Lamb on a vertical spit, since 1860

I. The vertical spit architecture

The döner architecture is simple: a vertical rotating spit, heated from the side by a vertical heat source. The meat — lamb, beef, chicken, or a combination — is compressed onto the spit in a cone or cylinder shape, alternating thin slices with fat to keep the exterior basted during cooking.

The spit rotates slowly. The outer layer cooks. The cook shaves thin slices with a long knife, collecting them in a pan below, and the next layer is exposed to continue cooking. The shaved meat is served immediately.

The vertical rotation means every part of the outer surface is continuously exposed to heat and continuously shaved. The vertical spit ensures all surfaces cook evenly and the product is available in small quantities at continuous intervals rather than all at once.

II. The migration route

Döner kebab traveled from Bursa to Istanbul in the nineteenth century. It traveled from Istanbul to Germany in the 1960s and 70s with Turkish guest workers — the Gastarbeiter — who came to rebuild postwar Germany and brought the food of home.

In Turkey, döner is served on a plate (döner tabak) or in a sandwich with thin bread (döner dürüm). In Germany, it is served in a halved pide bread with salad, tomatoes, onion, and a yogurt or garlic sauce. This format — döner im Brot — was developed in Berlin in the early 1970s and is now more globally recognized than the Turkish original.

The Berlin döner is a German-Turkish food. It is not a lesser version of the Turkish original. It is a different dish that shares the same technique and protein.

III. Shawarma and gyros

The same vertical spit architecture appears in shawarma — the dish of the Arab world — and in gyros — the Greek version. All three are the same technique with different seasoning and different service formats.

Shawarma uses lamb or chicken seasoned with the spice profile of the eastern Mediterranean and the Levant: cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, and garlic. It is served in flat bread with tahini, garlic sauce, pickled vegetables, and fresh tomato. The meat is marinated before loading onto the spit.

Greek gyros uses pork — a reflection of the non-Muslim context — seasoned with Mediterranean herbs: oregano, thyme, garlic. Served in pita with tzatziki, tomato, and sometimes french fries, the fries being a concession to the twentieth century the dish has made without apparent resistance.

IV. The home version

The vertical spit is not a home appliance. The home cook who wants something in the family of döner, shawarma, or gyros works with a different method.

Marinated lamb shoulder or leg, slow-roasted in the oven and then thinly sliced, produces meat in the right category of flavor and texture without requiring a vertical spit. The marinade — yogurt, lemon, olive oil, cumin, coriander, garlic, smoked paprika — penetrates the meat during the overnight rest and produces a crust when the meat is roasted at high heat.

The flavor is not identical. It is close enough for a weeknight dinner. For the real thing, find a restaurant where the cone is rotating.

Recipe — Home-Style Lamb Shawarma

Tarek Habib · Istanbul · serves 6 · overnight + 30 minutes

• Serves 6
• 12 hr marinade
• 30 min at 220°C
• 10 min rest

For the marinade

• 1.5 kg boneless lamb shoulder, cut into thick slices
• 200 g full-fat yogurt
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 4 garlic cloves, grated
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander · 1 tsp turmeric · 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp cinnamon · ½ tsp cardamom
• 1½ tsp salt

To serve

• Warm flat bread or pita
• Garlic sauce (yogurt, garlic, lemon, salt)
• Pickled turnips or cucumbers
• Sliced tomato
• Fresh parsley

The method

1. Mix all marinade ingredients. Add lamb, coat thoroughly. Refrigerate overnight minimum.
2. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).
3. Spread lamb in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Roast 25 to 30 minutes until the edges are charred and the surface is caramelized.
4. Rest 10 minutes. Slice thinly against the grain.
5. Serve in warm flat bread with garlic sauce, pickled turnips or cucumbers, sliced tomato, and fresh parsley.

About the contributor

Tarek Habib

Tarek Habib writes about shawarma, döner, and vertical spit cooking from Istanbul, Turkey. His grandfather ran a kebab house in Beyoğlu; his uncle still does. The cone has been rotating in the family since 1937.

Editor’s notes — the longer view

A note on the slice. Thin. Thinner than you think. A good kebabci shaves slices that fall in long, ragged ribbons no thicker than a coin. At home, against-the-grain slicing of well-rested oven lamb gives a similar texture if the knife is sharp and the cuts are short.

A note on the bread. Pide in Turkey. Khubz in the Levant. Pita in Greece. Lavash also works. The bread should be warm and pliable, ideally bought from a bakery the same day. Heat it briefly in a dry skillet just before serving.

A note on the sauce. Toum, the Lebanese whipped garlic sauce, is the sauce. Garlic, lemon, oil, salt, beaten into an emulsion the color of cream and the texture of mayonnaise. Tahini-yogurt is the alternative. Both are correct.

A note on the spit. İskender Efendi changed Ottoman cooking with one piece of hardware. 1860, in Bursa. The next time you eat a döner, a shawarma, a gyro, or a taco al pastor in Mexico City, the man in Bursa is faintly responsible. Five continents from one workshop.

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