Have you ever had the pleasure of eating beef or lamb shawarma wrapped in a hot pita? If not, allow me to introduce you to this tasty Middle Eastern equivalent of the Greek gyros sandwich.
For starters, shawarma is made with marinated lamb, beef, or chicken. The shawarma seasoning includes classic Middle Eastern spices like allspice, cinnamon, and cardamom.
Next, the meat is stacked vertically on a spit, and cooked for many hours. Like gyros, it's sliced off the spit and served in a pita or lavash bread and wrapped like a burrito.
So, if you don't have shawarma available where you live, roll up your sleeves, and make your own.
One of the reasons I love cooking is that I get to take simple ingredients, and with a little effort and creativity, end up with something delicious to eat.
Personally, I prefer eating from the comfort of home. I guess you can say I'm a homebody. Most nights, I'd rather be home cooking my own dinner, while enjoying a glass of wine.
So when I'm craving shawarma, I want to be able to make it myself. But like most folks, I don't have a spit handy, or hours to cook dinner. As the saying goes, "necessity is the mother of invention."
After some trial and error in the kitchen, and experimenting with different shawarma seasoning combinations, I settled on this recipe. And guess what, it's been a hit with the family too!
How to Make Lamb Shawarma
Slice meat into strips. Add vinegar and olive oil.
Shawarma Seasoning: Mix the black pepper, allspice, cinnamon, cardamom, za'atar, crushed red pepper, freshly grated nutmeg, dried mint, and salt.
Sprinkle the shawarma spices over the meat, working in to coat the meat thoroughly.
Marinate for a minimum of two hours.
Heat a castiron skillet for a few minutes. Remove the meat from the marinade and cook in batches. Don't overcrowd the pan. Repeat with the remaining meat.
Expert Tips
- Shawarma is served wrapped in flatbread. It is usually drizzled with tahini sauce. Sometimes it's accompanied by a side of hummus and pickled turnips.
- If you're watching your carb, you can wrap the meat in a low-carb tortilla instead of stuffing it into pita pockets.
- I like adding feta cheese to the shawarma sandwich, although it's not traditional, it is delicious!
- Have leftovers? Be sure to try my Shawarma Pizza recipe!
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Easy Beef or Lamb Shawarma
Ingredients
- 1-½ lbs lamb or beef
- 3 T. white wine vinegar
- 2 T olive oil
- ½ tsp. black pepper
- 2 tsp. allspice
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. cardamom
- 1 T. za'atar
- 1 tsp. crushed red pepper
- ½ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 tsp. dried mint
- 1-½ tsp. salt
Instructions
- Slice meat into strips. Add vinegar and olive oil.
- Mix the black pepper, allspice, cinnamon, cardamom, za’atar, crushed red pepper, freshly grated nutmeg, dried mint, and salt.
- Sprinkle the spices over the meat, working in to coat the meat thoroughly.
- Marinate for a minimum of two hours.
- Heat a castiron skillet for a few minutes. Remove the meat from the marinade and cook in batches. Don’t overcrowd the pan. Repeat with the remaining meat.
Notes
- Shawarma is served wrapped in flatbread. It is usually drizzled with tahini sauce. Sometimes it's accompanied by a side of hummus and pickled turnips.
- If you're watching your carb, you can wrap the meat in a low-carb tortilla instead of stuffing it into pita pockets.
- I like adding feta cheese to the shawarma sandwich, although it's not traditional, it is delicious!
- Have leftovers? Be sure to try my Shawarma Pizza recipe!
Alissa says
Thank you for the recipe! What type of beef works best?
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Alissa,
If you don't mind spending a little extra, I'd definitely go with flank steak!