TRADITIONAL EAST COAST DONAIR
Nova Scotia claim to be the inventors of the famous dish. I've also heard other stories about the origins of the donair and I can't confirm if they're true but it makes for a good story.
The basic gist of the story goes that a man from Greece immigrated to Atlantic Canada and wanted to set up a traditional restaurant with the food of his country. While his traditional menu was doing “ok” for sales business wasn't booming like he'd hoped. The man decided to adapt the traditional wrap on his menu to the tastes of the east coasters by using beef for the meat, some familiar spices and a sweet garlic sauce. The Maritimers loved it and the Donair was born!
Well, if you're not yet familiar with the beloved Donair allow me to introduce you. You can find them commonly in most pizza shops of the Atlantic provinces of Canada, mainly Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. us Maritimers consider the donair one of the east coast's signature dishes.
SO WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT A DONAIR AND HOW WOULD I DESCRIBE ONE?
Spinning meat griller Donairs have been compared the the Greek gyros wrap or the middle eastern shawarma however the meat is all beef and seasoned with different spices. The meat is traditionally cooked on a spinning grill
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The thinly sliced donair meat and wrapped up in a pita with toppings such as diced tomatoes, diced onion, mozzarella cheese and topped with its traditional sweet and garlicky Donair sauce.
Donair sauce is also something that's unique to the dish. It's flavour is deliciously garlicky and sweet and is often also used as a dipping sauce for pizza crusts and for garlic “fingers” – they're very similar to cheezy garlic bread slices… BUT better!
HOW TO MAKE A HOMEMADE DONAIR
Making the donair meat is actually quite simple and you don't need to have one of those spinning meat grill things!
Directions
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar, or to taste
6 large pita bread rounds
Directions
In a bowl, thoroughly mix together the ground beef, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, paprika, cayenne pepper, and oregano. Pack the spiced meat into a thick loaf shape, cover, and let rest in the refrigerator overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place the meat loaf onto a baking sheet, and bake for 1 hour, flipping the loaf over halfway through cooking. Allow the meat loaf to cool so it holds together for slicing.
Slice the meat loaf into 1/4-inch thick slices, and brown the slices in a skillet over medium heat until both sides are brown and crisp, about 5 minutes per side.
Sprinkle the pita bread rounds with a little water, and press each onto a heated skillet to warm up.
Mix together the evaporated milk and white sugar in a bowl, stirring until the sugar is dissolved, and then add the vinegar by teaspoons, mixing together after each addition, to taste. Refrigerate the sauce until serving.
TIP DO NOT OVER STIR AND STIR FROM THE BOTTOM UP ONLY A COUPLE TIME YOU WANT NICE THICK
To serve, place several slices of meat into a warmed pita bread, and spoon about 2 tablespoons of sauce over the meat. Roll the pita bread into a cone shape, wrap in aluminum foil to keep the sauce from dripping out, and serve.
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Many of us Martimers who've been all across the country think of this as homestyle comfort food and it helps ease the homesickness just a little bit!
I hope you enjoy the recipe!