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square photo with grilled spicy minced meat in a sandwich with tomatoes around it

Cevapi or Cevapcici (Grilled Serbian Sausage)

Andréa
Homemade Cevapcici (Cevapi) - Delicious grilled minced meat sausages. As you might know from the Balkans, home-seasoned and made. In terms of taste, they resemble the well-known sausages from vacation! And this beef cevapcici recipe is delicious. You will be making this again and again!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Cooling time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 22 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine Europese keukens, Mediterranean
Servings 4 persons
Calories 780 kcal

Ingredients
 

cevapcici

  • 1 pound ground beef Or half and half minced pork / minced beef or ½ pound of minced beef and ½ pound of minced lamb
  • ½ oz Fresh Parsley flat, finely chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic squeezed
  • 1 egg size M
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika powder
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper ground
  • ¾ teaspoon Vegeta
  • 2 tablespoons sunflower oil

To serve

  • 8 pita bread baked of any other flat bread
  • 2 red onions finely chopped
  • 1 cup garlic sauce sour cream or Greek yogurt

Ingredients you need per step are listed below the step in Italic

Instructions
 

  • Put the ground beef in a bowl. Add the parsley and garlic. 
    1 pound ground beef, ½ oz Fresh Parsley, 4 cloves garlic
  • Add the smoked paprika, sweet paprika, flour, baking soda, cayenne pepper, and Vegeta. Also, put the egg in the bowl.
    1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon sweet paprika powder, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper ground, ¾ teaspoon Vegeta, 1 egg
  • Mix all the ingredients with your hands.
  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
  • Form small meat rolls with your hands. Place on a platter or plate.
  • Brush the meat with oil.
    2 tablespoons sunflower oil
  • Heat the BBQ or grill pan until very hot.
  • Place the cevapcici in the pan and grill for 12 minutes while turning the meat a few times.

To serve

  • Cut open the flatbread (pita bread) and fill it with cevapcici and red onion. 
    8 pita bread, 2 red onions
  • Serve with garlic sauce.
    1 cup garlic sauce

NOTES

1. Ground meat:
  • You can use different types of minced meat in this recipe. Only ground beef, 50 % ground beef, 50 % ground pork, or a combination of ground beef with ground lamb (50%: 50%).
  • Chill the flavored meat in the refrigerator for at least two hours. This makes it easier to shape them, and you can grill the sausages better.
2. Vegeta: A spice widely used in the Balkans, where everyone seems to have in their pantry. It is available at stores like Amazon and can be used in soup, sauce, and stews in addition to this recipe. If you don't have it at home? Then, you can replace it with vegetable stock powder.
3. Baking soda: Mix baking soda through the meat. This way, you get a crispy layer when grilling.
4. Garlic sauce: In this recipe, I chose garlic sauce (because it's one of my favorite sauces), but sour cream or Greek yogurt (a slimmer version) are also popular. Or serve with Ajvar (available in supermarkets or online) or red pepper sauce.
5. Variations:
  • Kid-Friendly: Instead of 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika, add ½ teaspoon. Omit the cayenne pepper.
  • Also tasty: Serve with crispy fries.
  • Spicy: Do you like it spicy? Add a finely chopped red pepper to the meat mixture.
6. Storage
  • After shaping the cevapcici, before brushing them with oil, you can keep them in the fridge for up to one day. You can also freeze them. Place them in a freezer container (with baking paper between each roll, so they do not stick). You can keep them for up to 2 months. Let them thaw in the refrigerator and grill them according to the directions.
  • After grilling the cevapcici, you can keep them covered in the refrigerator for three days. You can also freeze them. Then, place them in a freezer container (with baking paper between each roll, so they do not stick). You can keep them for up to 2 months. Thaw them in the fridge and heat them in a skillet or the oven for 20 minutes at 320 °F (160 °C).

Nutrition

Calories: 780kcal | Carbohydrates: 85g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 121mg | Sodium: 3740mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 925IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Iron: 5mg
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