Another Shwarma

[CraigC]

We had Gyros last night with homemade shwarma, tzatziki on flat breads instead of pita. The shwarma was cooked over charcoal on my Weber 22.5 kettle. We had watermelon for a side.

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/members/36788-albums1069-picture7135.jpg

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/members/36788-albums1069-picture7136.jpg

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/members/36788-albums1069-picture7137.jpg

[ModelMaker]

Good.
Ed

[Big George's BBQ]

That looks really good

[dadsr4]

Don't suppose you'd be willing to share the meat mix recipe? The one I have, I wouldn't trust on a rotisserie.

[CraigC]

Don't suppose you'd be willing to share the meat mix recipe? The one I have, I wouldn't trust on a rotisserie.

This is my wife Karen's adaptations and adjustments to the original version. The website she found it at is no longer up. When it went on the spit, it was wrapped in HD foil and had just come out of the freezer after being there for 2 hours. I also used two charcoal baskets, pushed together for the first 30 minutes. I pulled them apart to opposite sides of the kettle and removed the foil. The first time we made it, we did the meat mix. This time it was all lamb.

2 lbs ground lamb or a mix of lamb and ground beef
1 medium white onion
4 cloves of fresh garlic
1/2 tablespoon dried ground basil (recipe called for marjoram but I can't stand it so changed)
1/2 tablespoon dried ground rosemary
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon fresh grated lemon peel (called for dried but that's useless as far as I am concerned)
2 teaspoons sea salt
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (may drop this to 1/2 after we make again)
1 teaspoon white pepper


Quarter the onion and place in a food processor with the garlic, pulse several times, scraping down, until very finely chopped. Remove the onion and the garlic from the food processor and wrap in a clean towel or piece of cheesecloth and squeeze to remove the liquid. Put the onion/garlic mixture back in the food processor.

If you are using coarse ground spices, grind them to a powder in a spice grinder.

Next, add the spice mixture and other ingredients to the food processor and let it run until everything is mixed thoroughly, about 2 minutes. Scrape down from time to time. You may have to pre-mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and process smaller amounts individually. The meat mixture needs to be very finely chopped to where it creates a seasoned meat paste. Make sure you pan fry a small piece to check the seasoning before continuing.

Remove the mixture and place on 2 layered pieces of plastic wrap 14-16 inches long, with the long side facing you. Form the meat mix into a roll about 6-7 inches long and start to roll at the edge of the plastic wrap. Twist the long ends to close.

WARNING: It may pop open along the seam edge as you compact it. I solved that problem by wrapping it again the opposite way, with short end facing me. I then did another long way wrap with doubled plastic.

Once I got it wrapped to where nothing would escape, I twisted 1 end to close tightly, then stood it up and squeezed/tightened the twist of the plastic wrap until it was firm and compacted.
We let the loaf set up overnight in the fridge and then placed in the freezer for 2 hours before cooking. Before putting in the freezer, remove the plastic wrap and re-wrap in heavy-duty foil.

For cooking, build a 1-zone fire with medium heat. The charcoal baskets for the Weber come in handy so the coals can be easily moved later. When the fire is ready, take the meat out of the freezer and place the log on your rotisserie spit, centered and with forks set opposite each other. Place your charcoal baskets directly under the meat for about 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes, move the charcoal baskets to opposite sides of the kettle. Remove the foil from the loaf. You want to brown the outside and give it a nice crispy crust. Try to keep the top on as much as possible to keep the heat in. Pull the loaf at 150 F internal. We let it cook to 160 per ground lamb recommended guidelines and it was overcooked.

Serve with your favorite tzatziki sauce, feta, sliced tomatos, lettuce, whatever you want.

[BillN]

Mmmmm I like what I see here, thanks for the recipe.