Donairs at Home

That's right my friends, you can make delicious donairs at home! These are awesome, we couldn't believe how much they tasted like the originals.

I doubled the meat part of the recipe and it made about 8 portions.  The sweet sauce makes a large batch, enough for twice as many donairs as this recipe makes.  If you have a use for the remaining evaporated milk, I would recommend halving the sweet sauce recipe.

These are so incredibly easy to make, I couldn't believe it! The only thing to keep in mind is that they are best if they sit in the refrigerator overnight or for a day before crisping up the meat in a dry pan.


We topped ours with sweet sauce, sauteed onions, lettuce, tomatoes, and montery jack cheese. So good!

The original recipe states that these freeze really well, so feel free to double it up so that you have donairs ready for when those cravings hit.


I found the original recipe on allrecipes.com. I have listed the amount I made (double the original).  Trust me, you will want to make at least this much!

Donairs

• 2 lbs extra lean ground beef
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground oregano
• 2 tsp flour
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• Sweet Sauce
• 1 can (12 fluid oz) evaporated milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 4 tsp white vinegar
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup shredded lettuce
• 1 white onion, sliced (you can saute the onion too)
• sliced Monterey Jack cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
2. In a small bowl mix together the salt, oregano, flour, pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper
3. Place the ground beef in a large bowl, and mix in the spices with your hands
4. In order to compress the meat to get the donair meat texture, you have two options
1. Place the meat in a stainless steel bowl on a solid surface. Throw the meat mixture into the bowl about 20 times, kneading between each throw
2. Or, place the meat mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the paddle attachment on medium low for 2 - 4 minutes
5. Shape the meat into two loaf shapes, and place on the parchment paper
6. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes
7. Remove from the oven, let cool, and then place in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight
8. To make the sweet sauce, whisk together the evaporated milk, sugar, and garlic powder
9. When mixed, whisk in the white vinegar 1 tsp at a time 
10. Continue whisking until the sweet sauce is thick, then place in the refrigerator until ready to serve
11. When ready to serve, slice the meat into thin slices, and then crisp it up in a frying pan over medium heat
12. Serve on pita bread with cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, onions (raw or sauteed), and sweet sauce
13. Enjoy!