I first shared this ultimate doner kebab recipe on the Instant Pot UK community page on Facebook and its gone down an absolute treat with many people making it a weekly staple instead of going out to buy a kebab!
There’s usually a story behind these kind of recipes when I try to recreate what I’ve had in my youth so here’s the story behind this…
So when I was ALOT younger, I lived a 5 minute walk away from one of the best kebab shops in Preston, I used to have it once a week in some form or another, the traditional way, on a pizza, topping a burger.. you get the story!
Jump to Recipe
As I got older and realised that nobody really knows what goes into a doner kebab, I freaked and didn’t eat one again for years and years until I got really drunk one night and then it rekindled my love for the salty, spicy, greasy drunk food that was a proper kebab. Since then, I’ve tried so many times to recreate a recipe which I thought resembled the same texture and flavours but without all the grease and added extras.. in comes my ultimate doner kebab.
Using my Instant Pot, I was able to recreate a recipe which was the perfect texture and flavour in a relatively short time, if you don’t have one already, you can buy them or other pressure cookers and equipment needed using the links below.
I usually serve this kebab with loads of salad, pitta breads, lots of homemade garlic mayo and Sriracha sauce.
(AFF Links) The pul biber I love to use and the Instant Pot, you could also use a ninja foodie and I’d highly recommend a blow torch for that just off the rotisserie taste!
Ultimate Doner Kebab
The ultimate, homemade doner kebab. Recreate this delicious recipe at home, using fresh ingredients and spices
Ingredients
- 500 g Lamb mince Can also use beef/turkey/chicken
- 1.5 tsp ground coriander
- 1.5 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp aleppo pepper/pul biber If you can't get this, you can use half a tsp chilli flakes and a squeeze of lemon juice
- 1 tsp black pepper freshly ground if possible
- 100 g fresh breadcrumbs the fresher the better, you want them soft for the texture of the kebab
- 1 medium red onion grated/puled in a food processor
- 4 cloves garlic crushed/grated
- Salt to taste
Instructions
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Mix up all the ingredients until well combined together and all the spices and breadcrumbs are fully dispersed throughout the lamb
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Put the meat mixture into a doubled over piece of foil and wrap really tightly ensuring that all air bubbles are taken out so that your kebab doesn't have any surprise little air holes.
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Add 2 cups of water to your Instant Pot (or other pressure cooker)Place your wrapped up kebab log onto a trivet on top of the water
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Place your lid onto the Instant Pot and set the pressure release handle to sealing, set to manual, high pressure, 25 minutes and then allow the pot to go through to keep warm and let the pressure release naturally. You can also do this in any other pressure cooker or if you don’t have a pressure cooker, pop it straight in a hot oven wrapped in foil for the first cook.
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When you are ready to eat, take the log out of the foil and heat on all sides under a really hot grill to crisp up the outside (just like the turning kebab on a huge skewer in the kebab house), slice up and serve with lots of salad, pickled onions, garlic and chilli sauces.
Wow – impressive!! I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a recipe for homemade donner kebab before. I imagine this must be very popular – sounds delicious!! Thanks for linking up to #CookBlogShare 🙂 Eb x
Author
Tastes just like the real thing but without all the nasty ingredients!
I made this for the first time tonight Priya and it was amazing! I can see exactly why it’s so popular 😀 HUngry Hubby loved it and ate three massive pittas full of the kebab (he’d have ate the lot if I had of sliced it 😉 )
Author
So glad you both enjoyed it! It’s always a winner at our house too.. thanks for trying it out 😁
Made this last night! It was amazing! Its definitely a winner and will be a regular n the Buffey household x
Author
So glad you enjoyed it Lorna 🙂 it’s a regular for us too!
Thank you so much for this mazing lamb kebab recipe, Priya. This is definely going to be our regular meal from now on. Done in Instant Pot pressure cooker first. You are a star of cooking. Looking forward to cook your chicken shawarma as this one was so delicious. It was devoured by my family. I didn’t have pul biber (Allepo pepper) but added a bit of ground paprika and sumac. Divine! Thank you so much.
Author
So glad you all enjoyed it 🙂
IS this Turkish or German Version of Doner Kabab?
Author
It’s more Turkish style than German 🙂
Thank you that is all I needed to know because, I have tried the Turkish one and I loved it and miss that kind of stuff for Germany and Turkey.
I have a question about sauce that is on the Doner Kebab and what type of bread is used?
Author
It’s a sriracha chilli sauce and garlic mayonnaise that we usually serve with toasted warm pitta bread 🙂
I made this last night for guests…it was fab & clear plates all round but a little crumbly for my liking – it didn’t slice like your photo. Do you think adding an egg would bind it together better?
Thanks
Kerry ☺
Author
Hi Kerry! Glad everyone enjoyed it. I actually made one last night which was a little crumbly too, an egg would definitely help I think. I used a different style of breadcrumbs than usual (I usually use fresh bread so it’s super soft, last night I used boxed breadcrumbs) so I’m blaming that but you could experiment with an egg 🙂
Thank you for the reply. Do you have a minced turkey or chicken kebab recipe? Or could I simply substitute the lamb for poultry? Thanks. Kerry ☺
Author
Hi Kerry, I made it with some chicken mince last week and it worked great 🙂
Looks great, was wondering if you could recommend an alternative to the breadcrumbs? Trying to keep carbohydrates to a minimum! Making tomorrow and looking forward to it!
Author
Hi Daisy, breadcrumbs work best but I know people have had good results with ground almonds or by just leaving them out too, it’ll just mean the texture might not be as smooth to slice down but the flavour will all be there.
Hello, firstly thank you for sharing this recipe. It is amazing.
Thinking past lockdown, i would love to serve this up but I only have a 6 quart. Do you think you could put two in at once (stacked). If so, would you adjust cooking time?
Thanking you!
Author
Hi Raych!
Thanks for stopping by, yes, you can absolutely do more than one, I have a 6 quart and if I’m doing more than one (sometimes I do a lamb doner and a chicken one!) I adjust the cooking time by about 10 minutes to ensure the heat can penetrate all the way through both of them. I find it easiest to do them in advance and leave on keep warm if I’m feeding a crowd, that way all you need to do is blast them under the grill once you’re ready to eat!
Hi Daisy, use Gram (chick pea flour) instead….it’s low carb.
Thanks Priya for the wonderful recipe. It tasted amazing. Only thing it turned a little crumbly so couldn’t slice as nicely. Any idea what could be the reason? Does it need more breadcrumbs??
Author
Hi there! I’m so glad you enjoyed the flavours. The crumbles happen when it’s not squashed together tightly enough. You can either add some more breadcrumbs or an egg to bind it together so it’ll hold if you can’t get it tightly packed enough.
Hi. What temperature do you have the pressure cooker on as mine can be adjusted
Author
Hi Mikki! I use my Instant Pot on the high setting. So would recommend you use your pressure cooker on the highest it goes 🙂
Hi can this be cooked in a slow cooker? Because I don’t have a pressure cooker as I really want to try this recipe.
Author
Hi Rebecca, I’ve never tried it in a slow cooker but I have done it in the oven, wrapped up tightly in foil at 180 for around 35mins then unwrapped and grilled to a crispy outside. I would expect it will work the same way for a slow cooker on a medium/high heat for a good few hours!