Cevapcici
Cevapcici
Region: Balkans
Category: Sausage, Grilled Sausage, Mixed
Season: Any
Difficulty: Medium Difficulty

The Turkish defeat of Serbia at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 made the country a tributary state to the Ottoman Empire. But by 1459 the Ottomans annexed Serbia outright, although Belgrade did not fall until 1521. Ottoman rule in Serbia was oppressive, and there were many Serbian revolts, but the last Turkish garrison did not leave Belgrade until 1867. The Turks left vestiges in the culinary realm, for example these delicious skinless sausages called ćevapčići (pronounced kev-APP-chee-kee or chev-APP-chee-chee) in Serbo-Croatian, a language shared by all Yugoslavs but spelled with a cyrillic alphabet by the Serbs. They are small crépinettes, skinless veal-and-lamb sausages and there are many different ways of making them. Sometimes they're made only with beef or lamb or pork, but the secret to all the recipes is grinding the meat at least three times or processing it to a paste. This recipe is based on my memories of a cold and gray spring day in 1971 in a long forgotten restaurant in Belgrade.

[photo: Clifford A. Wright]

Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings (variation makes 4 servings)
Preparation Time: 4:30 hours in all

4 garlic cloves, peeled

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon water

1 3/4 pounds slightly fatty veal, cut from the shoulder or rump, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 3/4 pounds slightly fatty lamb, cut from the shoulder, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 tablespoon freshly ground cumin seeds

Freshly ground black pepper

Several sprigs of fresh curly parsley for garnish

1 large onion, grated

1. In a mortar, mash the garlic together with the salt until it forms a paste, then add the water and continue pounding until homogenous.

2. In a large bowl, knead together the veal, lamb, cumin, and garlic paste, wetting your hands to keep the meat from sticking, and season with pepper. Process the meat mixture in a food processor in batches until it forms a paste, or push through a meat grinder three times. Cover and leave in the refrigerator for 2 hours. With wet hands form the meat into small sausage-shaped croquettes (rissoles) the size of large thumb. Set aside on a baking tray, covered in the refrigerator for another 2 hours.

3. Preheat a gas grill on high for 20 minutes or prepare a hot charcoal fire.

4. Grill the ćevapčići until springy to the touch, about 15 minutes, turning with tongs or a spatula, not a fork--make sure you do not prick them. Remove from the grill and arrange on a serving platter surrounded with parsley. Serve with the grated onions on the side.

Variation: 

Here is another recipe that I like very much. I collected it more than twenty-five years ago in Yugoslavia, and I don't remember where or from whom. Follow the method above using these ingredients, processed together in two batches in a food processor: 1 1/4 pounds ground beef, 1/2 pound ground lamb, 1 small peeled and quartered onion, 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley, 1 large peeled garlic clove, 2 teaspoons sweet paprika, salt and pepper to taste.

Posted: 12/26/2007