Kebab cooking rules

Question

What are rules about cooking lamb and chicken doner kebab? How many times can the spit be put in the fridge, then cooked again the next day? I have been to a kebab shop where the cook put a huge lamb vertical doner spit in front of the grill, totally frozen. He told me it would take about 20 mins till ready. I asked how many times he puts it back in the fridge. He replied, "Until it's all gone."

Answer 1

ONCE ONLY

I am sure rules will vary depending on country etc and which jurisdiction and laws apply.

In England my country reheating a kebab would not be recommended *, although even as a customer it is possible to visit shops at opening time and observe that a part used Kebab has been loaded. Reheating it a second time is forbidden *.

Local Councils (District Councils etc.[D.C.]) enforce food safety, in accordance with National Regulations. Taking some random councils and their advice

• Hambleton D.C. Good Practice

Keeping part used kebabs or leftover sliced meat is not recommended. It is safer to use fresh doner kebabs each day, and minimise waste by selecting smaller sized blocks of meat that suit the demands of your business. ... When re-heating part used doner kebabs make sure the vertical spit is on full heat and the cooked meat is above +75 ̊C

• Brighton & Hove City Council Prepare and cook doner kebabs safely

throw away any meat you’ve sliced or left on the doner kebab when you close, do not cook or reheat it

keep your doner kebabs as small as possible to avoid food waste

• Ahfield D.C. Safe Preparation and cooking of Kebabs

Partly cooked meat which is left on the kebab must be thrown away as it [sic]food poisoning bacteria may be present

Raw meat on the spit must be cooled quickly within 1½ hours and put in the refrigerator away from other foods - stored in the bottom of the fridge so raw juices cannot drip onto cooked and ready to eat foods

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* reheating a kebab would not be recommended

You can see Council advice may differ slightly. There are set rules on times and temperature and regulations saying these must be logged. In addition there is Health and Safety legislation requiring Risk Assessments. It appears some councils decide the safest method is to throw it all away at end of Service. Whereas others seem to accept all protocols will be rigorously followed, and there will be no cross contamination between batches of meats so uncooked meat may be frozen or chilled until the next day.

* Reheating it a second time is forbidden

No wiggle room on that one. Anyone with just the most basic hygiene training knows we are only allowed to reheat once.

[National] F.S.A https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/cooking-safely-in-your-business?

Reheating food

It is very important to reheat food properly to kill harmful bacteria that may have grown since the food was cooked.

Reheating means cooking again, not just warming up. Always reheat food until it is steaming hot all the way through. You can only reheat your food once.

Answer 2

If you really want to be technical, your lamb, chicken or any type of meat on a skewer or spit, vertical or horizontal, should be cooked and served fresh. At that point in time it is nice and juicy. The more you play with the meat, meaning leaving it to sit out, either being warmed or not, for hours, then putting it back in the fridge, is not good for a persons health, the health department does have problems with it, people do get sick, and although it is a practice with food vendors, the meat is tough, dry and is served doctored up with sauces, salsas or dressings to hide the inferior quality and taste of the meat, which is now old and not fresh. Think of it like this. How long do you let your meat stay outside after you eat it, put it in the fridge, take it out, cook it, or warm it up, and let's say, do it for 5 or 7 days? Not too appealing. Eat fresh, and leftovers next day, garbage day after.

Answer 3

If any meat is heated correctly then its fine to eat. I would be less likely to trust a quiet shop however. As the busy ones turn over 2-3 lamb donners a day min. I never buy from a chippy that has a token spit.