Keto Croatian Kebab aka Cevapcici

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Keto Croatian Kebab aka Cevapcici

Servings: 10

INGREDIENTS

685 g (1.5 lb) lean ground beef

685 g (1.5 lb) ground pork

685 g (1.5 lb) ground lamb

1 egg – lightly beaten

14 g (1 tbsp) garlic – grated

6 g (1 tsp) salt

5 g (2 tsp) black pepper

6 g (1 tsp) baking soda

2.5 g (1 tsp) cayenne pepper

1.5 g (1 tsp) smoked paprika

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the ground beef, ground pork, and ground lamb into a large mixing bowl
2. Into the bowl add the egg, and sprinkle the grated garlic, salt, pepper, baking soda, cayenne pepper, and smoked paprika
3. Using your hands, squish and toss until all the seasoning ingredients are well combined and integrated with the ground meat
4. Take 50 g (about 1.8 oz) of the meat mix and roll into a ball, then pressing only at the center roll between your palms to form an even width cigar shape that is about 6.5 cm or about 2.5 inch long
5. Place on a platter and cover with cling wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight to allow meat to absorb the seasoning flavors
6. Take out of the refrigerator and allow meat to get to room temperature
BBQ INSTRUCTIONS:
7. Heat up your BBQ to medium heat
8. Place aluminum foil with edges turned up on the BBQ rack or use BBQ grill plate. When heated, place the kebabs / Ćevapčići in spaced rows
9. Grill for about 30 minutes, turning occasionally to ensure the center meat is done all the way through and you have a nice crispy exterior
PAN GRILLED ON STOVETOP:
10. heat the grill pan on medium heat, lightly grease with oil or bacon fat
11. Place the kebabs/Ćevapčići onto the hot grill pan and grill, rotating as soon as the bottom has browned (the Maillard reaction). Keep cooking and rotating until the entire cylinder of the kebabs/Ćevapčići has been browned. Cook for about 30 minutes, or until the center is done
12. NOTE for both BBQ or Stovetop- suggested time may vary depending on your heat setting and how thick you made your kebabs/Ćevapčići. The suggested time is a guideline. Enjoy!

MACRONUTRIENTS CHART

FYI

Serve the kebabs/Ćevapčići with a warm pita or tortilla chips, Ajvar (my Croatian version) and with thin wedges of raw onion. They are great appetizers or if served in a pita, a complete part of a main meal. Here are some interesting background facts on these Croatian kebabs/Ćevapčići:

The word Ćevapčići comes from the Turkish word for kebab, sometimes with the South Slavic diminutive ending –čići. These Croatian kebabs/Ćevapčići are a Balkan area, unsmoked skinless sausage. Originally the kebabs/Ćevapčići were skewered and grilled over an open fire. They date from the time of the Ottoman Empire, and it is thought they originated from around Persia. Eventually these meat sausages were introduced to Eastern Europe and with slight modifications became a Macedonian, Bosnian, Serbian, and as in my version, Croatian favorite. The different regions use varying combinations of the ground beef, lamb or pork as well as the seasoning used. However, they are all hand shaped without an outer skin casing like sausages and it is more typical to BBQ or pan grill them without the skewers.

Reference

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%86evapi