Kevin's Watch

All around the world people seem to have developed dishes of grilled (fried or cooked) meat balls/loaves. Be it the Amercian burgers, Arabian kofta, German Frikadelle, Italian polpetti - you name it, they cooked it.

One of my favorite dishes is Cevapcici (apparently related to the term "kebap") which can be found all over the region formerly known as Yugolslavia. This is a recipe from Zagreb, the capital of the Republic of Croatia. It's another example of how simple ingredients can be turned into something awseome.

500 gr / 18 oz of ground beef
2 large red onions (don't use onion powder or granulated onions)
2 cloves of garlic (or more to taste, just don't use garlic powder or granulated garlic)
1/2 Tbs salt
1/2 Tbs black pepper (fresh ground)
2 Tbs paprika (you can mix sweet and hot or just use sweet or hot, or add more to taste - it's up to you)
1 Tbs parsley (chopped)
1 Tbs plain cooking oil
2 tsps baking powder
50 ml / 3.5 Tbs sparkling mineral water


Finely chop onions and garlic and put everything together ina big bowl.

Use your hands to work the meat dough (it's all sticky and gooey but nevermind) for at least 10 minutes until you feel things are starting to hold together. Some people say you should work the dough for 30+ minutes, but as soon as the dough starts to change consistency it's enough. It's hard to describe what it feels like but you will know it when it happens.

Let the dough rest in the fridge for 30 minutes

Form thumb thick rolls from the dough (1 - 1.5 inches long) and put them on an oiled plate. The dough will still be rather stickey but things should hold together. Cover with oiled plastic wrap. Let rest in the fridge over night.

Grill over medium heat or fry in a pan with neutral cooking oil until done.

The meat should have a rather firm texture. Enjoy with pita bread, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers (or pickles), tsasiki, ayar or whatever floats your boat.

Dobar Tek!

(Pictures will follow if I'm fast enough - they're so yummy, they always get eaten before I get a chance to take a picture)

Fascinating.
So they're basically a ground meat falafel?

Yes, add falafel to my list above. :p

You can of course use ground lamb as well.

Vader wrote:Yes, add falafel to my list above. :p

Well, I ask because none of the items you listed seem to be eaten in a pita with tzatziki, et. al. Are they?

Vader wrote:You can of course use ground lamb as well.

If I could afford it, that would be my preference.

We've got a lot of Turks living in Germany and Turkish fastfood has become the most popular over here (even more than Bratwurst or pizza).

They sell "döner kebap", which is grilled meat cut from rotating vertical skewer in a peta bread with cucmbers, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, slaw , cacık (turkish tsasiki) and some slightly hot chili sauce.

Vader wrote:We've got a lot of Turks living in Germany and Turkish fastfood has become the most popular over here (even more than Bratwurst or pizza).

They sell "döner kebap", which is grilled meat cut from rotating vertical skewer in a peta bread with cucmbers, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, slaw , cacık (turkish tsasiki) and some slightly hot chili sauce.

That sounds like what is referred to here as gyros or souvlaki, depending on if it is formed and cut off the vertical skewer in slices, or in chunks. Generally minus the chili sauce, though. Which sounds like an awesome addition.

But neither would be individual meatball/patty shaped, eh?

Now I see what you mean

Of course you wouldn't serve a burger or Frikadelle (which is awesome as well) in a pita bread with tsasiki.

Gyros over here is Greek food and mainly pork (seldom lamb) grilled on a rotating vertical skewer.

Souvlaki over here is meat (mostly pork), cut in thin chunks, marinated and grilled. Here it's Greek food as well.

Döner Kebab over here mainly is veal (sometimes beef or poultry) because Turks don't eat pork.

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I often just serve Cevapcicis on their own with a good garlic sauce to dip in - especially when I got other good things on the grill.