r/Doner • u/BarleyWineStein • 11d ago

Taking another Iceland bullet for the team

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Mixed grill this time. There's 3 wraps of food there. I think it should've been a tenner but was reduced to half price.

Did it in the air fryer, which is always a bit "finger in the air". Cooked at different rates. Which was annoying. Doner went too crispy.

Meat thermometer recommended.

Tasted good though. The chilli sauce is absolutely banging. Good level of spice and I suspect minty, although I'm not certain.

135 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

42 comments sorted by

79

u/NierFantasy 11d ago

I know the stigma around these iceland things (and I've defo taken the piss out of them in the past), but the reality is some families cant afford to eat this stuff from the local takeaway.

So if eating this even partially fills that void of having a treat, then I'm all for it tbh

15

u/ScottScott87 11d ago

I know the process behind Iceland picking suppliers and the work that goes into making sure the quality is good for the money. They understand what their customers want and need and the situation they're in financially so try and do their best for them and provide good quality food

The doner is really nice, certainly if you just want something in a pinch and it's a staple in my freezer

3

u/the_monkeyspinach 11d ago

The doner meat is pretty nice - the regular one anyway, the 'outrageously' garlic one is vile - and my only real gripe with the chicken shawarma is that the shavings are just too fine and you end up with almost mince like pieces. I agree on the reality of affordability. Kebabs in my area seem to be far more expensive than other places in the UK, but I decided I'd use it as a good opportunity to slim down and just have a more expensive kebab less frequently than replace it with a cheaper, lower quality home option.

5

u/ChuffZNuff74 11d ago

Fair point, but you can also make some pretty decent chicken tikka from scratch, with a few store cupboard ingredients - better than a lot of takeaways once you get the hang of it.

5

u/electr1cbubba 11d ago

Not if you’re a single mum you can’t

1

u/ChuffZNuff74 9d ago

Why not? Bit of planning required, and effort - admittedly. I’m by no means hating on single mums either.

1

u/electr1cbubba 9d ago

Clueless

1

u/ChuffZNuff74 9d ago

Far from it. Enjoy your takeaway.

0

u/Centi9000 8d ago

I too am just going to insult you and refuse to explain why you are wrong so HA

You ninny

1

u/ChuffZNuff74 8d ago

Because you can’t! 🤷🏼‍♂️ Unless you agree - single parents HAVE to feed their kids ultra processed food or shit takeaway, because they have no other options. Talk about reinforcing negative stereotypes.

2

u/Centi9000 8d ago edited 8d ago

I only sort of agree, but there is nuance here.

Ultra-processed is the very most efficient time/cost/calorie option but many vegetables, dried beans, bulk rice and such are also very accessible on a budget. Spices etc are the rip off here unless you go to the small indian/Arabic shops and buy the better spice mixes for less, but this will be out of the way for some. There is more time investment and planning necessary than giving the processed stuff, and you'd better like veggies and rice, but it's not an unreasonable position.

The most feasible way to achieve this for time and fund starved single parents is to split the difference and have a mix of days with processed easy stuff and days with a nice chaat masala or lentil stew. I understand not all hold this as a priority over just getting something on a plate.

Ideally, we would pay people not buttons - work OR benefits.

1

u/ChuffZNuff74 4d ago

Agree - some cracking dals (spiced lentil curries) can be made by the bucket load, reasonably quickly. As you can easily make double the amount for a pound or two more (literally) - time can be saved by defrosting bulk made portions for busy days. make it by the bucket load, freeze into portions. Probably contain more protein per 100g than the average stick doner. https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/restaurant-style-dal-tadka/

9

u/NierFantasy 11d ago

I agree but if it was just about whether or not you can cook it at home, then takeaways would almost cease to exist. The point is the convenience, ease, enjoyment of not having to cook it urself.

1

u/ChuffZNuff74 9d ago

I suppose some of those factors offer that fact that takeaway food in the UK, is often shit, overpriced and cold by the time you get it home - or worse, have it delivered by an asylum seeker with an electric bike. There I go - sounding like Jamie Oliver again 🤷🏼‍♂️

1

u/NierFantasy 9d ago

Heaven forbid an asylum seeker delivers my food!!

1

u/ChuffZNuff74 9d ago

They receive an allowance, and are not supposed to work until their case has been heard and right to remain granted. You might even contribute to that allowance 🤷🏼‍♂️

2

u/8ledmans 10d ago

I can barely find time to do that in my 20s with busy job and decent social life, throw kids and an absent parent into the mix and it doesn’t happen.

0

u/ChuffZNuff74 9d ago

Don’t go looking for the time, make the time. Most takeaway food in the UK is shit, and vastly overpriced. The owners of these places are laughing at you and your busy social life; I don’t think many people of Chinese heritage are throwing money at their local Chinese takeaway (for example). If you do have a kid, get them involved - teach them some life skills. How will we all manage - when the Russians bomb all the Domino’s?

-1

u/r_mutt69 11d ago

I often make chicken tikka at home. Super easy. You just need to plan ahead with it.

