German gyros or doner kebab is probably the most popular street food in Germany. You will love this easy, homemade version.
Featured comment:
Claudia: This was the most authentic tasting Döner Kebab I’ve made! Thank you for this bomb.com recipe, it will be our go to from now on!
German-Style Gyros or Kebab Recipe
OK, currywurst is probably the only street food here that is more popular than German gyros, but otherwise, I can't think of anything else.
Flatbread is filled with spicy meat strips, either pork, lamb, turkey, or chicken, and it has lots of onions, cabbage, and tzatziki sauce. So good!
You will be able to buy at every street corner in Germany, so to speak. For instance, there is nothing around here where I live, just some small villages and two supermarkets, but there are two places selling gyros or doner. They have the same menu; everything tastes, looks, and costs the same, but obviously, they both have enough customers to keep them in business for years.
Considering that gyros are street food or fast food, they are actually rather healthy. When made with chicken or turkey breast, it has less fat and calories than most other fast foods.
Try more German street food like Zwiebelkuchen - Onion Cake or German Waffles.
Jump to recipe
Is this a genuine Turkish or Greek recipe?
No. This is a typical German-style interpretation of a Turkish doner or Greek gyro, the kind you will be able to buy at every street corner in Germany, but probably not in Turkey or Greece.
Gyros or Doner?
I've always wanted to know the difference between a gyro and a döner. You can eat one in Greek restaurants and the other in Turkish ones. Both taste great but are quite similar, so I wondered.
They are quite the same thing: pieces of meat placed on a vertical rotisserie that turns slowly in front of an electric broiler.
Can you actually make a gyro or a doner at home? Definitely! Just cut your meat into fine slices, marinate them for a while, and cook them in a pan. Wonderful!
Recipe ingredients
Meat: You can use lamb, turkey, or chicken. The most common döner around here is made with turkey. Because too many German people don't eat lamb, turkey is fine for everyone. Pork is used for the Greek style of this dish.
- I used two kinds of meat to make today's German gyros: pork and turkey, so pork for the gyros and turkey for the döner, one could say. 🙂 Take what you like best. Both versions taste great, and there is no difference in preparing them.
Bread: Thick Turkish flatbread wedges. They are very large, and I could get four bread pockets out of one bread.
- Alternatively, you can use the thinner flatbread. Pita bread is also a good option.
Spice mix: The German gyros and marinade mix are flavorful and easy to put together. You will need sweet paprika powder, ground cumin and coriander, cayenne pepper (to taste), freshly ground black pepper, dried herbs like oregano, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, garlic, onion, lemon juice, and olive oil.
Toppings: Finely shredded red cabbage, tomato slices, onion slices, homemade tzatziki. You can also use this Mint Yogurt Sauce instead of tzatziki.
How to make German gyros or döner?
Prepare the meat
- Thinly slice the meat. (1)
- Place it in a bowl, and add all the spices, grated garlic, and the onions half rings. Pour in the lemon juice and olive oil. (2)
- Mix everything very well, and massage the meat well using your hands. Leave to marinate for several hours in the fridge. Give it at least 1 hour, preferably 3-4. (3)
- Once ready to serve, stir-fry the meat in a large cast-iron skillet or non-stick pan until brown. Do that in several batches; if necessary, you should not overcrowd the pan. (4 and 5)
- Add salt to taste. (6)
Make tzatziki
- While the meat marinates, you can prepare the sauce.
- Roughly grate the cucumber, place it in a colander, sprinkle with a tablespoon of salt, and leave to drain for about 30 minutes.
- Place them in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze as much water out of it as you can. (1,2,3,4)
- Place in a bowl and add the yogurt, lemon juice, grated garlic cloves, dill, salt, and pepper. (5)
- Mix well. (6)
Prepare the toppings
- Bread: While the meat cooks, heat the bread wedges or the flatbread in the oven; a few minutes will be enough. Split the wedges to obtain bread pockets.
- Toppings: Finely shred the cabbage and slice the onions and tomatoes.
Assemble the German gyros
- Toast the bread in the oven and cut it into wedges. (1)
- Smear with tzatziki. (2)
- Fill with meat. (3)
- Add tomatoes and onions. (4)
- Add red cabbage. (5)
- Add more sauce (6). And if you like things hot, sprinkle some red hot chili flakes inside your gyros as well.
Make in advance and store
Prepare everything and keep each item refrigerated in a separate container. Reheat the meat before serving. I prefer to cut the tomatoes just before serving.
Keep the leftovers in separate airtight containers; they will be fine for 2-3 days. Only stuff a new doner before serving.
