Tender Turkish Döner Meat (Printable)

Spiced, tender lamb or beef slow-cooked and served thinly sliced with fresh vegetables and flatbread.

# What You Need:

→ Meat

01 - 2.2 pounds boneless lamb shoulder or beef sirloin, thinly sliced
02 - 3.5 ounces lamb fat or beef fat, thinly sliced (optional)

→ Marinade

03 - 5.3 ounces plain Greek yogurt
04 - 3 tablespoons olive oil
05 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
06 - 1 large onion, grated with juice squeezed out
07 - 2 teaspoons ground cumin
08 - 2 teaspoons ground coriander
09 - 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
10 - 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
11 - 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
12 - 1 ½ teaspoons salt
13 - ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
14 - ½ teaspoon chili flakes (optional)

→ To Serve (optional)

15 - Warm pita or flatbread
16 - Sliced tomatoes
17 - Sliced onions
18 - Shredded lettuce
19 - Cucumber slices
20 - Yogurt or garlic sauce

# How to Make It:

01 - Combine all marinade ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.
02 - Add the sliced meat and optional fat to the marinade, coating evenly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.
03 - Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) or prepare a vertical rotisserie if available.
04 - If using an oven, thread marinated meat tightly onto metal skewers or layer compactly in a loaf pan.
05 - Place the meat stack on a rack over a baking tray and roast for 1 hour, basting occasionally with pan juices. Increase oven temperature to 430°F (220°C) for the last 15 minutes to enhance browning.
06 - Allow the meat to rest for 10 minutes before slicing thinly with a sharp knife.
07 - Serve immediately with warm flatbread and fresh accompaniments like tomatoes, onions, lettuce, cucumber, and yogurt or garlic sauce.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The meat becomes impossibly tender from the yogurt marinade, almost melting in your mouth without needing hours of cooking time.
  • You get that authentic spiced, layered flavor without owning a vertical rotisserie, using just your home oven.
  • It's a one-bowl marinade that transforms simple meat into something restaurant-quality that'll impress anyone at your table.
  • Leftovers reheat beautifully and actually taste even better the next day as flavors deepen.
02 -
  • The meat needs to be sliced paper-thin before marinating—this isn't just for presentation, it's essential because thin slices absorb the marinade and cook evenly in a reasonable time.
  • Squeezing the juice from your grated onion is non-negotiable; if you skip this, your marinade becomes watery and the meat won't marinate properly.
  • Don't skip the resting period after roasting—it's the difference between meat that shreds apart and meat that slices cleanly.
  • A sharp knife matters more than you'd think when slicing; a dull knife will tear the meat instead of cleanly cutting through the layers.
03 -
  • If you don't have metal skewers, a loaf pan layered with meat works equally well and is honestly easier to manage in a home oven.
  • Make extra marinade and freeze it—next time you want döner, you're already 80% of the way there, and the frozen marinade thaws while your meat sits in it.
  • A meat thermometer should read 70°C (160°F) in the thickest part for lamb, which tells you it's cooked through but still tender and juicy.
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