Lebanese Beef Shawarma
Shawarma is a popular Lebanese street food, usually sold in small restaurants that only offer sandwiches during lunch and dinner. Shawarma refers to marinated meat that is stacked on a large central metal skewer and cooked with a fire on one side while it rotates. The meat is thinly sliced as it cooks by a shawarma chef and made into a sandwich on the spot.
Since we moved to the U.S. we had to learn how to improvise at home and create our favorite dishes. This beef shawarma is full of flavors, the spice mixture fills the air and makes you crave it consistently. The marinate has the perfect amount of oil and yogurt which tenderizes the meat. You can use this Beef Shawarma for many different dishes. The most popular one is a Shawarma sandwich that has fries, tahini sauce (tarator), parsley salad, tomato, and onion. Untraditional, but I prefer my shawarma with garlic sauce, fries, and ketchup (apologizes to my traditional Lebanese). I hop you enjoy this dish, sahteen!
Recipe: (makes about 8 sandwiches, based on how you fill your sandwich)
2 lb. Beef flap steak or sirloin, thinly sliced*
3 tbsp yogurt
1/2 Olive oil
2 tsp Lebanese 7 spices
2 tsp ground cloves
1 tbsp. Sumac
1 tsp Salt
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
Options with this Shawarma: pita bread, fries, tahini sauce, pickles, parsley
*alternatively, use your choice of tender beef steak. Flank, Hanger, and Skirt steak work similarly
Directions:
Start with your steak. It should be semi-frozen, so place the steak in the freezer for 2 hours. If it’s already frozen, allow it to thaw for 1 hour before try to cut. A semi-frozen steak will help you a lot when trying to cut the steak.
Once you are ready to cut the steak, place on a clean cutting board and using a sharp knife start to cut the steak into thin slices. Preferably into 1/4 inch or 1 cm slices.
Place the steak into a bowl and allow the meat to defrost completely.
In a separate small bowl, add the yogurt, oil, and spices. Mix well using a whisk.
Add the marinade mixture onto the beef and mix it well until all the beef is coated.
If you are using the beef the same day then slice the onion into thin slices and dice the tomato into medium size cubes. Then add the onion and tomato onto the beef.
Cover the bowl with the beef in a plastic wrap and allow it to marinate in the fridge for at least 4 to 6 hours before cooking. This will help tenderize the meat and increase the flavor.
Once you are ready to cook, place a large skillet or pan on the stovetop on high heat for 3 minutes.
Once the skillet or pan is hot then place half of the beef with onions and tomato on the skillet. It’s important that you don’t crowd the skillet with the beef. There should be enough space in between the beef to avoid sticking.
Continuously mix the beef in the pan with clippers or a spatula until any liquid evaporates and there is a slight shar on the meat.
Remove from the skillet onto a plate or directly onto the bread.
Then continue cooking the remaining beef.
How to pair the beef shawarma:
You make it into a sandwich: use Lebanese or pita bread, spread a layer of the beef shawarma with fries, tahini sauce, and parsley.
The tahini sauce is 1/4 cup tahini, 1/4 cup water, 2 crushed garlic cloves, salt to taste, and 1 tbsp lemon juice. You can place the ingredients and whisk it in a bowl or place in the blender.
You can also use the beef shawarma and plate it with a side of rice, fattoush, and toum.
