As promised, here is my recipe for Tavuk Doner or Chicken Doner. Considering I did not have a “real” doner machine from Turkey, I think the results were fantastic. The chicken was tender and the spice was delicious. If I would have had the real machine and the traditional sword-like knife that is used to cut the meat as it cooks, it would have been perfect. There were no complaints and out of five pounds of a combination of breast and thighs, there was only a handful of meat left over after we all enjoyed this yummy delight! The reason for doing the doner vertically is so that as the meat cooks, the juicy drippings baste the meat below. Cooking this way also prevents the flare-ups you would get if you cooked it horizontally like a rotisserie. As the meat cooks, it is trimmed off so that everyone gets a little crispy meat. Add these little nuggets of flavor to my Quick and Easy Puffy Pita Bread with some lettuce, tomato and yogurt sauce and you have yourself a sandwich that will make you wanna “Slap your mama!” (that’s Southern for it’s delicious). Of course, I had to make us some more bread because we had eaten some that I had made the day before making the doner.
I love a challenge and this was definitely a bit of a challenge. But it was a fun challenge! My cousin Donna helped me rig up the grill and tie the rotisserie mechanism to the top of the grill that I had turned sideways. We also had to tie the grate to the grill so the charcoal would stay in a vertical position. Now if you are not up to rigging grills up in various ways, you could definitely just spice the meat, cook it on the grill in a normal fashion and then slice it thinly and serve on pita bread. It was so worth all the effort to me. When you make the extra effort to cook something special, it taste so much better with all the love you put into it. I hope you try it out, your family will love it! Afiyet olsun!
- 1 Large Onion
- 1 Lemon
- 1 Tablespoon Salt
- 2 Tablespoons Cumin
- 2 Tablespoons Mint
- 2 Tablespoons Crushed Red Pepper
- 1 Tablespoons Dried Onions
- 2 Tablespoons Garlic Powder
- 1 Tablespoons Onion Powder
- 2 Tablespoons Aleppo Pepper
- 1 Tablespoons Cayenne Powder
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 2½ pounds Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs, pounded flat
- 2½ pounds Boneless Chicken Breast, pounded flat
- Grate the Onion and place in a container deep enough to hold your 5 pounds of chicken.
- Juice the lemon and add the juice and the lemon halves to the container.
- Add in all the spices and olive oil.
- Mix well.
- Add the Chicken Thighs and Breasts.
- Massage the marinade into the chicken.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Prepare your charcoal grill. Attach your rotisserie machine to the grill.
- Thread the chicken pieces onto your rotisserie skewer according to the directions for your rotisserie.
- When the grill is hot, attach the skewer to the rotisserie and plug it into an electrical outlet and turn it on.
- Cook until the meat is done. Shaving off pieces of meat with a sharp knife as it cooks.
- If you are not using a rotisserie, just grill the chicken pieces until done and then slice into thin slices.
- Serve on pita bread with lettuce, tomato and sauce if desired.
