This Halifax Donair is a true Canadian Treasure and the official food of Halifax. But you don’t have to go to Halifax to enjoy one, you can now make it right at home. With bold flavors, easy to follow steps and convenient ingredients, the Donair will become a guaranteed family favorite!
What Is The Halifax Donair?
Something that few may know is that Halifax has their own traditional Donair recipe that they pride themselves with highly. Back in the 1950s a man by the name of Peter Gamaoulakos came to Canada and started selling traditional gyros in his pizza shop. His plan failed, but he didn’t give up and decided to create a new recipe that suited the Halifax locals. He switched lamb to beef and created a special sauce which is the signature sauce for a true Halifax donair!
The rest is history and this donair became a Halifax favorite. The locals loved it so much that in 2015 this donair was named the official food of 2015.
Why We Love It
- Easy To Make
- Simple Ingredients
- Flavorful and Delicious
- Short Prep Time
- Incredible Sweet Sauce
This Halifax Donair is so much fun to make! It requires a short prep time and easy assembling time as well. I love the great flavors of the sweet Donair sauce which is a must, and makes the donair, in my opinion. Get your family ready for the new favorite dinner!
Ingredient Notes
- Beef – Although the original recipe used lamb, the donair was recreated using ground beef. If you like lamb, you can still use it or even blend it with some beef.
- Seasoning – The bold, captivating flavors of the Donair come from the perfect blend between ground coriander, onion powder, garlic powder, dried oregano, dried thyme, cayenne pepper, salt and ground black pepper.
- Sauce – There are 2 versions of this sauce, one that’s using evaporated milk and one that uses sweetened condensed milk. If using evaporated milk, you’ll need sugar, garlic powder and plain white vinegar. If using sweetened condensed milk, you’ll just skip the sugar and everything else is the same. The difference is the condensed milk version is a little thicker, but the taste is the same.
- Pita Bread– Buying large thinner pitas will help tremendously to hold all the ingredients together. You’ll want to either warm them up in the microwave for a few seconds or steam them up a bit to make them more malleable.
- Veggies – The only veggies you need here are tomatoes and onions. A beefsteak tomato is preferred and lots of chopped onion.
How to Make Halifax Donair
Make Donair Sauce
- Make sweet sauce: Whisk all the donair sauce ingredients together, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. You’ll want to make this in the beginning, to give the sauce ingredients time to blend together.
Donair Meat
- Make the meat mixture: Add all the donair meat ingredients to the bowl of your stand mixer and mix using the dough hook for about 5 minutes on medium low.
- Form the meat mixture and cover with foil: Form the meat into a loaf that’s about 8 inches in length. Make sure to knead it and roll the loaf so that it’s as tight as possible and all the air is out of it. Cover the loaf tightly with aluminum foil, rolling the ends tightly, so that it forms an even log. If you have skewers, thread 2 skewers through the log. Transfer the loaf to the fridge and let it rest for 30 minutes up to 24 hours.
- Prep oven and baking sheet: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the log on the baking sheet, propping the skewers on the edges.
- Bake: Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake for 1½ hours. Remove the foil from the donair log and place the skewers back on the baking pan. Bake for another 30 minutes or until browned all over. Let it cool before slicing.
Assemble Sandwich
- Cut the meat: Remove the skewers from the donair meat log and cut off one end so that you can stand the log up. Shave the meat thinly about ⅛ inch in thickness.
- Prep the pita breads: Steam the pita breads or warm them in the microwave so that it’s easier to make donair wraps.
- Crisp up and reheat the meat: Heat a bit of oil in a large skillet and cook the shaved meat until warmed through but not crispy.
- Assemble donairs: Place the donair meat onto a pita bread, add chopped tomatoes and onions, then drizzle with donair sauce. Roll up the pita tightly and enjoy!
FAQ’s and Expert Tips
FAQ’s
The traditional Halifax Donair is made with ground lamb so feel free to use ground lamb or even a combination of ground lamb and ground beef.
You can prep the meat the day before and just refrigerate it over night. This will actually give the meat time to marinate with all the flavors.
Since this is a Donair, the pita helps keep all the ingredients together. However this delicious dish can also be served on a plate, leaving out the pita completely. However, for the full experience, have the pita bread and add lots of sauce!
Tips
- Make sure to make the sauce early on, to give all the ingredients time to blend together.
- For the other version of the sauce, use sweetened condensed milk with the same amount of garlic powder and white vinegar. Whisk well and refrigerate until ready to use. The sauce taste the same, the only difference is the one with condensed milk is a bit thicker.
- The crisping of the shaved meat is optional but it’s preferred to warm up the beef plus make the meat pieces a bit crispier.
- The Donair meat can also be used to make a Donair pizza. Pizza dough, plus same ingredients, donair meat, chopped tomatoes and onions, and lots of donair sauce.
Leftovers
If there are any leftovers, you can store the ingredients separately in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3-4 days and serve them when ready on fresh pita breads.
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Halifax Donair
Equipment
Ingredients
Donair Meat
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
Donair Sauce
- 10 ounce evaporated milk (1 can)
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ cup white vinegar
To Assemble
- 1 large tomato chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- 4 large pita breads
Instructions
Make Donair Sauce
- Make sweet sauce: Whisk all the donair sauce ingredients together, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. You’ll want to make this in the beginning, to give the sauce ingredients time to blend together.
Donair Meat
- Make the meat mixture: Add all the donair meat ingredients to the bowl of your stand mixer and mix using the dough hook for about 5 minutes on medium low.
