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What is a German Döner Kebab?

German Döner Kebab is the #1 most popular street food in Germany. It is cooked on a vertical rotisserie with thinly sliced meat shaved off and added to a pide bread with veggies.

Homemade German Doner Kebab

Its widespread popularity can be attributed to its delectable combination of flavors, embodying a perfect fusion of traditional Turkish culinary influences with a distinctive German twist. This beloved street food has become a go-to choice for locals and visitors alike, offering a quick, flavorful, and satisfying culinary experience on the bustling streets of Germany.

Traditionally, a German Döner Kebab features marinated meat like beef and lamb, or even chicken is very popular. The meat is skillfully stacked on a colossal skewer, weighing over 100 pounds! This tower of deliciousness is then rotisserie-grilled inside the restaurant, allowing the outer layers to crisp up beautifully. The crisped layers are shaved off and served inside a Turkish bread pocket (pide). The ensemble is completed with a generous helping of creamy, garlicy white sauce, and a pepper based red sauce, along with fresh vegetables like tomato, onions, and cabbage.

When I discovered German Döner Kebab, it struck a resemblance to Chinese American cuisine—a fusion that deviates significantly from the original flavors of the respective nations but incorporates a local twist tailored to cater to the preferences of the population’s taste buds. Turkish Germans settled in Germany seeking better opportunities, and in pursuit of this, they established local businesses to introduce and sell their traditional cuisine. Drawing inspiration from the local German ingredients and infused with the memories of street kebabs in Turkey, this magical sandwich came to life.

German Döner Kebabs also bear a resemblance to Greek American Gyros, with both featuring thinly sliced meat encased within a pocket of bread. Kickin’ it with Sal did a Food Feuds video comparing these two sandwiches to see who does it better.

German Döner Kebab vs Greek American Gyro Food Feuds

Food Feuds is a series where we rate similar dishes from different countries to figure out who makes it better. Kickin’ it with Sal did a Food Feuds comparison on German Döner Kebabs vs Greek American Gyros. If you are trying to decide whether to make the Döner recipe or Gyro recipe, check out the Food Feuds review to narrow your options.

Ingredients:

For the döner kebab

For the Red Sauce

For the White Sauce

For the Salad

Direction:

  1. Mix ground beef, ground lamb, 1 tablespoon of greek yogurt, red pepper, cumin, paprika and salt and pepper together in a bowl. Make sure it is fully mixed
  2. Form the meat into a sphere shape and place it on parchment paper. Roll it into a sphere and twist the ends of the parchment paper so it resembles a candy wrapper. Freeze for at least 2 hours.
  3. For the red sauce, combine all ingredients (greek yogurt, red pepper paste, salt and pepper, ground ginger, and vinegar) in a bowl and mix.
  4. For the white sauce, combine all ingredient (greek yogurt, mayonnaise, cucumbers, parsley, garlic and salt and pepper) in a bowl and mix
  5. For the salad, combine all ingredients (parsley, tomato, cucumber, sumac, olive oil and salt and pepper) in a bowl and mix
  6. Once frozen remove from the freezer and with a knife, slice thin strips of meat.
  7. In a skillet with 2 tablespoons of hot oil, fry the meat until crispy.
  8. Assemble the sandwich. Cut the sandwich in half. On one side of the bread, add the red sauce and on the other side of the bread add the white sauce. Add the meat on the sandwich along with some red and green cabbage. Then add the salad. Fold the sandwich together.

Homemade German Doner Kebab

Homemade German Doner Kebab

German Doner Kebab is cooked on a vertical rotisserie with thinly sliced meat shaved off and added to a pide bread with veggies.
4.88 from 8 votes
Prep Time 3 hours
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine European, German, Turkish
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

For Doner Kebab

  • 1/2 lb Ground beef
  • 1/2 lb Ground lamb
  • 1 tbsp Plain greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup Red Cabbage
  • 1/2 cup Green Cabbage
  • 1/2 tbsp Cumin
  • 1/2 tbsp Paprika
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 4 Quartered Pide Bread

For the Red Sauce

  • 1 cup Plain Greek Yogurt
  • 2 tbsp Red Pepper Paste
  • 1 tsp Ground Ginger
  • 1 tsp Vinegar
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

For the White Sauce

  • 1/2 cup Plain Greek Yogurt
  • 1/3 cup Mayonaise
  • 1/2 cup Cucumbers
  • 1/8 cup Parsley
  • 1/2 tbsp Garlic minced or crushed
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

For the Salad

  • 1/3 cup Chopped Parsley
  • 1 Small Tomato
  • 1 Small Cucumber
  • 1 tbsp Sumac
  • 1 tbsp Olive oil
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Mix ground beef, ground lamb, 1 tablespoon of greek yogurt, red pepper, cumin, paprika and salt and pepper together in a bowl. Make sure it is fully mixed
  • Form the meat into a sphere shape and place it on parchment paper. Roll it into a sphere and twist the ends of the parchment paper so it resembles a candy wrapper. Freeze for at least 2 hours.
  • For the red sauce, combine all ingredients (greek yogurt, red pepper paste, salt and pepper, ground ginger, and vinegar) in a bowl and mix.
  • For the white sauce, combine all ingredient (greek yogurt, mayonnaise, cucumbers, parsley, garlic and salt and pepper) in a bowl and mix
  • For the salad, combine all ingredients (parsley, tomato, cucumber, sumac, olive oil and salt and pepper) in a bowl and mix
  • Once the meat is fully frozen remove from the freezer and with a knife, slice thin strips of meat.
  • In a skillet with 2 tablespoons of hot oil, fry the meat until crispy.
  • Assemble the sandwich. Cut the sandwich in half. On one side of the bread, add the red sauce and on the other side of the bread add the white sauce. Add the meat on the sandwich along with some red and green cabbage. Then add the salad. Fold the sandwich together.

Notes

Note 1: You can find ground lamb at your local butcher or sometimes Arabic grocers have this mean stocked. 
Keyword Doner Kebab, European Food, German Doner Kebab, German Food, Turkish Food

If you are interested in how to make Egyptian Style Kunafa check out my recipe!


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9 Responses

  1. Turned out great! The red sauce is a household favorite! One thing I changed was using your other method for cooking the meat that you used for the gyros. It was so much easier than freezing it. The only challenge was that I couldn’t get it as thin as when you freeze it!

  2. 5 stars
    Turned out great! The red sauce is a household favorite! One thing I changed was using your other method for cooking the meat that you used for the gyros. It was so much easier than freezing it. The only challenge was that I couldn’t get it as thin as when you freeze it!

  3. 5 stars
    Perfect recipe! I ended up getting pide bread from a local Turkish restaurant! They didn’t have the exact same Doner bread but it was close enough! I used to eat these all the time in Germany and I was craving it recently!

  4. 4 stars
    All the seasonings and ingredients were great. It was just too many things going on. I didn’t really realize that when I went to Germany they put all these things in there.
    It tasted great though!

  5. 5 stars
    My kids devoured each sandwich. They are such picky eaters but this sandwich was so much healthier than what they would get in the streets so I was happy to make it. They even helped me! It was so colorful too!

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