It’s hard to beat the taste of a Lebanese or Middle Eastern Meat shawarma — and this recipe is easy to make even without a vertical gas roaster.  Try this version, and I think you’ll be as obsessed with it as I am! Watch the detailed video tutorial.

Lebanese Beef Shawarma (One-Pot Wonder) (Video)

What is meat shawarma?

Shawarma is a popular street food from Lebanon and the Middle East, made with marinated cuts of highly seasoned meat, tightly stacked into a thick skewer and slowly roasted against a gas roaster where the cooked meat is basted in its own fat, resulting in juicy meat cuts with caramelized edges that are shaved with a sharp knife and wrapped in a sandwich. Shawarma is an Arabic word thought to take its name from the Turkish, çervirmek, meaning to rotate or spit-roast.

A homemade version!

If you’re looking for a winning way to make a homemade meat shawarma, this keeper of a recipe gives the meat the treatment needed. After marinating in oil, lemon juice, orange juice, vinegar and a warm blend of spices, the meat is braised with whole tomatoes, then piled on a plate with a mix of chopped parsley, sliced onions and pickles and drizzled with a citrus tahini sauce (taratour) made of tahini, lemon juice and garlic  and served with warm pita.

Watch the detailed video tutorial to make the process more comprehensive.

One Pot Wonder!

My least favorite thing of cooking is cleaning up, if you are anything like me, I assume this one-pot wonder will be the only weeknight shawarma you want to make from now. First, marinate the meat for a minimum of 1 hour to a maximum of 8 hours, then cook in a pot for 4 hours over very low heat and while it simmers, prepare the lemon tahini sauce (taratour) and cut the veggies and load up your table with all of the desired accompaniments like chopped parsley, onion slices, radishes and pickles; carry the hot-off-the-stove pot to the table for family-style serving. Shawarma wraps are always a hit in our house for a casual dinner where everyone loves to build their wrap with the toppings they love.

It takes time, I admit, but this technique guarantees a nicely seasoned and evenly done meat. The slow cooking technique with time and low heat helps transform meat from tough to tender. You don’t need any liquid at all other than the marinade. Marinating the meat allows flavor to evenly coat the surface, and cooking slow and low make the meat tender and juicy.

How to make meat shawarma?

• Mix the marinade: Prepare a marinade by mixing oil, lemon juice, orange juice and vinegar. Seasonings will dissolve in the oil and vinegar, and the liquid helps them evenly coat the meat. Add the spices and salt to the marinade.
• Add the meat into the marinade: Place the meat in a large bowl, pour the marinade, stir well, cover with cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour. The meat will slowly absorb the marinade that will eventually bring flavor more deeply into the meat shawarma.
• Cook the shawarma: Transfer the meat and marinade to a large stockpot, add the three whole tomatoes. Place over high to medium heat and bring to a boil, Don’t add water, reduce heat to very low, cover the stockpot and simmer for 4 hours
• Serve the shawarma: Wrap some meat slices in a warm pita bread with lemon tahini sauce( taratour), roasted tomatoes, crisp Lebanese pickles, and a mix of chopped parsley and sliced onions.

The spices used to make meat shawarma.

Meat shawarma marinade is made up of three essential components: An acid (a combination of vinegar, orange juice and lemon juice), oil, a combination of olive oil and sunflower oill or any other neutral oil; and a flavoring agent, that incorporates various blend of spices and mastic to capture the flavor of authentic meat shawarma.

The Best Beef Cut to Use for Shawarma

Best cuts of beef to make shawarma are Sirloin or flank steak, or skirt steak. You can use tenderloin, but since you’re slow cooking the meat no need to an expensive cut, plus the marinade will do the massive lift in terms of flavor and tenderness.

How to cut the meat?

Try to cut the meat evenly.  Slice into strips that are 1 ½ inches long and ¼ inch thick.

Prepare a marinade by mixing oil, lemon juice, orange juice and vinegar. Seasonings will dissolve in the oil and vinegar, and the liquid helps them evenly coat the meat; add the spices and salt to the marinade. Place the meat in a large bowl, pour the marinade, stir well, cover with cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour. The meat will slowly absorb the marinade that will eventually bring flavor more deeply into the meat shawarma.

Transfer the meat and marinade to a large stockpot, add the three whole tomatoes. Place over high to medium heat and bring to a boil, Don’t add water, (the marinade is enough, plus the meat will release its liquid) reduce heat to very low, cover the stockpot and simmer for 4 hours.

Make sure to check every now and then, there should be a small amount of liquid left in the pot after 4 hours.

The best sauce to serve with meat shawarma!

Taratour (tahini lemon sauce) is the soulmate of meat shawarma, and the lifeblood that brings the dish to life, yes, anything served other than tartour is not authentic.

Accompaniments that go well with meat shawarma:Lebanese pickles,  sliced onions, chopped parsley and radishes.

