The history of the donair depends on what source you are reading. Wikipedia claims that it dates back to the 18th century in Eastern Turkey, while other sources state that the
donar kebab was made in a Turkish Kebab house in Berlin in the 1950's. I do not claim to be an expert of the history, but I find it interesting as to how it evolved, and how
donair can take on many different forms and is seen in different cultures. The Greeks have the
gyro which has a yogurt based sauce (tatziki) and then there is the Arab Shawarma, a similar concept of meat roasted on a vertical spit, served on flatbread.
Fast forward to Eastern Canada, where the Greek
gyro was introduced in the 1960's in Bedford, Nova Scotia. It was the traditional lamb / yogurt-based sauce, which did not become popular until some changes were made to the recipe. Lamb was changed to beef, and the yogurt / tatziki was changed to a sweet sauce. It was the beginning of a beautiful and delicious creation, and depending on what or who you believe, it was debuted at the King of Donairs, in Halifax in the 1970's. (I believe this, but I am a biased and proud Haligonian!)
King of Donairs. The name says it all. Sweet sauce, savoury meat roasted on a spit, fresh pita, tomatoes, onions, all wrapped up, and ready to devour. When I moved out west in the early 1990's, it was hard to find this type of donair (which is now more vastly popular), so I learned to make them (or tried to make them). Then, last summer, camping with my in laws and cousin-in-laws, they had made the traditional Halifax Donair for supper one night, sweet sauce and all. O. M. G. Amazing. Tasted like home at 2 am on a Saturday night.
Tonight, I took on making them for dinner, and what a hit, AND super easy...AND....yes! Leftovers in the freezer for another meal.
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Ground Beef "Loaves" as I have no vertical spit. Looks....
unappetizing...but wait...there are more pics....
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| Slice it up once cool, and pan-sear a bit to crisp it up |
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Serve with raw veggies on the side...cucumbers, lettuce,
tomatoes , red onions and jalapenos are amazing! |
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Voila! And yes, this is actually my picture from my plate.
A masterpiece to be savoured and enjoyed (twice) |
For tonight's dinner, I googled "Recipe Halifax Donair" and found a lot of ways to make the meat and the sauce. I settled on a couple different ones, and of course just modified it based on what I had in the kitchen.
Donair Meat
2 packages of ground beef (I think they are ~ 2 - 3 lb each). I did a lot so we could have leftovers
4 - 6 cloves of chopped garlic
6 teaspoons of flour
A few dashes of a Greek spice mix that I have
Salt and Pepper.
Mix all of the meat up, and as you are mixing it in a nice big steel bowl, pick it all up, and throw it into the bowl with lotsa force (yep....that's what I said). Throw it about 20 - 30 times. This gives the meat a consistency similar to the meat on the vertical spit. I made 6 " loaves" and baked them on a cookie tray lined with parchment paper for about an hour and a bit on 375 convection.
Sweet Donair Sauce
2/3 cup evaporated milk (NOT the non-fat one)
2/3 cup sugar
1 - 2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup of vinegar.
Mix all together except the vinegar. Once the sugar is dissolved, you can add the vinegar. The trick with this is....the faster you add the vinegar and the less you mix it up, the thicker the sauce will be. Trust me. It works.
End Result today? Delicious, kid and adult approved (i.e., was yummy with leftovers for another day).
Done like dinner....or should I say....donair!
