charcoal Kebab, in Herndon. (Afghan/Pakistani)
Food Factory (in Arlington)
Moby Dick's (several locations I believe)
Ravi Kebab (in Arlington)
posted by kneelconqueso at 9:55 PM on February 5, 2006
If it really is basically a Gyro as many have discussed here, you should try Zorba's in Dupont Circle. Their Gyro is great.
But there are tons of awesome Kebab restaurants here. Particularly:
Charcoal Kebab, in Herndon. (Afghan/Pakistani)
Food Factory (in Arlington)
Moby Dick's (several locations I believe)
Ravi Kebab (in Arlington)
posted by kneelconqueso at 9:55 PM on February 5, 2006
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by grouse at 4:41 PM on February 4, 2006