What do YOU call this?

[liuzhou]

I am working on something regarding the many names for this food preparation. I would like to conduct a small survey. What do YOU call this? An indication of your location would be helpful (if not already on your profile). Also, what meat would you expect to be used?

Many thanks in advance. I will post the results in due course.

 

 

 

Edited February 6, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[heidih]

In Los Angeles with its heavy Mexican infkuence - more often topped with pineapple than onion. Sometimes taco de trompo, teco de abodado, or in Puebla tacos arabes. Generally just meat on vertical spit for "al pastor". A roadside food stand regular.

[Darienne]

Shawarma.  Probably now made with beef where I live.  East Central Ontario, Canada.

 

[heidih]

to clarify  the set-up is the Trompo - whoch is how I Uknow it. Some links  

Shaved from Trompo

Of course, there are sub-categories and methods to each al pastor: The classic way is to shave off the protein from the trompo right into a tortilla, but then there is the controversial trompo-to-plancha, where the meat is shaved from the trompo and crisped-up on a flat-top grill. The former is the closest to the shawarma method that al pastor comes from (everyone’s favorite piece of Mexican food history). Some great images here  https://www.lataco.com/best-al-pastor-adobada-la/

 

[KennethT]

shawarma... typically made with lamb... NYC

[SusieQ]

34 minutes ago, KennethT said:

shawarma... typically made with lamb... NYC

Same -- Seattle. 

 

[blue_dolphin]

38 minutes ago, KennethT said:

shawarma... typically made with lamb... NYC

That’s what first comes to my mind except I’m in SoCal so the trompo for tacos al pastor with pork that @heidih mentioned may be even more common. Chicken or goat, too but a bit less common in my area. 

[liuzhou]

In the meantime, as I await more responses, let me just say that I asked all my Chinese contacts what they call it.

 

50% said 土耳其烤肉 (tǔ ěr qí kǎo ròu), meaning Turkish Roast Meat.

 

37.5% said 巴西烤肉 (bā xī kǎo ròu ), meaning Brazilian Roast Meat (which it certainly isn't).

 

The remainder guessed randomly and wildly and missed the mark totally.

 

The 50% identifying Turkey hit a problem though when asked to identify the meat. 100% of the 50% said pork. Pork in Turkey? Turkey's population is over 95% Muslim. No pork!

 

But those photos were taken (by me) here in China and do show pork.

 

So, the confusion is not only in the English speaking world.

Edited February 6, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[Honkman]

17 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

confusion is not only in the English speaking world.

There is mo real confusion but different countries use different meats (pork, lamb, beef, chicken etc) with differen “add-on on top but the same “technique” with different names

[liuzhou]

5 minutes ago, Honkman said:

There is mo real confusion but different countries use different meats (pork, lamb, beef, chicken etc) with differen “add-on on top but the same “technique” with different names

 

I disagree. I have been studying this for a while and there is considerable linguistic confusion.

Edited February 6, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[gfweb]

Perhaps stacked meat is a technique and details vary

[liuzhou]

1 minute ago, gfweb said:

Perhaps stacked meat is a technique and details vary

 

Of course things vary.

 

I'm just asking what people call it. Not how to make it.

[Honkman]

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

have been studying this for a while and there is considerable linguistic confusion.

If you explain in more detail we can help you to understand it better. At this point you claim there is confusion without showing any evidence.

[liuzhou]

14 minutes ago, Honkman said:

If you explain in more detail we can help you to understand it better. At this point you claim there is confusion without showing any evidence.

 

I am not going to prejudice the results by giving any names.

 

I'm not asking you to help me understand anything other than what YOU call it .

 

Simple question.

 

[haresfur]

In Nova Scotia it would be Donair and made with beef. Here in my part of Australia it officially depends on the country of origin and kind of meat doner kebab, gyros, and, shawarma. But locally at least, no one calls it any of those: The menus just say "meat" and you usually get your choice of lamb, chicken, or mixed. You might say kebab meat and that is what you will get unless you say shish kabab or souvlaki.

 

To add to the ambiguity, sometimes you will see souvlaki gyros offered.

Edited February 6, 2022 by haresfur (log)

[SusieQ]

4 hours ago, SusieQ said:

Same -- Seattle. 

