Slow Cooker Doner Kebab

Slow Cooker Doner Kebab is an easy make at home version of the classic Turkish kebab. Perfectly seasoned lamb cooked until tender, sliced thinly and served in a flatbread with crunchy salad – delicious!

Slow Cooker Doner Kebab (Lamb Kebab)

Who says that the slow cooker is only useful for casseroles and curries? There are plenty of other recipes that work fantastically well in them. One of which is a kebab!

The word kebab actually describes the cooking method of skewering meat, fish or vegetables and cooking slowly over coals. There are several different types of kebab from various parts of the world, for example Middle Eastern Shawarma, Greek Gryos and Souvlaki, and of course one of the most popular, Doner kebab from Turkey.

Personally, I think the doner kebab’s reputation here in the UK of only being eaten at the end of a night out is unfair! It’s actually a really tasty meal and perfect for sharing.

As you may have seen, doner kebabs sold in shops are always cooked on a giant, slowly rotating skewer called a rotisserie. However, this is not a process that is possible to copy in the slow cooker!

My technique produces delicious results, is easy to prepare, and even better, works in the slow cooker.

What You’ll Need

Here’s what you need to make it.

• Lamb. Doner kebabs are traditionally made from lamb meat but it’s not unheard of to see beef, veal or chicken being used instead. If you want to be a purist you need to use lamb. Lamb is a fatty meat and you need this fat whilst cooking to keep the kebab tender, flavourful and moist. Look for 20% fat mince.
• Spices. A blend of cumin, cinnamon, chilli, paprika, smoked paprika, salt and pepper.
• Onion and garlic. Finely grate a small onion and some cloves of garlic.
• Breadcrumbs. These aren’t a traditional ingredient for a doner kebab but they improve the texture of the kebab and impart flavour throughout the meat as they soak up the liquid.
• Milk. Again, you likely won’t find milk in traditional recipes but it’s great for softening and binding minced meat.
• Lamb stock. This is a trick that I do when making various minced meat dishes. Melt a stock cube into a little warmed milk, it’s a great way to transfer the flavour through the meat.
• Oil. Just a little to prevent the kebab from sticking to the foil whilst cooking.

How To Make It

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to make a homemade Doner Kebab in the slow cooker.

1. Milk and stock. Warm the milk in a microwave then crumble in the stock cube, stir well.
2. Process. To create the tightly bound meat loaf that you see in the kebab shops, the lamb and seasonings need to be well mixed. This can be best achieved at home in a food processor.
3. Blend. Blend all of the ingredients in the food processor until well mixed to the consistency of a thick paste.
4. Foil wrap. Measure out some foil and then use the oil to paint a large rectangle in the centre where the lamb kebab will sit.

5. Shape. Spoon the kebab mixture onto the centre of the oiled foil and mould it into a loaf shape. Bring the foil together tightly over the meat to seal (see the recipe card for detailed instructions).
6. Trivet. Create a trivet for the kebab to rest on whilst cooking from two pieces of rolled up foil. If you already have a trivet for your slow cooker you can use this – providing it is wide enough.
7. Cook. Place the kebab onto the trivet in the slow cooker and cook. When it’s cooked unravel it from the foil and allow to rest for 10-20 minutes before carving into thin slices and serving.

Serving Suggestions

I serve a fakeaway doner kebab exactly as you would buy them from a shop, in a flatbread with crisp salad, pickles, and a creamy yogurt and garlic sauce drizzled over the top. I really enjoy the combination of the crunchy salad (I usually opt for iceberg lettuce and sometimes pickled cabbage) and the soft lamb and flatbread. It’s a very satisfying thing to eat!

This recipe will feed 6 people if sliced nice and thinly and served in pittas or flatbreads with salad and sauce. I also like some fries on the side!

If you do happen to have some kebab meat leftover, here are some alternative meal ideas.

• It makes a great filling for wraps with some hot chilli sauce!
• Throw some slices on the top of a pizza with some fresh sweet red chilli peppers.

Saying that, it’s so tasty that there is absolutely nothing wrong with simply having another kebab the next day!

Tips to make Crockpot Doner Kebab

• A food processor will really help to bind the meat and seasonings together and help with carving thin slices that do not crumble.
• When shaping the kebab make sure to roll it in the foil as tightly as you can (with care not to rip the foil whilst doing so) to create a well shaped kebab which will carve easily.
• A meat thermometer like this one is a great tool to check that the kebab (or any large chunk of meat) is cooked through.
• When slicing the kebab use a large, freshly sharpened knife to get perfectly thin slices.

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