The meaty goodness known as cevapi is an indispensable part of any Balkan cuisine. If you’re visiting any of the countries located in the Southeastern part of Europe, you’re likely to find this meal on both fast-food and full-service restaurant menus. However, food lovers who are eager to throw a Balkan cuisine feast in their own home will rejoice to know they are super easy to prepare.
Before we jump into the recipe and explain how to make authentic Serbian cevapi, we need to tackle the origin story and what they are precisely.
What is Cevapi?
Serbian sausages, also known as cevapcici, is a simple dish of tantalizingly delicious pork, beef, or lamb meat. Sometimes it’s all of the above mixed into one homogeneous mass of mouthwatering deliciousness.
They’ve been around ever since the Ottoman Empire conquered most of Eastern Europe and brought their cultural influences with them. They are molded by hand and are not stuffed like you would imagine your typical sausages would be.
There are many ways you can prepare them. You can grill them, broil them, pan fry them, barbecue them, or stick them on a skewer and cook them over a fire like people used to do back in the day. Whichever method you choose, they’ll end up delicious without a doubt.
Cevapi Recipe
To prepare this dish at your own home, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- 1 pound of ground beef chuck
- 1/2 pound of ground pork
- 1/2 pound of ground lamb
- 1 chopped garlic clove
- Half a cup of finely chopped onions
- Season with salt to taste
- Optionally: garnish with finely chopped onions
Take a large bowl and throw in your beef, pork, and lamb. Start mixing it while also adding your chopped onions and salt. Once you combine all those ingredients together, you can take a small part of it, just enough to form one single sausage and fry it to conduct a taste test. This way you’ll know if your mixture needs more seasoning or not. Once you’re satisfied with the taste, put the mixture in the fridge and leave it overnight.
Now comes the fun part. Take the mixture out of the refrigerator and roll it into a single long sausage. Cut small links and mold them into smaller pieces. Make sure they are not too thick and not too long. This will ensure they are evenly cooked and taste just right. Take the small sausages and place them on a separate plate. Cover the plate with plastic wrap and put it back into the fridge for another hour.
Choosing the method of cooking is up to you. If you decide to grill them, four to five minutes per side should be sufficient to make them brown and crispy on the surface and tender on the inside. Serve them on a plate with a side of authentic pogacha bread, or if you can’t get a pogacha, flatbread will do. Garnish with chopped raw onions to taste and enjoy.
Note: Rakija Grill only uses beef in this recipe.
And there you have it, simple yet indescribably delicious. If you’re an avid fan of Balkan dishes, make sure to stay updated on our blog as we will be posting more recipes in the near future.
If you find yourself strolling down the busiest part of Miami and you’re feeling hungry, make sure to stop by our new location in the Downtown area and order a plate of our very own cevapcici.
