With the weather getting warmer in the UK, the barbecue season is finally here. For our family, this is the best time of the year, as we love alfresco cooking and dining. And we adore these delicious Serbian Cevapi (Cevapčići)! They are mouth-watering skinless sausages made with perfectly spiced mincemeat and best chargrilled on the barbecue. 

Although similar meat dishes exist all over the Balkans, Cevapi are authentic to Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro.

HISTORY OF THE SERBIAN CEVAPI.

This iconic Balkan dish is influenced by another popular grilled mincemeat dish, the famous Kofta, introduced in the region by the Ottomans. Cevapi are similar to kofta in taste, but they have a distinctive prolonged shape while the kofta is round, like a small burger.

Bosnians claim these skinless sausages are their national dish, and so are many of the Balkan nations. Defining where this popular Balkan dish originated is close to impossible and often causes disputes between nations.

The fact is, this particular recipe comes from Serbian national cuisine. There is a popular local story describing where the name of the dish comes from. Robbers hiding on the outskirts of the city of Leskovac shaped mincemeat-like sausages and grilled them on fire. The dish became known as the Leskovac Cevapi and is extremely popular in Serbia today.

According to the Serbian satirist and journalist Branislav Nušić, ćevapčići (the cute name for cevapi) were served in Belgrade’s kafanas (cafes) as early as the 1860s.

POPULARITY OF SEVAPI CEVAPI.

In the mid-nineteen century, cevapi became popular street food in Belgrade. Street cevapi were sold wrapped in pita bread and became everyone’s favourite treat after a night out or even consumed for breakfast.

The popularity of these skinless sausages spread fast. In one of his works, Nušić wrote that Cevapi reigned suprême the whole country, from end to end, and became the most precious dish to everyone, regardless of their ethnicity – Serbians, Croatians, Slovenians and Bosnians.

VARIATIONS OF INGREDIENTS IN CEVAPI.

The Cevapi recipe has many different versions throughout the region that differ mainly by the type of meat used or the size and shape of the cevap.

In Bosnia, cevapi are typically made with minced beef and shaped like short and fat sausages.

The authentic Serbian cevapi are made with beef, lamb and/or pork, and they come in different sizes. Some make them short and thick, and others – long and thin.

In Croatia, cevapi are made traditionally with a blend of beef and pork meat and are slightly thinner and longer in size compared to the Bosnian version.

HOW TO MAKE AUTHENTIC SERBIAN CEVAPI?

📋 INGREDIENTS IN THIS RECIPE

Meat: As already mentioned, most Serbian Cevapi recipes are made with a blend of beef and pork mincemeat. You can prepare the minced meat yourself or buy a ready-minced meat blend. Make sure the mincemeat has high-fat content because the fat melts on the grill leaving behind a beautiful flavour. If you are mincing and blending the meat yourself, the best piece of beef to use is the brisket. It has a high intramuscular fat content. And, for the minced pork, source pork shoulder.

Spices: Not much spicing is required for making cevapi. Some even think that no spices should be used at all because spices disguise the taste of the meat. In my recipe, I use black pepper, sweet paprika and cumin.

Sparkling water: Spring water adds moisture to the mincemeat and makes the meat mixture fluffier and lighter.

Soda of Bicarbonate: It will help lock moisture into the meat base.

Oil: You need just a little oil to help you shape the skinless sausages. The oil also adds extra moisture to the meat.

📖 STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Although shaping Authentic Serbian Cevapi involves some skill, the steps below will show you the easiest way to prepare them:

Step 1: Prepare the meat for Cevapi

As already mentioned, most Serbian recipes use a blend of beef and pork minced (ground) meat.

If ready-made packs of pork and beef mincemeat are not available in the store, you can blend individual packs of beef and pork mincemeat in a food processor. To prepare the mincemeat at home, use a meat grinder and mince cubes of pork and beef meat together.

Place the ready mincemeat in a large bowl and break larger lumps of meat with your fingers.

Step 2: Chop onion and garlic

Peel the onion and garlic and mince them or chop them very finely.

It is a good idea to use a food processor and mince the onion and garlic into a rough paste with the pulsing setting to ensure that you do not have large pieces of onion in the meat base. You can also use an onion chopper to dice the onion and the garlic.

Step 3: MIX all ingredients

Season the meat with salt and spices and mix the spices with the meat.

Pour the sprinkling water and stir the meat mixture to integrate it. Next, add the onion and garlic paste, oil and soda of bicarbonate.

Start kneading the meat mixture by hand until all ingredients are combined.

Spread the spiced meat on the bottom of a medium-sized rectangular oven dish or tray and press it with your palms to compress it and make it even. Make sure the meat layer is 3/4-inch thick.

Cover the dish with the meat with cling film wrap and place it in the fridge overnight or let the mixture chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

Step 4: Shape the cevapi

The recommended size for the cevapi is 3/4 of an inch in thickness and 3 inches in length.

Some prefer to shape the cevapi by hand, but I use a different method, which I find easier. I cut the cevapi inside the rectangular oven dish.

Before pre-cutting the cevapi in the oven dish, you need to make sure the thickness of the flattened meat in the oven dish is 3 inches, so all cevapi have the same thickness.

Place the dish with the chilled spiced meat on a hard non-slippery surface and prepare a long sharp knife.

The first two sides of the cevapi are now ready – the one on the bottom of the dish and the one on the surface that we have flattened by hand.

How to SHAPE individual Cevapi in the oven dish?

Place the dish in front of you, with the long side facing you. Cut the pressed spiced meat longwise into 3/4 inch wide.

Turn the dish with the short side facing you. In the same manner, described above, make lengthwise straight parallel cuts, this time 3 inches apart. Now all your cevapi are cut inside the dish.

Take a wire grid and brush it with oil.

Prepare a bowl of ice-cold water and dip your fingers in the cold water before shaping each cevap.

Take a pre-cut cevap from the oven dish, fix imperfections in its shape and place it on the oiled grid; repeat the same with the rest of the cevapi pieces. Leave space between the cevapi when arranging them on the grid, to avoid them sticking to each other.

Cover with cling film wrap and place the grid with the Cevapi in the fridge until you are ready to grill them.

Step 5: Cook the Cevapi

For extra smoky flavours in the cevapi, grill the meat on a charcoal barbecue. An electric grill works well, too.

Heat the grill or barbecue to medium heat, then brush the hot grill with oil or rub lard on it.

Grill the cevapi sausages on medium heat until evenly cooked and browned on all sides.

🍲 SERVE THESE TASTY SERBIAN CEVAPI

There are several ways to serve cevapi. In most restaurants in the Balkans, Cevapi is served garnished with fresh salad, ajvar and chips on the side. In my post, Authentic Bulgarian Relish Ljutenitsa, you will learn how to make a relish similar to ajvar which is a fantastic condiment to any grilled meat, including cevapi.

Another great way to serve cevapi is wrapped in delicious soft pita bread, topped with chopped onions, sauces and fresh salad.

No matter how you serve these meat treats, I am sure you will enjoy them! They are delicious to eat even without the garnish.

Enjoy! 👨‍🍳👨‍🍳👨‍🍳

PIN IT FOR LATER!

Featured bbq Recipes from the Balkan Cuisines

If you enjoy this recipe, don’t forget to rate it and leave a comment in the form below the recipe card. I would love to hear from you! To receive new exciting recipes and learn more about the Balkans, subscribe to our mailing list by following the link  Subscribe.