I've made a reasonable gyro/donair using Beyond meat. It's not exactly lamb, but it definitely satiated my craving for a donair aka a gyro. I grew up in Halifax. We call them donairs there, and yes, they were originally made with lamb. I think most places use ground beef now. I found Beyond meat quite tasty for this recipe, and the beauty is, no animals die.
I'm still refining it, but this is my recipe if you want to try it:
Halifax Donairs with
/Beyond Meat
Sauce:
2/3 cup veganaise
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp. white vinegar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Mix ingredients together, tasting to your desire. I don’t measure these ingredients, so it does slightly vary each time. The sauce is pretty close to the taste of the authentic donair sauce, made from evaporated milk, sugar, and vinegar. You can experiment to your own tastes. For a diabetic version you could use whatever sweetener you use in place of the sugar, but using the approximate ratio conversation. Also, I might try adding a tiny bit of vegan sour cream (Tofutti) to this next time. I constantly play around with the recipe, in an effort to improve on it. The sour cream would give it a slightly better texture, I’m hoping. I won't know until I try it.
Donair Meat:
1-3 packages beyond meat ground (16 oz packs). The amount of meat used will depend on how many people you are cooking for and how much leftovers you desire. I think the beyond meat is in 16 oz packets. I like having leftovers and so will you
3/4 cup bread crumbs (fine)
2 tablespoons ground flax I use this in place of egg to bind it all together. Real donair meat doesn't use egg at all, but that's because ground beef will bind if kneaded, where Beyond meat doesn't. Anyways, it is optional and does not contribute to the flavour of the donair. You will need to add a bit of water to the flax to make it sticky). If it does bind successfully, you might get away with the traditional loaf style, but I found they tend to overcook on the outside before reaching proper temp inside. I have only made this recipe a few times, so I'm still experimenting. Right now I prefer making it into thin patties, which can be fried to achieve a crispy texture, which I find gives it a more authentic texture.
2 tsp white pepper
1-2 tsp cayenne red pepper (depending on your taste)
3 tablespoons ground oregano
1 tablespoons leaf oregano
3 tablespoons paprika
3 tablespoons onion powder
1 Table spoon(s) garlic powder
2-3 tsp salt
The spices here are a guestimate and should be adjusted to your tastes and also to the amount of meat used. I never measure, so be your own chef and decide what you like. These are the spices for traditional Halifax donairs, but the amounts are up to you. The most important thing to remember is the salt ratio. Approximately 1 teaspoon of salt per pound (500g) of meat is about right and the rest of the spices are pretty flexible.
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and knead until binded and sticky. Shape into patties, as I prefer. Normally you would bake donair meat in loaves, but because beyond meat requires a lot less cooking, I’ve been forming it into patties and frying them instead, as I mentioned. I slice it afterwards to put in my wrap.
Also run your pita under cold water for a second on both sides then lightly fry. This makes the pita soft and pliable to make your donair/gyro wrap.
Donairs are served in Halifax in heated pita bread, with sweet sauce, diced onions and tomatoes. Nothing more and nothing less! Enjoy!!
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