Pack a pita with this deliciously seasoned Beef Shawarma for a weeknight meal that’s sure to please.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: sometimes a restaurant dish is so good that I don’t even attempt it at home. This used to be true for me when it came to my most favorite Middle Eastern food: beef shawarma. That delectably tender meat cooked for hours in a mix of intoxicating spices always seemed like something I could never recreate in my kitchen, mostly because I don’t own a vertical rotisserie that will turn and rotate the layered meat as it slow-roasts for days. But you know what? I don’t need that equipment, and neither do you. Now we can make an incredibly delicious beef shawarma at home in minutes with some bowls and a frying pan!
This extremely popular Middle Eastern street food originated during the Ottoman Empire in the Levant, an eastern Mediterranean region that encompasses modern-day Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and parts of Turkey. Back then, meat—mostly mutton or lamb—was placed on vertical skewers and roasted over hot coals; the key to this process was turning the skewers, which allowed the meat to retain its juices (in fact, the word shawarma comes from the Turkish word çevirmek, meaning “to turn or rotate”). Today, beef shawarma is an iconic dish with global popularity.
You won’t believe how easy it is to make beef shawarma at home. In this recipe, you’ll be marinating thinly sliced beef in a splendid blend of warm, fragrant spices (cinnamon, cardamom, paprika, and turmeric, just to name a few), vinegar, and lemon; the marinade gives the shawarma its deep, savory, wonderfully complex flavor. The beef doesn’t take long to cook, and then you’ll stuff it in a pita and top it with a refreshing Mediterranean salad and rich, lovely tahini sauce. This beef shawarma is so delicious that you’ll be “turning” to it again and again (sorry, you know I can’t resist a pun!).
What’s the difference between döner, gyro, and shawarma?
Let’s start with the similarities: all three refer to meats that are slow-roasted on a vertical rotisserie, then shaved when served, usually with some mix of fresh vegetables, such as tomatoes and cucumbers, and topped with a sauce. You can see why it’s easy to confuse the three, but the differences are culturally and flavorfully important. Both gyro (Greek) and shawarma (Arabic) are descendants of döner, the OG that hails from Turkey. Although similarly seasoned, döner is milder than shawarma. Döner is usually served with a garlic sauce, whereas shawarma is usually accompanied by tahini sauce. Gyro is seasoned with a more herbaceous mix of oregano, thyme, rosemary, and garlic and characteristically served with tzatziki sauce. Although döner, shawarma, and gyro are each associated with a particular type of meat—mostly lamb or beef, or in the case of the gyro, sometimes a mix of both—these days you can find versions of all three made with chicken (and in Greece, they are making gyros with pork).
How do I store leftovers?
The beef part of your shawarma can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or in the freezer for 2-3 months (thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating in the microwave).
Serving suggestions
We love the bright, fresh tomatoes and cucumbers and the tahini sauce in our recipe for beef shawarma, but we also love to top the spicy meat with this herby Cucumber And Tomato Salad, whose red onions bring the perfect snap. If you don’t have tahini sauce, just whip up some Tahini Dressing. Or take a different approach by topping beef shawarma with Gremolata and Tzatziki Sauce. And while beef shawarma is often served in a pita or on a flatbread, you can also find it as a platter: make that at home by pairing the savory slices of beef with Baked Rice and Mediterranean Salad With Pomegranate-Lemon Dressing or with Mediterranean Rice Salad and Perfect Roasted Eggplant.
Beef Shawarma
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 1/4 teaspoons paprika
- 3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 1/2 pounds beef flank steak thinly sliced against the grain
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 medium yellow onion thinly sliced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 8 pita pockets
- 1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes and cucumbers with chopped parsley simple Mediterranean salad
- Tahini sauce for drizzling
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cumin, coriander, oregano, paprika, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, and cayenne pepper with the olive oil, vinegar, lemon zest, and juice. Add the thinly sliced beef, minced garlic, and sliced onion.
- Season with salt and pepper. Toss well to coat and let the meat marinate at room temperature for about 20 minutes (or cover and refrigerate for 2 hours for deeper flavor).
- Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Working in batches if needed, add the marinated beef and onions, cooking for 8 to 16 minutes until the meat is browned and cooked through.
- Once done, fill your pita pockets with the beef, add a serving of the Mediterranean salad, and drizzle with tahini sauce. Serve immediately.
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