How to serve Meat Shawarma?

Enjoy this homemade meat shawarma in three ways, a casual wrap on the go, special enough for a dinner party as a center piece, or atop your hummus.

• To make a shawarma wrap: Prepare the lemon tahini sauce (taratour) and cut the veggies and load up your table with all of the desired accompaniments like chopped parsley, onion slices, radishes, pickles  carry the hot-off-the-stove pot to the table for family-style serving. Shawarma wraps are always a hit in our house for a casual dinner where everyone loves to build their wrap with the toppings they love. Wrap some meat slices in a warm pita bread with lemon tahini sauce( taratour), roasted tomatoes, crisp Lebanese pickles, and a mix of chopped parsley and sliced onions.
• Serve it as a centerpiece platter for holidays or special dinner parties: Transfer the cooked shawarma, including the roasted tomatoes to a presentable platter with all the fixings mentioned like pickles, radishes, sliced onion, chopped parsley with taratour on the side.
• Or beef up your hummus dip with meat shawarma, it is a common way in Lebanon to top your hummus with shawarma.

Build your shawarma wrap!

Smash up one cooked tomato onto a warm lebanese bread or pita bread, place a handful of meat shawarma along the diameter.

Pack some onion slices, radishes, pickles and chopped parsley, and drizzle with taratour.

Wrap and enjoy.

Or serve it as a centerpiece platter for holidays or for special dinner parties: Transfer the cooked shawarma, including the roasted tomatoes to a presentable platter with all the fixings mentioned like pickles, radishes, sliced onion, chopped parsley with taratour on the side.

Serve beef shawarma with hummus, they go well together. It is very common to top your hummus with shawarma.

More Lebanese meat recipes

• Arayes
• Lebanese Kafta Kebab
• Sfeeha
• Lebanese Fried Kibbeh Balls

A pot of beef strips with a well-seasoned marinade richly flavored with vinegar, orange juice and lemon juice, slow-cooked, the end result is the reward of tender meat with roasted tomatoes perfect for both a casual dinner or center piece for your holiday table.

• Author: Hadia Zebib Khanafer
• Cooking time: 4 hours, slow and low cooking
• Serving: 4 to 5 persons
• Cuisine:  Lebanese and Middle Eastern

Ingredients:

• 1  kg. / 2lbs 4oz. beef sirloin /strip steak/  tenderloin
• 9 tablespoons red vinegar
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 cuo freshly squeezed orange juice
• 4 whole tomatoes
• 1/2 cup oil a combination of sunflower oil and olive oil
• 1 heaped teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, grated
• 1/4 teaspoon, freshly grated black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamon powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon mastic gum,  optional but recommended

Accompaniments:

• Taratour, Lebanese Tahini
• A decent bowl of hummus
• Lebanese pickles
• 2 onions, sliced
• 2 cups, finely chopped parsley
• Radishes, sliced

Lebanese or pita bread

Directions:

1. Prepare a marinade by mixing oil, lemon juice, orange juice and red vinegar. Seasonings will dissolve in the oil and vinegar, and the liquid helps them evenly coat the meat; add the spices (cinnamon powder, grated nutmeg, black pepper, ginger powder, cardamom powder, and ground cloves; add the salt and crushed mastic (if used) to the marinade, and whisk well to homogenize.
2. Place the meat in a large bowl, pour the marinade, stir well, cover with cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour. The meat will slowly absorb the marinade that will eventually bring flavor more deeply into the meat shawarma.
3. Transfer the meat and marinade to a large stockpot, add the three whole tomatoes.
4. Place over high to medium heat and bring to a boil, don’t add water, reduce heat to very low, cover the stockpot and simmer for 4 hours. Make sure to check every now and then, there should be a small amount of liquid left in the pot after 4 hours. If it is still heavy with water, let the excess liquid evaporate: Uncover the pot, raise the temperature and cook until you end up with just a small amount of liquid.
5. The casual way: To build up your shawarma wrap, take a spoonful of the roasted tomatoes in the pot, and smash it onto the pita bread, place some shawarma horizontally onto pita bread, and garnish with sliced onion, chopped parsley, some radishes, and pickles, and drizzle some tahini sauce roll the wrap and enjoy, or alternatively, heat your panini press, move your shawarma wraps to the heated panini press and toast for a few minutes to crisp the pita bread
6. The festive way: Another option is to serve it on holidays as a centerpiece platter for special dinner parties, transfer the cooked shawarma, including the roasted tomatoes to a presentable platter  with all the fixings mentioned like pickles, radishes, sliced onion, chopped parsley with taratour on the side. It is a presentable festive dish

Another popular shawarma recipe on the blog: Smoky Chicken Shawarma

If you make the "Lebanese Meat Shawarma", leave a comment below, or share your pictures on Facebook! I would love to see your creations!! Hashtag, #Hadia’s lebanese Cuisine