Canadian Halifax Donair is a traditional Canadian recipe for a kebab of thinly-sliced beef meatloaf with salad and a donair sauce topping served in a flatbread wrap. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Canadian version of: Canadian Halifax Donair.
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The donair is a variation of the döner kebab of Greek Canadian origin which originated in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, in the early 1970s. Donair meat is made from spiced ground beef sliced off a rotating cone, and then fried on a flattop to ensure doneness and create crispy edges. The toppings typically include chopped onions and tomatoes, while the distinctive sweet donair sauce is made from condensed milk (or evaporated), sugar, vinegar, and garlic powder. All of these ingredients are wrapped together in a soft white Lebanese style pita.
Originating from traditional Turkish doner, the Halifax donair was created in the 1970s by Greek immigrant Peter Gamoulakos. Initially offering traditional gyros at Velos Pizza in Bedford, Nova Scotia, Gamoulakos modified the recipe to better suit local tastes. He replaced lamb with beef and developed a sweet sauce made from evaporated milk, vinegar, and garlic powder.
This is a home-cooked version of the Halifax donair.
Ingredients:
For the Donair Meat:
1.25kg lean minced beef
90g Italian ciabbata breadcrumbs
2 tbsp ground black pepper
1 ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp dried oregano
3 tsp paprika
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp salt
To assemble the Donair:
6 Pita bread (for the wrap) [traditionally Lebanese khoubiz breads]
diced tomatoes
diced onion Donair sauce
Mozzarella Cheese, grated — most think this is not original, but the founding restaurant allows patrons to add cheese to their donairs as an option.
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 150°C. Line a baking tray with kitchen foil and set aside.
Combine all the ingredients for the donair meat in a stand mixer and mix well for 10 minutes on medium speed with a paddle attachment.
Once everything is very well combined, form the meat into a tightly-packed oval loaf.
Sif the loaf on your lined baking tray, transfer to the centre of the pre-heated oven and cook for 150 minutes.
Remove the loaf from the oven then set aside to allow the meat to rest and cool down to room temperature. At this point, wrap the loaf in clingfilm then transfer to the refrigerator and chill over night (this makes it much easier to slice).
The following day after the donair meat has chilled sufficiently, cut the loaf into thin slices. You will probably have some meat left over after making the donairs, simply portion this out and freeze enough for individual donairs in your freezer. The recipe as give, provides enough for 6 generous-sized donairs.
To assemble the donair: First make sure that all your desired toppings are ready and to hand. Also tear off a large square sheet of kitchen foil for each donair that you plan to assemble (these need to be large enough to hold everything).
Take a portion of donair meat (about 1/6 of the total for each donair) and heat the slices in a frying pan over low heat with just a tiny bit of oil. You just want to warm the slices up and not brown them too much.
While the meat is warming in the frying pan, take a flatbread and quickly wet both sides under running water. Now take the flatbread and put it on top of the meat while cooking. Once the pita has been over the meat for about 1 minute, flip it over and let the pita steam for another 1 minute on the other side.
Take the flatbread and sit it on a square of aluminium foil.
Top the pita with donair meat and remaining toppings as desired. Finally drizzle over some of the donair sauce.
Fold the flatbread around the meat and roll it up (like a giant taco, then fold over). Wrap the kitchen foil around the donair and place it an oven pre-heated to 170°C for about 10 minutes to warm them.
Repeat the above steps for all the donairs that you're making.
To eat, peel the aluminium foil away as you eat the donair. Make sure you have lots of napkins in hand — donairs are famously messy and all the more delicious for that.