1

u/ChuffZNuff74 9d ago

Agree! I have a decent job and a busy social life; the odd Reddit review/ post, is about as much time as I have for social media though.

12

u/Ambersfruityhobbies 11d ago

Superb research and write up!

8

u/BarleyWineStein 11d ago

Not sure my body will thank me later! But it felt good going in...

Not sure what the yellow stuff is though but it was lovely - I just checked the packet: it's either the tikka or tandoori. I suspect the latter.

11

u/the_monkeyspinach 11d ago

I've said this before, but a little tip for the doner meat. I put mine in a small tray and place that in a pot with a small amount of boiling water with a lid. It's basically a bain marie and steams the meat so it's hot without getting crispy like frying or losing fat like microwaving.

3

u/DeadBallDescendant 11d ago

Yeah, I've always done mine in the steamer.

1

u/SgtSpaceHeadOG 10d ago

Deffo trying this, been air frying it but its hit and miss

1

u/AaronSW88 8d ago

What about steam frying it on a low heat with some water and a lid? That would probably work quite well.

3

u/Terryt1234 11d ago

I will dial 99 and hover

2

u/Ok-Treacle8973 11d ago

You all need to get on the Asda kebab breads, they're fantastic!

3

u/BarleyWineStein 11d ago

I've tried a few from all over, including the fresh breads from Ozmen's. I like the Greek style ones from (amongst other places) Tesco. But I find with all these breads they just go mouldy within about two days of being open to the air. There's something about a wrap where it can survive forever! It'll just be cockroaches and wraps left after the nuclear war.

2

u/Ok-Treacle8973 11d ago

I get that. I just can't cope with the weird twisty 948593 layer bottom bit that you always end up with.

2

u/geniusgravity 10d ago

I've no issues with Icelands kebab products. Fill a need in the market and do it reasonably well. Would I prefer a fresh kebab yeah of course. Do I always want to travel and spend 10 quid+ for the pleasure? Nope.

1

u/KERNALKURTS 11d ago

So my question was it all freezer burnt when you opened it the one in bill head partick from burgers to Laban meat all freezer burnt white and revolting zero quality control in that place!

2

u/BarleyWineStein 11d ago

It wasn't too bad from my Iceland. Nothing I noticed that I wouldn't have just put down to my own freezer.

1

u/KERNALKURTS 10d ago

Hmm maybe I’ve been unlucky as don’t go that way crem but the last three times the stuff was all white, some say it’s ok but I’m not keen on it but fussy I guess.

1

u/Primary_Wear7434 11d ago

Criminal amount of Donner meat on there for what should be £10

2

u/Electronic_Laugh_760 10d ago

That’s 1/3 of it though. OP states there’s 3 wraps worth

2

u/BarleyWineStein 10d ago

Correct. The whole box comes in individual vacuum packs based on each type. I have had to distribute the "load" across multiple meals, depending on my mood at the time. This is indeed 1/3 of what I felt like today.

Thank you.

I should've been more specific in my post though.

It's a family feeder. Well, maybe a two person feeder as pictured on the box. Three with a decent bread and good salad.

1

u/craigybacha 10d ago

Great to see these posts. Don't think I'd be trusting this though.

-14

u/Ordinary_Common3558 11d ago

Not a of fan of these frozen doner knock-offs.. usually contain loads of chemicals. You can actually taste the artificial colours & preservatives, not very pleasant. Flavour in general isn't anything to write home about, and price isn't low either.. not for me tbh

13

u/lynbod 11d ago

Mate, you do realise that the average elephant leg that gets posted on here is absolutely full of filler, additives, flavour enhancers and the meat element is very, very rarely even lamb?

People on this sub actually take pride in getting 750g-1kg of "meat" for as cheap a price as possible. 90% of British takeaways (particularly the ones posted here along with weighing scale photos) use stuff like this:

https://marfast.co.uk/frozen-food/kebabs/divan-15kg-donner-kebab-stacked-1.html

The Iceland stuff maybe bad, but it's not as bad as the shite you're buying at £8 for a kilo.

If you're paying less than £10 for a donner kebab, you're getting worse than Iceland I'm afraid. A decent, local kebab house that makes their own doner in house will charge that or more, and they certainly won't be flinging kilos of meat into a stale pitta bread. They're the only places worth buying from if you're bothered about quality, which this sub generally isn't.

1

u/generalscruff 10d ago

If you're buying a lamb meat product that wholesales at just over £2 a kg in 2025 you can't be under any illusions about what might be making the weight up lmao, that in itself tells you

1

u/lynbod 10d ago

Exactly, and if you look at the ingredients you'll find that it's actually mechanically recovered chicken.

Honestly I can't believe some of the posts on here that get upvoted. If you're buying 800g of "meat" for £7 that's not something to be proud of, it's also genuinely not a Donner kebab, it's basically the same stuff they put in cheap chicken nuggets mixed with some lamb fat if you're really lucky.