It has been said the casing-less sausages known as cevapcici found their way into Eastern Europe via the Ottoman Empire, which picked them up from Arabic cultures around Persia.
Today, there are different versions of cevapcici throughout Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia. Some use pork and lamb, others use pork, lamb and beef, and yet others omit the pork entirely.
Originally, they were skewered and grilled over an open fire. Nowadays, most cooks grill, broil or pan fry them. They make great appetizers!
Makes 6 servings of Cevapcici
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 pound ground beef chuck
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 1/2 pound ground lamb
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onions
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Finely chopped onions, for garnish
Preparation:
- Mix together beef, pork, lamb, garlic, 1/2 cup chopped onions and salt until thoroughly combined.
- Roll meat mixture into a long, 3/4-inch cylinder. Cut links at 4-inch intervals. Or, you can use a sausage extruder. Place on plastic wrap-lined plate, cover with more plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour to firm. Note: Sausages can be frozen at this point. When ready to use, thaw or cook from the frozen state.
- Broil "cevapcici" on a charcoal grill or a preheated oven broiler rack coated with cooking spray 4 to 6 inches from flame, 4 minutes per side or until no longer pink in the middle. Or they can be pan fried in a large skillet coated with cooking spray over high heat for a total of about 8 minutes, turning frequently to brown all sides.
- Serve with chopped raw onion, Serbian potato salad and hearty, white bread. Cevapcici make great appetizers!