If you cannot eat your doner entirely, wrap it in aluminum foil and refrigerate it. It will get slightly soggy, but it will be fine until the next meal or day.
German Gyros (or Döner Kebab)
Ingredients
Meat:
- 1 lb turkey breast Note
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika powder
- 3 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried marjoram
- ½ dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon coriander
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1 medium onion
- juice of ½ lemon
- ¼ cup olive oil
- fine sea salt
Tzatziki:
- 1 cucumber
- 1 lb Greek yogurt
- juice of ½ lemon
- 4-5 garlic cloves
- a bunch of dill
- salt and pepper
Serve:
- ½ red cabbage finely shredded
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- a pinch of fine sea salt
- black pepper
- 1 flatbread
- 2 tomatoes sliced
- 1 onion sliced
Instructions
Marinate the meat:
- Slice the meat into very thin slices, about 4-5 cm/ 1.5-2 inches long, and place them in a large, non-reactive bowl.1 lb turkey breast/ 450 g
- Marinate: Add all the spices. Grate the garlic cloves and slice the onion into thin half-rings. Add them to the meat with the lemon juice and olive oil. Don't add any salt at this stage; salt the meat after cooking it. Mix well and place the bowl in the fridge. Leave the meat to marinate for at least 1 hour, but preferably for several hours.2 teaspoons sweet paprika powder + 3 teaspoons dried oregano + 1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme + ½ teaspoon dried marjoram + ½ dried rosemary + ½ teaspoon ground black pepper + ¼ teaspoon ground cumin + ¼ teaspoon coriander + ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper + 5 garlic cloves + 1 medium onion + juice of ½ lemon + ¼ cup olive oil/ 60 ml
Tzatziki:
- Roughly grate the cucumber (large side of the box grater). Place in a colander, sprinkle with a tablespoon of salt, and leave to drain for about 30 minutes. Place in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze as much water out of it as you can.1 cucumber + 1 tablespoon fine sea salt
- Mix the cucumber, yogurt, lemon juice, grated garlic cloves, and finely chopped dill in a bowl. Adjust the taste with salt and pepper.1 lb Greek yogurt/ 450 g + juice of ½ lemon + 4-5 garlic cloves + a bunch of dill + salt and pepper
Cook:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/ 200°C.
- Cook meat: Heat a large cast-iron skillet or non-stick pan and cook the meat on high heat until browned and cooked through about 2-3 minutes, but check. Salt the meat to taste. Don't overcrowd the pan; if it is too small, it is preferable to fry the meat in two batches.
- Heat bread: In the meantime, place the flatbread in the hot oven and heat for about 2-3 minutes until heated through and lightly crisp on top. Take it out and quarter it. Cut each piece horizontally (don't cut through) to obtain a pocket.1 flatbread
- Cabbage: Finely slice the red cabbage and place it in a bowl. Add some salt and knead the cabbage for a minute or so to soften it. Add the olive oil, some pepper, and more salt, if necessary. Mix well.½ red cabbage + salt + 1 tablespoon olive oil + a pinch of fine sea salt + black pepper
Serve:
- Slice the onions and tomatoes. Smear the inside of the bread with some tzatziki, add some onion and tomato slices, some shredded red cabbage, and the meat. Serve with more tzatziki and vegetables on the side.1 onion + 2 tomatoes
Claudia says
This was the most authentic tasting Döner Kebab I’ve made! Thank you for this bomb.com recipe, it will be our go to from now on!
Adina says
So happy to hear it, Claudia. Thank you.
mjskitchen says
Oh I like this! This would make a great lunch for us and allows me to use some of the small packages of chicken I have in the freezer. Great sandwich Adina!
Jesse-Gabriel says
Hier in Berlin bekommt man Döner und auch Gyros wirklich fast an jeder zweiten Ecke, leider nicht wirklich immer gut und es ist kein Deutsches esse!
Dein Rezept klingt sehr lecker!
Viele Grüße,
Jesse-Gabriel
Adina says
Hi Jesse-Gabriel. I definitely remember the Döner- Läden in Berlin. My first city trip when I came to Germany, we only had Döner, several days in a row. My version is definitely less greasy and heavy. 🙂
Adina says
Hi Thao. Turkish food is really great, we are lucky to have so many Turkish restaurants around here. If you feel like cooking Turkish, I can recommend you these 2 blogs: http://www.giverecipe.com/ and http://myturkishkitchen.blogspot.de/.
Thao @ In Good Flavor says
I have never heard of a döner before, but then again, I have never had Turkish food. This looks scrumptious, Adina! I can see why your son asked for it for his birthday.