Serbian Cevapi Recipes

SERBIAN CEVAPCICI

Steps:

• Preheat a grill for medium-low heat.
• In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, ground beef, ground lamb and egg white. Add the garlic, salt, baking soda, black pepper, cayenne pepper and paprika. Mix well using your hands, and form into finger length sausages about 3/4 inch thick.
• Lightly oil the grilling surface. Grill sausages until cooked through, turning as needed, about 30 minutes.

CEVAPCICI (CEVAPI) BALKAN SAUSAGE SANDWICHES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, ground beef, ground lamb and egg white. Add the garlic, salt, baking soda, black pepper, cayenne pepper and paprika. Mix well using your hands.
• Form into finger length sausages about 3/4 inch thick. Arrange in a plate.
• Cover with plastic wrap or wax paper and refrigerate for one hour to one day, to let the flavors settle and the mixture become firm.
• Preheat the grill, medium-low heat. Lightly oil the grilling surface.
• Grill cevapcici until cooked through, turning as needed. The grilling usually takes about 30 minutes.
• Serve in warmed or grilled pita bread, white bread or rolls on a bed of chopped onions, with your choice of toppings such as kajmak, sour cream, cottage cheese, fresh peppers, ajvar or tomatoes.

CEVAPI (GRILLED SERBIAN SAUSAGES)

Steps:

• In a large bowl mix together all ingredients.
• Using slightly over 1 Tbsp of meat mixture per sausage, shape the mixture into sausages the size and shape of a fat finger (roughly 3 inches long and ¾ of an inch in diameter).
• Place all the formed sausages in a single layer on a platter. Cover the platter and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (up to overnight).*
• When you are ready to cook your sausages, preheat your grill to medium heat, 350-400⁰F. (You should be able to hold your hand a few inches from the cooking grate for 5-7 seconds.)
• Grill the sausages using a fine grate grill pan for 4-5 minutes a side, until golden and springy.
• Serve the cevapi with sliced sweet onions and flatbread (like lepinja or pita).

SERBIAN ĆEVAPI U LEPINJA SA KAJMAKOM (KEBABS IN FLAT BREAD WITH KAYMAK)

Steps:

• Cut the meat into 1" cubes to go through your meat grinder. Grind all the meat together and run through your grinder twice.
• Add salt and pepper to the meat mixture and mix thoroughly
• Form the meat into small size sausages a little bigger than your thumb and about 3 inches long. (you can do this preparation ahead of time and have them rest in the refrigerator, overnight is okay as long as they are covered.)
• Grill the kebabs over hardwood coals on a BBQ for the best flavor. You can use a small amount of cooking oil to baste the kebabs and keep them from sticking to your grill.
• When the kebabs are almost finished cooking, warm the flat bread on the grill.
• Take off the flat bread Lipinja, smear with the Kaymak, put several kebabs on the bread and top with onions, crushed red peppers and parsley.
• Instructions for the Lepinja (Serbian Flat Bread)
• Pour the flour into a large bowl making a dent in the middle. Put the Yeast and sugar and salt in the dent.
• Add the warm water and knead it to make a soft dough. Mix 5- 10 minutes until you see airy bubbles.
• Once you are happy with the dough, pour 1-2 teaspoons of cooking oil around the edges of the dough, making sure the oil surrounds the dough in the bowl.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it until the dough rises.
• When the dough rises, slowly turn it over and let it rise again, repeat this process two more times.
• After the last rise, take the dough out of the bowl and place on a floured surface, divide into four equal balls.
• Put floured parchment paper on a baking tray
• Place each floured ball onto the tray
• Let rest for 10 minutes then shape each lepinja by spreading out the dough into a circle and poke with a fork many times.
• Baste the top of each lapinja with the egg yolk.
• Put the baking tray into the oven at 440 degrees , they should take about 15-20 minutes to until they are golden brown.
• Put into a kitchen towel to keep soft when finished.
• NOTE: If you need to make some Kaymak
• Kaymak is a creamy dairy product. It is made from cow or sheep's milk. If you cannot find Kaymak, combine 1 part sour cream, with 1 part softened cream cheese, and ½ part feta. Mash up feta and blend all ingredients until smooth. Refrigerate for 30 minutes and serve at room temperature.

SARAJEVO CEVAPI (SERBIAN SAUSAGES)

Steps:

• Cut the three different beef types into 1-inch pieces and place into a large bowl. Add salt, garlic powder, and pepper and mix until well combined. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
• Insert a medium-coarse grinder plate in your meat grinder. Pass meat mixture 2 times through the meat grinder.
• Shape meat mixture into sausages the size and shape of a fat finger, roughly 3 inches long and 3/4 inch in diameter.
• Preheat an outdoor charcoal grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Grill cevapi until cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

SERBIAN CEVAPI

Steps:

• Combine all 3 meats with the dry ingredients and the garlic. Using your hands, mix until the dry ingredients and garlic is evenly spread into the mixture. As you are mixing, slowly add the club soda. Pour 2 ounces work into mixture and add another 2 and repeat.
• Finally add the beaten egg white and mix one more time until it is worked into the mixture. Then the shaping and storage comes inches You can shape them by hand into links about 4 inches long and 3/4 of an inch thick and let them sit for an hour in the cooler. Or you can follow the method below the cooking instructions.
• These links can be prepared on a grill cooked for about 4 to 5 mins each side or can be cooked in the oven at 350°F for 30 minutes (turned every 15 mins).
• The best way to shape the links is to take a 1/2 deep cookie pan covered with Freezer or Wax paper on the bottom and over lapping the ends with 1 to 2 inches. Then evenly spread the mixture over the inside of the pan and cover with an additional sheet of wax paper.
• Allow at least 1 hour in the fridge to cool off so the shape can hold.
• If you have a large cutting board, remove the pan from the cooler. Flip the pan over the top of the cutting board so the mixture falls out. If not, use one of the ends of the paper on the bottom of the mixture to pull it out.
• Next, take a large pizza cutter and cut downwards every 1" to 1 1/2". Then depending on the length you would like the links, you can cut across 2 or 3 ways. Cutting it across in the middle makes less links. Cutting 2 lines makes about 45 links.