Homemade Donair Pizza

When I saw a friend post on Facebook that they'd just had a donair pizza, I was intrigued. I like pizza. I like donairs.  It seemed like something fun to try to mix things up. After exploring quite a few recipes, most seemed fairly similar. In the end, I settled on one I found on the Food Network.  Up to this point I've had pretty good luck with recipes from this website. 

The one thing I was concerned about was the donair sauce as it looked very sweet. I didn't remember donairs having a super sweet sauce on them, but it's been a long time. I was willing to give it a try. But after mixing the sauce up and tasting it I was worried. It was really sweet!

I looked at a few more recipes and some had more vinegar in them, so I added a third tablespoon. Even then it was still quite sweet.  Throwing caution to the wind, I went ahead and drizzled on my pizza, but in the end wasn't a fan. I would prefer a more savoury white sauce to drizzle on. I don't care if the sauce is authentic, I want one that makes my mouth sing. I'm going to start looking for an alternative.

Here are a couple notes in case you want to give this recipe a try. 
  1. I couldn't find 500 gram packages of pizza dough (usually in the freezer section). So I had to go with a pre-made pizza shell or make my own.  The pre-made ones I could find were only 12 inches, so I split up the ingredients to make 1 full pizza shell and one half pizza shell.
  2. When shaping the ground meat into a log, remember it's going to be cut into slices crosswise that are laid on the pizza shells. That means you don't want it too big around. You want a longer narrower loaf. Mine was about 1-1/2 to 2 inches square and then about 5 or so inches long (best guess). 
  3. I made the meat the same afternoon I was making the pizza and it never cooled to the point I could get really thin slices. So make the meat in the morning or the night before. And finally, 
  4. I might cook the assembled pizza at a higher temperature next time.  350 degrees was fine for the meat, but is really low for pizza. I haven't tried that yet so use your best judgement. 
  5. To drizzle the thick white sauce, I put it in a small ziploc snack bag, pressed out the air, sealed it, and then snipped off a corner.  Worked perfectly. 

In the end this was
tasty, but not the most amazing pizza I have ever had. The seasonings in the meat and the white drizzle on top set it apart from a standard hamburger pizza, but it's still very simple. So why I am sharing this?  Simply because I think this idea has serious potential to become something unique. I'm going to start experimenting and see where I can take it. The recipe will be changing until I find the right final mix that I feel is spectacular! 

Be sure and check back!

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Homemade Donair Pizza

Ingredients - 

1 lb.         Lean ground beef
½ tsp       Garlic powder
½ tsp       Onion powder
1 tsp        Oregano
½ tsp       Paprika
¼ tsp       Cayenne
½ tsp       Kosher salt

Donair Sauce (I didn't care for the sweet sauce on the pizza. Looking for an alternate)
⅓ C        Sweetened condensed milk
2 T         White vinegar
¼ tsp      Garlic powder

Pizza
1            500 g package pizza dough or one 14 inch premade pizza shell
1½ C     Mozzarella cheese, grated
1 C        Tomato, seeded  (very important) and finely diced
½ C       Sweet onion, finely diced
1 tsp cornmeal

Directions - 

Earlier in the day or the night before - Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine beef with spices (by hand or in a food processor). Form meat into a loaf shape. Place on prepared pan. Bake, in centre of oven, until meat feels firm to the touch, 40 to 50 min. Let cool completely.  Slice crosswise as thinly as possible.

Combine sweetened condensed milk with vinegar and garlic powder. OR make an alternate sauce - perhaps a white garlic?

About 60 minutes before dinner - Preheat oven to 350ºF (think I'll try a bit higher next time). Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll dough into a 14-inch circle. Dust a 15-inch pizza pan with cornmeal. Transfer dough to pan. OR use pre-made shell.

Arrange donair meat in one even layer over dough. Sprinkle with cheese. Top with tomatoes and onion. Bake in centre of oven until crust is golden brown, about 20 min. Drizzle with donair sauce. Slice and serve!

Comments

  1. Tzatziki is the authentic alternate for the gross sweet sauce.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tzatziki is the authentic alternate for the gross sweet sauce.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's not Sweetened condensed milk - it is evaporated milk in the donair sauce. Also tzatziki is great but it's not a donair if you use that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. THanks I'll try that. Here is the link to the recipe I followed on the food network and it shows the sweetened milk. I will try the evaporated milk next time. Makes more senses.

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