 

 

I should clarify. When I first saw this, 25-30 years ago, I didn't know what to call it. But I learned that the meat that came off of it went into a sandwich on pita bread called a gyro. After that I learned that this same thing could be called a schwarma (or however it's spelled) if the meat was lamb. This was all in Seattle. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Were I pretentious I'd call this preparation al pastor.  More likely I'd refer to it as gyro meat.  And I'd sincerely hope it was animal meat...preferably lamb, or beef, or pork.  If that was a pineapple on top I'd be more worried.

 

[Duvel]

In Germany, there would be three linguistic  “options”, and - because it is Germany - they are not only options, but prescribed terms by German (food) law:

 

1) “Gyros” (from the Greek word for “rotating”): made from stacked thin pork slices, marinated in a oil/spice/onion/vinegar marinate. What you have pictured here at least looks very, very similar.

2) “Döner” (from the Turkish word for “rotating”): made from either veal or beef, marinated in a oil/spice/garlic marinade. The meat needs to contain mostly stacked thin meat slices, but is allowed to have a small percentage of spiced minced meat to smoothen out the texture*. The meat you have pictured is too pale to be beef (from my experience), but could be veal.
A subset of the “Döner” family is chicken or turkey “Döner”: still allowed to be called Döner, but with a mandatory prefix of either of the two meat employed. Here, only meat slices are stacked, no minced meat allowed. Typically, the marinade of this contains a higher percentage of paprika, so the white meat is tinted red at its surface, so it is not alike to your pictures.

3) “Drehspiess” (from the German word for “rotating”): Pretty much anything else you want to put on a rotating skewer. Naming (in the restaurant) needs to contain at least the animal, and can contain either “Gyros” or “Döner” as a reference to the expected marinade/taste profile. Usually used if your product does not qualify for the (higher quality) options 1 or 2**. “Puten Drehspiess nach Döner Art” = Rotating skewer made from turkey in the style of a Döner.

—-

*however, this is considered by many to be inferior.

**and yet a welcome option when you return from a night of drinking, and all the quality ones have closed for hours.

Edited February 6, 2022 by Duvel (log)

[Honkman]

43 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

If that was a pineapple on top I'd be more worried.

Many al pastor trompos have a pineapple on top

[chromedome]

4 hours ago, haresfur said:

In Nova Scotia it would be Donair and made with beef. Here in my part of Australia it officially depends on the country of origin and kind of meat doner kebab, gyros, and, shawarma. But locally at least, no one calls it any of those: The menus just say "meat" and you usually get your choice of lamb, chicken, or mixed. You might say kebab meat and that is what you will get unless you say shish kabab or souvlaki.

 

To add to the ambiguity, sometimes you will see souvlaki gyros offered.

I would make a distinction here, based on what parameters Liuzhou is setting.

 

If we're referring specifically to the preparation shown in the photo - sliced meats stacked on the skewer - then Nova Scotia also knows that as shawarma, and it's plentiful under that name. If we're talking in a broader way of "any ol' meat preferred in your locality, as long as it's cooked on a vertical skewer and served on a flatbread," then yeah..."donair" is the local version and it's beef.

[Shelby]

I call it gyro meat.

[Alex]

8 hours ago, haresfur said:

Here in my part of Australia it officially depends on the country of origin and kind of meat doner kebab, gyros, and, shawarma.

 

The same here in Michigan, depending on which restaurant you're at. But after I order one and start eating it, it's My Shawarma. 🎼🎶 🎸🎸🎸

[cdh]

Looks like shwarma to me... gyro meat is usually more homogenous and without distinct stratigraphy.

 

I think Liuzhou's Chinese respondents should get partial credit for their Brazil answer... from 12 time zones away, that totally looks to be in the same ball park as rodizio.   

 

And editing to add that the little thing under my avatar that says Philadelphia area is actually correct, so that is where I'm located.  

Edited February 6, 2022 by cdh (log)

[farcego]

Hi, in my experience:

In Spain, I would call it Kebab (mostly beef or chicken, unfortunately lamb is rare)

In Australia, where I lived for years till recently, it's upon the place, in greek restaurants you have Slouvaki (lamb, beef, sometimes chicken), gyros (pork) but also durum or shawarma (lamb, beef, chicken) in street food places with middle-east fashion. In Australia,  kebab is what we call in Spain "pinchos morunos", roughly.

 

I also know that in mexico tacos al pastor are done in this way (Lebanese inmigrants make it popular in that country) [known from Mexicans BTW]

 

Hope it helps

 

cheers

Edited February 6, 2022 by farcego
add some extra info (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

10 hours ago, Honkman said:

Many al pastor trompos have a pineapple on top

 

The failed allusion to long pork was intended to be humorous.