Everyone knows that there is a practically foolproof way to distinguish a good kebab: its price. This is usually indicative of numerous issues that we can immediately infer simply by taking a look at the menu: the quality of the meat, whether the sauce is homemade or industrial and the freshness of the vegetables that may be included. Not to mention the bread (called dürüm, a term that gives its name to the kebab that is eaten rolled), which must always be thin and delicate in flavor, without in any way masking the flavor of the rest of the ingredients.
To recognize a good kebab, the first thing we must do is know exactly what we are talking about when we talk about kebab and not confuse it with doner kebab, shawarma, gyros or shish kebab, among many other variants of the same dish.
This is explained by Juanjo Cima, owner of Mustafa Kebab, with two kebab delivery establishments in Oviedo and Gijón. Cima is passionate about this delicacy, having traveled the world in search of the best, including the legendary Mustafa's Gemüse Kebap in Berlin, to which his restaurants are named after him.
“The kebab is a grilled meat that in Arab countries is served in the form of a skewer, similar to our Moorish skewer. The meat can be lamb, beef or chicken, always slaughtered under the halal rite. The skewer is served directly on the plate, with the bread on the side and a garnish and each person eats it as they wish: either from the skewer itself or by mounting the sandwich to their liking on the plate," explains Cima, who points out that the The main consumers of their kebabs are mainly teenagers.
“Although all the meat we serve is halal, we do not have a very large Muslim audience, since they already buy halal meats in specialized establishments and prepare their kebabs at home. Kebab consumers are mostly young people and teenagers, for whom this dish has become something like the new hamburger.”
It is true, because the establishments in which those large blocks of rolled meats accompanied by white sauce and garnishes of your choice are sold are now proliferating everywhere, not just in big cities. It is about another concept: the döner kebab. “'Döner' means 'turning' or 'turning' in Turkish and refers to the rotating rolls of meat that are cut on the spot.
We owe its origin to the Turkish population who emigrated en masse to Germany in the 60s and 70s and who, due to a matter of space, adopted their kebabs, converting them into the vertical mass of meat to which we are accustomed. It is the most widespread format in Europe, while in Arab countries the original skewer-shaped kebab continues to predominate,” explains Cima.
In this sense, the chef and hotelier celebrates “the wonders of immigration, which brings us new rituals, customs and recipes, and that makes us all win.” The figures prove him right: in Germany alone we find more than 15,000 establishments specializing in kebab, with 2.5 billion annual turnover.
For its part, the gyros "is the Greek version of the kebab, a much more Mediterranean dish that can include tapenade, peppers and other ingredients and spices, plus it can also be made with pork, something that does not happen with the kebab." original". This was originally made from lamb, but it has become popular to such an extent that we now find it in all types of meats. There are many other versions of the kebab, such as the shish kebab, a skewer with exclusively lamb meat, or the shawarma, which is nothing more than the Arabic version of the kebab. Dürüm, for its part, is the name given to the bread in which the meat is served, although this term is often used to refer to the rolled version of the doner kebab.
In any case, whatever version of the kebab we have in hand and what accompaniments are chosen, these are some of the details that we must pay attention to to know if we are facing one of the greats.
Being bullied doesn't just happen in kebabs, but in any type of processed meat product that we find on the market, from sausages to hamburgers or sausages.
Cima compares the kebab with cooked ham: “When you look at the label you realize that these processed meats often contain a limited percentage of meat and that the rest are starches, starches and other additives. The same thing happens with kebab meat: if the prices are very tight it is easy to imagine that we are not dealing with 100% meat, but that there will first of all be a lot of added fats and also additives. This is when the original kebab, which is still grilled meat marinated with local spices (each master here has his own booklet) becomes an ultra-processed one that is not recommended for a healthy and balanced diet.
At Mustafa Kebab, Cima buys the meat already filleted and cooks it on the grill, avoiding the classic roll that also gives us many clues about what type of doner kebab they are going to serve us. “In good establishments in Germany, which is a reference in this dish, you can clearly see the meat sliced on the roller, you can see the separated fillets perfectly. It is a country with more of a kebab culture and the quality standards are higher.
In Spain, however, if we look at the rollers in most places we will see that the meat is pasty, they are blocks of ground meat with by-products so that they have consistency, the filleting is not appreciated,” explains the Asturian chef and hotelier.
If we see the kebab staff cutting the meat with a sword, it is usually a sign that we are looking at a good kebab, as Cima explains. “In many establishments the meat is cut with one of those shearing machines, which means that the piece has no hardness or structure and, therefore, its quality is lower. When cut with a sword we are looking at meat with a good consistency, which is what you should look for in a kebab.”
As for the spices, the chef Alfonso López, popularizer and creator of the blog Recetas de Rechupete, recommends using the classic ones of the Turkish kebab, which are sweet paprika, cumin, cinnamon and coriander, although he points out that you can play with them depending on the likes. “This combination of spices is what gives the doner kebab that delicious flavor. You can play with them, but if you change too many things we are no longer talking about the traditional Turkish kebab,” explains the cook.
Cima, for his part, assures that although there are some spices that we always find, “each country and each cook has been adapting the recipe and using different combinations.” Ras el hanut, a combination of spices typical of the Maghreb area that includes black pepper, cumin, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, paprika and ginger, among others, is usually used to marinate kebab.
The typical white kebab sauce is usually made with yogurt and is light and refreshing, while at the same time it nuances the flavor of the spices and complements the texture of the meat. It is usually made with Greek yogurt (although some use natural yogurt), garlic, lemon, cumin, a pinch of curry, salt and pepper.
As with any other sauce, Cima clarifies that "we will very easily distinguish an industrial sauce from a homemade one, which will influence the final flavor and quality of the kebab, although the truth is that there are high-quality industrial sauces on the market." The kebab is also usually accompanied by a spicy red sauce based on tomato, cumin, oregano and pepper.
The dürüm is the wheat tortilla in which the meat is placed, which must always be thin and with a discreet flavor, in no case the protagonist of the dish. In the case of shawarma, Arabic pita bread is used, as well as a white sauce of tahini, lemon, salt and water (generally without yogurt). In any case, it should always be a flatbread made with wheat flour, and we should be wary if it is too thick or if its texture and flavor are industrial.
In Germany, for example, lahmacun, a thin, round flatbread known as German pizza, is sometimes used. Cima also adds that to differentiate pita bread from dürüm we must look at its size, since the latter must be larger to be rolled correctly. “While pita bread measures about 12-18 cm, dürüm ranges between 25 and 30 cm,” Cima concludes.
The chef recommends that any lover of this dish travel to Berlin and wait the 30 or 40 minutes in line that there is always at the legendary Mustafa's Gemüse Kebap to try a bite “that has no comparison with any other: it is something else!”
