A favorite takeout dish, this Homemade Chicken Doner Kebab is easy to make and tastes great. Spices, yogurt, and tomato paste are used to season the chicken just right. Serve for lunch or dinner with pita bread, garlic sauce, chili sauce, and salad.
This mouth-watering Turkish favorite is such an exciting dish to make at home. The chicken is succulent and filled with flavor making every bite a delight! This takeaway favorite is bound to impress. Serve it with pita, easy creamy hummus, Fluffy Turmeric Rice Recipe and Lebanese Tabbouli salad for iftar or when youre in the mood for kebab!.
If you like this recipe, youll love my Indian chicken tandoori kebabs and Easy Oven Chicken Kebab. They are marinated with aromatic spices and taste amazing!.
Around the world, chicken doner has become a very popular dish. But just what is it? Let’s look at this tasty roasted meat in more detail.
A Brief History
In Turkey, where the doner kebab came from, meat was cooked on a vertical rotisserie. The modern doner kebab sandwich became popular in Germany after Turkish people moved there in the 1970s. Doner used to be made with lamb or beef, but now chicken is often used instead, especially in Western countries.
The word “doner” comes from Turkish and means “to turn” or “rotate.” It refers to cooking on a rotisserie. Doner kebab is usually linked to Turkey, but shawarma, gyros, and other meat dishes like them can be found all over the Middle East and Mediterranean.
How Chicken Doner is Made
Chicken doner is made by stacking seasoned chicken on a vertical spit and slowly roasting it in front of a heat source. As the exterior cooks, it forms a crispy outer layer while keeping the inside moist. The chef then shaves off thin slices of the rotating meat as it cooks.
Commercial producers often use a blend of chicken breast, thigh, and mechanically recovered meat (MRM). The meat mixture is combined with spices, binders, and preservatives to create a homogeneous final product suitable for vertical roasting. Common spices used include paprika, cumin, garlic, onion, oregano, and black pepper.
Serving Suggestions
The classic way to serve chicken doner is in a pita or wrap, stuffed with the shaved meat, vegetables like lettuce, tomato and onion, and sauces such as garlic or chili sauce.
But doner is also commonly served in other ways:
- Doner boxes – served over fries or rice
- Doner pizza – as a pizza topping
- Doner salad – as the protein on top of a fresh salad
This versatility makes doner a very popular take-away food. Pre-cooked doner meat can also be purchased from many grocery stores for home cooking.
Nutrition
Chicken doner can be a relatively healthy alternative to beef and lamb doner due to its lower fat content. A serving contains approximately 250-350 calories and 20-30g of protein.
Making healthy choices like using wholewheat bread, loading up on veggies, and choosing lighter sauces can further improve the nutritional value.
Comparison to Other Doner Styles
Chicken doner differs from beef/lamb doner in its milder flavor and leanness. The primary difference between chicken doner and chicken shawarma is the spice blend, with doner using more Turkish-inspired spices.
Vegetarian Versions
For vegetarians and vegans, meat-free doner alternatives exist, usually made from soy protein, seitan, or mushrooms seasoned to mimic the taste and texture.
Finding the Best Chicken Doner
With doner’s global popularity, tasty versions can be found in restaurants worldwide. Look for places with high reviews and visible rotating spits for fresh, authentic doner. The skill of the chef in carving the meat also makes a big difference.
From its roots in Turkey to its popularity around the world, chicken doner has become a popular alternative to beef and lamb doner kebab. People all over the world love it because it’s versatile, cheap, and has a lighter flavor. With thinly sliced, seasoned chicken on a rotating spit and fresh toppings wrapped in warm bread, this meal is a healthy and tasty way to satisfy your meat cravings.
How to Make Homemade Chicken Doner Kebab
- Start by soaking skewers in water. Set this aside for 30 minutes while you make the sauce.
- Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Line a baking tray with foil. Add a splash of olive oil. Cut one onion into ¼-inch pieces and put them on the baking sheet. Set aside for later.
- Next, get 1 kg of thighs that don’t have any skin or bones on them. Put them on a cutting board, cover them with plastic wrap, and hit them with a rolling pin or something else blunt. This will tenderize the chicken and make it cook faster.
4. In a separate bowl, add 5 tablespoon of yogurt,
5. Then add 2 tablespoons of tomato puree, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and the juice of ½ lemons.
6. Add 2 teaspoon of ground coriander, 2 tablespoon of cumin, 1 teaspoon of hot paprika, 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, 1 ¼ teaspoon of salt and ½ black pepper.
7. Then add four grated garlic cloves.
8. Mix the marinade until everything is fully combined. Feel free to adjust the seasoning if you like. Set ¼ of the marinade aside for serving before you add the raw chicken. Set aside for later.
