Doner Kebab Sandwich

One of the reasons I love traveling is because of the food. The first time I went to Japan, it really opened my eyes. It was the first time I realized how little I know about food. Now every time I plan an international trip, I plan 75% of around food. Popular restaurants, must-have dishes, even the coffee culture, yup I research it all. On my latest vacation to Germany, I had the opportunity to try not only German food but exceptional Turkish food. In fact, my favorite meal during the whole 2 weeks was the doner kebab. It's been only a month since I left but I still crave it all the time. And so, naturally, I made my own version based on Turkitch's doner kebab sandwich. Guys, I think I did the dish justice.

Recipe

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Doner Kebab Sandwich

Total Time2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Keyword: chicken, sandwich

Servings: 4

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

Doner kebab

• 1 lb chicken thighs boneless, skinless
• 1 small onion grated
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

Spicy harissa

• 1 red bell pepper
• 3 fresno chilies
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon ground caraway
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• salt and pepper

Hummus

• 14 ounces canned chickpeas
• 3 tablespoon tahini
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper

Garlic yogurt sauce

• ¼ cup Greek yogurt plain
• 2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 ½ teaspoon lemon juice
• salt and pepper

Remaining ingredients

• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 large carrot
• 1 baguette or sandwich bread
• 1 cup shredded romaine lettuce
• 2 tomatoes thinly sliced
• 1 small cucumber thinly sliced
• ½ cup crumbled feta
• ¼ red onion thinly sliced
• ¼ cup parsley chopped
• ¼ cup mint chopped
• 1 ½ tablespoon sumac

Instructions

• Marinate the chicken. Combine the grated onion with olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, oregano, paprika, salt, and pepper. Toss the chicken with the marinade, turning to coat. Let sit for at least one hour, preferably overnight.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Make the spicy harissa sauce. Place 1 red bell peppers and 3 fresno chilies on a baking sheet. Roast the peppers and chili for 20 minutes or until charred, turning halfway through. Transfer the vegetables to a heat safe bowl and wrap with plastic wrap. Let sit for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and carefully remove the skin and discard the stem and seeds.
• Blend the bell pepper and fresno with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, caraway, coriander, and cumin until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and let cool completely.
• Make the hummus. Drain the chickpeas, reserving ¼ cup of the canned liquid. Blend together the chickpeas with the reserved liquid, tahini, lemon, and garlic until smooth. Slowly add the olive oil while the blender is running and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Make the garlic yogurt sauce. Whisk together the yogurt with garlic, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and let sit for at least 30 minutes.
• Prepare the remaining toppings. Place the remaining red bell pepper and green bell pepper on a baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes or until charred, turning halfway through. Transfer the vegetables to a heat safe bowl and wrap with plastic wrap. Let sit for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and carefully remove the skin and discard the stem and seeds. Slice the peppers and set aside.
• Season the carrot with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, and pepper and wrap in aluminum foil. Place the wrapped carrot on a baking sheet. Roast the carrot for 30-35 minutes or until tender. Slice the carrot into thin slices and set aside.
• Remove the chicken from the marinade, scraping off the excess. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a saute pan over medium heat and cook the chicken until browned and the juices run clear. Remove from heat and let rest for 10 minutes. Chop the chicken into small pieces.
• Assemble the doner kebab sandwich. Toast the bread and slice in half. Smear a good amount of hummus on the bottom bread followed by the garlic yogurt. Smear the spicy harissa on the top bread.
• Top the bottom bread with chicken followed by the roasted peppers, sliced carrots, red onion, tomato, cucumber, shredded lettuce, feta, mint, and parsley. Sprinkle sumac on top and serve immediately.

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

Okay, so you might be wondering why my doner kebab sandwich doesn't look like a typical doner kebab. Or you might even be wondering, "what is a doner kebab?" Simply put, doner kebab is a type of rotisserie. You stack slices of seasoned meat on a stick and place the stick in front of a heat source. As the outside of the meat cooks, you shave off what's ready while the rest of the meat continues to cook.

In Germany, doner kebab stands take it to the next level and use their kebab to turn it into a sandwich or wrap. They take a Turkish flatbread and stuff it to the brim with the meat, fresh lettuce, tomatoes, sauces, herbs, basically, the whole works. It's because they put so many ingredients in one wrap that makes the dish so good.

Although there are many, many doner kebabs in Germany that are delicious, one, in particular, was exceptional. Located in Munich, Turkitch serves their doner kebab in crusty bread. You can also have it in the flatbread but this was the first time I saw a stand use bread. They also load it up on the sauces and use turkey as their main protein. I had it 3 times in 5 days it was so good. And so, this doner kebab sandwich is based on Turkitch's version. I'm not going to lie when I say that I think it tastes almost exactly like the one I enjoyed.

Making the doner kebab sandwiches are a lot of work. You have to make 3 sauces, marinate and cook the chicken, and prepare all of the toppings. However, you can prepare the sauces ahead of time. You can even cut and prep the toppings the day before.

I used chicken for this recipe because turkey is harder to find throughout the year here in Los Angeles. Also, I feel like chicken thigh would just be juicer than turkey breast since we're not using a rotisserie. You can also use chicken breast if you prefer.

Marinate the chicken with grated onion, lemon, olive oil, oregano, paprika, and garlic at least for one over but preferably overnight.

Meanwhile, make the three sauces: spicy harissa, hummus, and garlic yogurt. Turkitch's original sandwich doesn't have hummus but they did have one on the menu with hummus. That option was my favorite so we're going to add hummus in our sandwich too.

To make the spicy harissa, roast the bell pepper and fresno chilies until lightly charred and softened. Since you have to roast bell peppers for the sandwich toppings, you can roast them all at the same time.

Remove the seeds and skins from the peppers and blend them up with the remaining harissa ingredients. If you want a milder sauce, decrease the number of fresno chilies.

When it's time to cook the chicken, scrape off the excess marinade and cook the chicken on a skillet until browned. I tried different methods of cooking the chicken to mimic the rotisserie. I even tried creating my own rotisserie in the oven but found that the stovetop was the best option. The skillet allows the outside of the chicken to caramelize while the inside is still tender and juicy, similar to how the doner kebabs are.

Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes, then chop it up into small pieces.

If you haven't already, prepare the remaining toppings while the chicken is cooking. Roast the carrot, slice the tomatoes, shred the lettuce, slice the cucumbers and red onions, and crumble the feta.

So funny thing, I went to different Turkitch locations (it's a chain) and discovered that each location has its own toppings. The first one I went to used fresh mint and roasted peppers and carrots while the second used raw carrots and skipped the mint. I personally preferred the first location so I went with their toppings. The roasted vegetables are a surprisingly wonderful compliment to the doner kebab.

If you want to go the traditional route, you can use Turkish flatbread to create your sandwich. Alternatively, use a baguette like I did or some type of crusty sandwich bread. I do recommend getting a baguette that's softer and not too dense. I purchased mine from a Vietnamese bakery because their baguettes tend to be lighter.

Now it's time to load up the doner kebab sandwiches. Yes, these sandwiches are massive, but that's how they should be! Seriously, just search for doner kebab and you'll see what I mean. But it's all for good reason because all of the toppings and sauces work together to create one amazing sandwich. And I'm not exaggerating when I say AMAZING!

For more sandwich inspiration check out this Nashville fried fish sandwich!