Ćevapi
Ćevapi are eaten across the Balkans, but the Sarajevo version is the most famous: small fingers of minced meat, with no egg and no breadcrumbs, made with garlic water and a pinch of bicarbonate, grilled over charcoal and served in a split flatbread with chopped onion and ajvar. The bicarbonate and thorough kneading give them their springy texture, and a few hours in the fridge makes them hold their shape. The Bosnian version uses beef and lamb, the Serbian often adds pork — this recipe lets you take either route.
Your own work in that: 35 min.
- Meat mixture 15 min
- Chilling 120 min
- Shaping 20 min
- Grilling 15 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneMake garlic water
Crush the garlic into the cold water and leave 10 minutes. This spreads the garlic evenly through the mixture and stops it burning on the grill.
Ingredients: 400 g minced beef · 200 g minced pork (or lamb) · 4 cloves garlic · 100 ml cold water · ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda · 10 g salt · 1 tsp black pepper · 1 tsp sweet paprika
Knead the mixture
Mix both minces with the salt, pepper, paprika and bicarbonate. Pour in the garlic water (strained, if you prefer) and knead by hand for 8–10 minutes until the mixture is sticky and clings to your hands.
Ingredients: 400 g minced beef · 200 g minced pork (or lamb) · 4 cloves garlic · 100 ml cold water · ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda · 10 g salt · 1 tsp black pepper · 1 tsp sweet paprika
It should be sticky — that gives the springiness.Chill
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours, ideally overnight. The mixture firms up and shapes more easily.
Ingredients: 400 g minced beef · 200 g minced pork (or lamb) · 4 cloves garlic · 100 ml cold water · ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda · 10 g salt · 1 tsp black pepper · 1 tsp sweet paprika
Shape the fingers
With wet hands shape 24 fingers of about 30 g, 7–8 cm long and 2 cm thick. Set them on a tray so they do not touch.
Ingredients: 400 g minced beef · 200 g minced pork (or lamb) · 4 cloves garlic · 100 ml cold water · ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda · 10 g salt · 1 tsp black pepper · 1 tsp sweet paprika
Twenty-four fingers, six per serving.Heat the grill
Heat a charcoal grill to medium-high (a hand 10 cm above the grate lasts 3 seconds) or a griddle pan over high heat. The grate must be clean and properly hot — ćevapi release their own fat and will not stick if you leave them alone at first.
Ingredients: 400 g minced beef · 200 g minced pork (or lamb) · 4 cloves garlic · 100 ml cold water · ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda · 10 g salt · 1 tsp black pepper · 1 tsp sweet paprika
Grill
Grill the ćevapi for 10–12 minutes, turning every 2–3 minutes, until evenly browned. Minced meat must be cooked through — 71°C at the thickest point, with no pink juices.
Ingredients: 400 g minced beef · 200 g minced pork (or lamb) · 4 cloves garlic · 100 ml cold water · ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda · 10 g salt · 1 tsp black pepper · 1 tsp sweet paprika
Turn every 2–3 minutes for even browning.Warm the bread
Split the flatbreads, put them on the grill for 1 minute and keep them under a cloth so the steam softens them.
Ingredients: 4 pcs somun or large pitas · 1 pcs onion · 4 tbsp ajvar
Serve
Put 6 ćevapi into each flatbread, add chopped raw onion and a spoonful of ajvar. Serve at once.
Ingredients: 4 pcs somun or large pitas · 1 pcs onion · 4 tbsp ajvar
Before you start
With kajmak
In the Balkans ćevapi come with kajmak — a thick, salty dairy spread skimmed from milk (nothing to do with caramel). A stand-in is mascarpone mixed with a pinch of salt and a spoonful of thick cream.
Without a grill
A griddle pan or the oven grill (top shelf, 250°C, 12–14 minutes, turning) gives nearly as good a result — only the smoke is missing.
Storage
Keep the raw mixture in the fridge up to 24 hours, or freeze the shaped fingers for 2 months. Eat cooked ćevapi within 2 days, reheating in a pan.