- Form the meat mixture and cover with foil: Form the meat into a loaf that’s about 8 inches in length. Make sure to knead it and roll the loaf so that it’s as tight as possible and all the air is out of it. Cover the loaf tightly with aluminum foil, rolling the ends tightly, so that it forms an even log. If you have skewers, thread 2 skewers through the log. Transfer the loaf to the fridge and let it rest for 30 minutes up to 24 hours.
- Prep oven and baking sheet: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the log on the baking sheet, propping the skewers on the edges.
- Bake: Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake for 1½ hours. Remove the foil from the donair log and place the skewers back on the baking pan. Bake for another 30 minutes or until browned all over. Let it cool before slicing.
Assemble Sandwich
- Cut the meat: Remove the skewers from the donair meat log and cut off one end so that you can stand the log up. Shave the meat thinly about ⅛ inch in thickness.
- Prep the pita breads: Steam the pita breads or warm them in the microwave so that it’s easier to make donair wraps.
- Crisp up and reheat the meat: Heat a bit of oil in a large skillet and cook the shaved meat until warmed through but not crispy.
- Assemble donairs: Place the donair meat onto a pita bread, add chopped tomatoes and onions, then drizzle with donair sauce. Roll up the pita tightly and enjoy!
Video
Recipe Notes
- Make sure to make the sauce early on, to give all the ingredients time to blend together.
- For the other version of the sauce, use sweetened condensed milk with the same amount of garlic powder and white vinegar. Whisk well and refrigerate until ready to use. The sauce taste the same, the only difference is the one with condensed milk is a bit thicker.
- The crisping of the shaved meat is optional but it’s preferred to warm up the beef plus make the meat pieces a bit crispier.
- The Donair meat can also be used to make a Donair pizza. Pizza dough, plus same ingredients, donair meat, chopped tomatoes and onions, and lots of donair sauce.
- If there are any leftovers, you can store the ingredients separately in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3-4 days and serve them when ready on fresh pita breads.
I’m going to make this for dinner tomorrow! I’m pretty sure it’s sweetened condensed milk and not evaportated milk, though, right?
It can be either, it’s explained more in the Ingredients section under sauce. 🙂
This is amazing, tastes just like real Donair meat but with a slightly different texture but who cares when it tastes this good!
Hi Jo, thanks for sharing this recipe. I Googled Donairs after reading about them in a fiction book. The recipe was easy to follow and the meat is flavorful. Took a while to warm up to the sweet sauce but we liked it after all. My meat did come out a bit dry despite being 80/20 so next time I’ll check my oven after removing the foil.
I personally mix my meat for about 40 to 45 minutes until it’s almost like a paste. It packs together better and gives you more of an authentic slice at the end.
Do you do that by hand? Seems like a good workout. 😉
I was so excited to see this recipe!! I lived in the Halifax area about 40 years ago, and over the years, I’ve told people about the Donairs I used to eat there. Everyone thinks I’m talking about Gyros, but they are not the same. I was asked to do a class on the traditions and culture of Eastern Canada this week, So now, instead of just telling them about Donairs, I’m using this recipe to make enough actual Donairs for 40 people. I’m so excited. Thank you for posting this recipe. I can’t wait to try it. I love Donairs!!!
That’s amazing Becky! We’re so glad it’s helping you share the love of Donairs with everyone!
The meat was amazing so similar to gyros, without all that saltiness that keeps you up all night drinking water! I wasn’t a fan of the sauce, too sweet for me so I will make this again with tzaziki. A definite keeper, my family enjoyed it!
I don’t subscribe to many blogs. I came across your website when I was looking for a quick way to make something (do not recall what), found it and it was great. I subscribed and have not been disappointed. Today I made this Donair and it is a KEEPER!! Cooking for two, I made two small loaves and froze one. I had some beef that was probably 85/15, this was perfect to keep the flavor and get rid of so much fat. Used plain yogurt and it was perfect. Cannot wait to try it with chicken.
Jo, your recipes are amazing. I bow to you talent in the kitchen and thank you for sharing. Blessings.
Hi Terry,
Thank you so much for all your kind words, we are so glad you are enjoying our content!
Let us know how it turns out with the chicken 🙂
We enjoyed this. Despite initial misgivings, the sauce turned out to pair well with the meat. Only thing that seemed off was ours tasted way too strongly of black pepper. Is 1TB too much black pepper, or is my pepper just especially piquant?
Hi Jacob,
So glad you enjoyed the Donair recipe! If it tasted too strongly of pepper, you can definitely add half of that amount next time you try it out. Let us know how you enjoy it then too!
We liked this. We weren’t crazy about the sweet sauce and decided to try it again with tzatziki instead. The meat was juicy out of the oven but seemed to dry too much when frying the shaved pieces. Next time we’ll try skipping that step. I really enjoyed trying the different technique of tightly rolling the beef and baking it that way.
Yeah I can see how the sweet sauce can be a bit unusual for some people, but tzatziki is a great alternative. 🙂
Jo, i love the variety and creativity in your recipes. This was delish! Family loved it. I know if I use recipes from JoCooks it will always be something really tasty.
Aw thank you! That means a lot to me! So glad you enjoyed the donair!
Looks great – can I mix it by hand (no stand mixer here).
You can use your hands, it will just take a bit, it should be like kneading dough. You can also use a blender or food processor.
it looks as if you should use lean ground beef so it’s not going to fall apart from the fat….say minimum 93% lean?
Yeah, we used lean ground beef, 93% lean should be fine.
I just made this with an 85/15 mix and it held together just fine. I think it probably has more to do with mixing it thoroughly to get the right density.
This looks delicious!!!! Can I use ground chicken breast as a substitute for the ground beef? Thank you!
Yes, you can definitely add a twist to it and use ground chicken. Let us know how you like it!