9. Combine the chicken thighs and the remaining marinade in a bowl.
10. Make sure the chicken is fully coated in the marinade.
11. Then grab the soaked skewers and push the chicken thighs into two skewers. If the chicken thigh is too large, fold it in half before pushing it into the skewers.
12. Place the skewers on top of the onion chunks on the baking tray. This will prevent the kebabs from sticking to the tray.
13. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until done. Baste the chicken with the leftover marinade in the bowl halfway through.
14. Once the homemade chicken doner kebab is ready, remove it from the pan and use a knife to slice thin shavings of kebab. Serve it with the best Turkish bread, pita, easy yellow rice, Lebanese tabbouleh salad, the remaining marinade and your favorite dip.
It is boneless, skinless chicken pieces cooked on a long vertical skewer that spins beside a grill. The chicken is usually marinated with yogurt, tomato puree, lemon juice, and olive oil and seasoned with salt, pepper, cumin, ground coriander, or baharat seasoning.
Chicken doner is made on a vertical skewer that spins by a grill. Doner comes from the word dönmek means which means to turn. Whereas chicken kebabs are made on a flat grill. Chicken kebabs sometimes include capsicum peppers and onions.
No. Chicken doner only includes chicken. However, the traditional meat used to make doner kebabs is lamb.
Let chicken pieces cool completely then place them in an airtight container. Refrigerate for 3-4 days. Reheat the chicken in the microwave for a couple of minutes when you are ready to eat.
Homemade Chicken Doner Kebab Ingredients
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
- For this recipe, choose chicken thighs that don’t have any bones or skin on them. I usually buy a pack at the grocery store, but if you can’t find any, take the skin and bones off of them.
- Yogurt: Use full-fat yogurt to make the sauce. It will give the kebab a creamy, delicious flavor.
- Tomato puree: Use good-quality tomato puree for the sauce. It can be from a can, tube or carton.
- Olive oil: Select good-quality olive oil.
- Garlic: Mince or grate the garlic for this recipe. This will help when mixing. You can also use 2-3 teaspoon of garlic paste instead.
- Ground coriander: Use ground coriander for seasoning. You can use any other herb instead of coriander if you don’t like it.
- Hot paprika: To add some heat to the dish. Depending on your taste, feel free to add more or less.
- Cayenne: The same goes for cayenne pepper. Add less or more, depending on your preference.
- Lemon juice: For the best taste, use juice from a fresh lemon.
- Cumin: Don’t leave it out; it gives the chicken a deliciously unique flavor.
- With chopped onions on the baking sheet, the chicken won’t stick to the pan while the chicken doner cooks. It will also add extra flavor.
- Chicken: Before marinating, bash the chicken with a blunt object. This will tenderize the chicken and help it cook faster.
- Toss: If you have time, you can let the chicken thighs sit in the sauce for an hour in the fridge. It’s possible to do this before or after putting the thighs on the thread. Cover the thighs with plastic wrap while they marinate.
- Skewers: Use metal skewers or wooden skewers. If you use wooden skewers, you need to soak them in water first so they don’t burn in the oven. Sticks don’t break and burn in the oven when they’re soaked in water first.
- Changes: If you can’t eat dairy or don’t like yogurt, leave it out of the recipe. Follow the rest of the recipe, but use five tablespoons of tomato puree instead of two. You can also make these kebabs without the skewers. The chicken thighs should be put on a baking sheet that has been lined with foil. Cook for 35-40 minutes, or until done. You can grill these tasty chicken skewers this summer by following the directions and cooking them on the grill until they’re done. Serve with Skin On Fries.
Turkish Chicken Doner Kebab 40 Kilograms Marination Recipe And How To Make it From Start To Finish
FAQ
What is chicken doner made of?
Chicken doner kebab is typically made from boneless, skinless chicken thighs, marinated in a flavorful blend of spices and herbs, then stacked on a vertical rotisserie and cooked slowly.
What is the difference between chicken kebab and doner?
What’s The Difference Between Chicken Kebab And Chicken Doner? A chicken doner is a stack of meat cooked on a vertical spit more like shawarma. Whereas a regular chicken kebab is cubed chicken meat or ground meat that is grilled on single bamboo or metal skewers.
Is a chicken doner healthy?
Traditionally, it’s made from marinated meat (chicken, lamb, or beef) cooked on a vertical rotisserie, served with bread and vegetables. If you make doner chicken kebab with lean chicken, whole wheat pita, and lots of vegetables, it is a healthy breakfast or lunch.
What is a doner?
“Döner” primarily refers to döner kebab, a popular Turkish street food. According to National Geographic, the word comes from the Turkish word “dönmek,” which means “to rotate” or “turn.” This refers to the vertical spit that the meat is cooked on.