In this article I’m stepping a fine line between almost entirely fat free cooking, and the thought of adding a very small amount of fat that packs a punch of flavour. I believe that the best Doner kebab recipe should be a compromise. You be the judge.

I’ve had a real problem in how to deal with the best way to present this recipe. The reason is this. I had already written, but not published an article about the best doner kebab recipe. That article describes a low-fat version of the Doner wrap. I am happy with the article but delayed publishing it after last Sunday’s dinner. We had roast leg of lamb, and it was beautifully tasty.

It got me thinking. Why was roast lamb so good? The answer of course is that like most meats, the fat on the meat is where most of the flavour is! This is especially true with lamb. It’s particularly noticable in my new improved version of ‘The best doner kebab recipe’.

As a part of my low-fat recipe, I have been removing all fat and connecting tissue and throwing it away! All that flavour! In fairness, if you want the very low-fat version, it still tastes good as the meat spends a couple of hours marinating in spicy deliciousness.

In the following version of the recipe, I’m adding the essence of the fat into the picture. I really believe that I can defend this and will explain why a little later in the article. To make the best doner kebab recipe the meat I use is from leg of Lamb steaks.

I do this rather than using a mixture of lamb mince mixed with up to 50% Pork mince. This is common in recipes that are emulating the kebab meat seen rotating in the kebab shop. I quite like this type of kebab, but really do prefer my recipe with 100% lamb. I prepare the leg steaks this way. In choosing the leg meat, look for the leanest, though a small amount of fat is desirable.

Using a sharp knife cut out all of the fat and any connecting tissue. Put the trimmings to one side for now. I like to slice the meat along the grain to a thickness of about 3 to 4mm. I buy 400mm packs from the supermarket and find that I have enough meat after trimming, for two hearty kebabs. I believe that you’ll love what I believe is the best Doner kebab recipe.

Ingredients for the Marinade

• 1 Tbsp oil, rapeseed.
• 3 Heaped tbsp’s Greek yogurt. 0%, 5% and 10% fat available
• 1 Tsp dried Cayenne pepper. Use a little less if you are concerned it may be too hot.
• 1 Tsp’s dried Italian style herbs
• 1 Tsp dried Oregano
• 1 Tsp ground cumin
• Pinch of salt to taste
• 1 Tsp’s Garlic powder
• Squeeze of lemon

For the Doner Wrap

• 110g strong plain flour
• 110g Greek yogurt. Fat free or 10%
• 1 Tsp baking powder
• 1 Tsp rapeseed oil. More or less to taste
• Salt to taste.

Star of the Show

The sliced lamb of course, along with the trimmings you saved.

Method

Meat

Place all of the trimmings from the meat into a medium pan and add 5 or 6mm’s of water. Bring to the boil and then cover with a lid and reduce the heat. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove the lid and allow the water to evaporate. When the water has gone allow the trimmings to fry for about 10 minutes but do not burn. You’ll notice a small amount of fat in the pan. Remove all of the trimmings and discard.

Put all of the meat into the still hot pan and fry. You’ll notice quite a lot of water will come out of the meat. Let this boil off while stirring and let the meat colour very slightly. Remove from the pan and chill. Save for later.

Marinade

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix together. Add the yogurt, oil and lemon juice to the dry ingredients and thoroughly mix together. Genuine Greek yogurt is thicker than Greek ‘style’ yogurt so you may need to add a teaspoon or so of milk to loosen the marinade. We simply want it to cover the meat so don’t overdo the milk! Add the sliced cooked lamb to the marinade and make sure the marinade covers all of the meat. Chill for a minimum of one hour. In the best doner kebab recipe I often leave it for 2 to 4 hours. It really does make a difference.

Doner Wrap

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and knead for a few minutes. You may need a tiny amount of milk to make the dough easier to knead. Cover in the bowl to use later.

Let’s put the best Doner kebab recipe together.

Take time to prepare whatever sides you’re having

Cooking the meat and assembly

Place the marinated meat in a frying pan and bring up to medium heat. Gently cook the meat until the marinade has almost all cooked off. When you’re happy that the meat has caramalised a little, cover and simmer gently.

At this point you can paint a little oil on the bottom of another frying pan and place the first flatbread in when the pan is hot. You’ll see the surface of the flatbread blister. After a minute or so, flip the bread over. You may do this more than once. Be careful though not to overcook the bread, we want nicely chewy – not toast! When ready flip the bread onto a plate and let your companion fill their own kebab. Repeat to cook your own flat bread.

If you’re cooking for a several people, you can cook the flatbreads before time and either chill them (separated) or freeze them. Microwave to reheat.

Notes of Interest

Rapeseed Oil. Apart from being cheaper than olive oil, rapeseed oil (known as Canola oil in the states), is lower in saturated fat, high in vitamin E, contains Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids (for your heart), and has a higher smoke point than olive oil. To its credit Extra virgin olive oil has bioactive nutrients which include the polyphenols which are great antioxidants. On the downside it has a low smoke point making it less attractive for fryer.

Cayenne Pepper. Not all cayenne is the same. For a long time, I bought cayenne pepper from my local Sainsbury supermarket. Some weeks ago, I was in Aldi and bought their cayenne pepper powder. I soon found, to my surprise, that the Aldi version was a lot more potent than the blander Sainsbury one! So, if you should buy from other than your regular supplier, be careful!

Lamb fat. Is incredibly healthy! Most people will be amazed to hear that, I certainlyy was. It contains healthy fats and acids that can balance cholesterol that can help reduce heart disease and type 2 diabetes. It also contains an array of vitamins that include A,D,E,K and B1. Along with Linoleic acid which is a useful anti-inflammatory plus a whole list of minerals. There is a huge amount of info about this on the internet that you may find quite amazing. Not all fat is bad for us!

Its hard to believe that the best doner kebab recipe could be so healthy, even with a tiny amount of fat. I hope you really enjoy it.

If you’d like to see more like this, why not take a look at this Thin Crust Pizza Recipe

Also did you know that the first known historical reference to kebab was the ‘Turkish script of Kyssa-I Yusuf in 1377′, almost 650 years ago! More fascinating history of the kebab is available at the link.