Cevapcici with Red Onion and Sweet Mustard
Cevapcici are Croatian grilled sausages often served as an appetizer on the Adriatic coast. If you make the sausage rolls ahead of time, the next day's dinner preparation takes only 20 minutes.
Cevapcici are Croatian grilled sausages often served as an appetizer on the Adriatic coast. If you make the sausage rolls ahead of time, the next day's dinner preparation takes only 20 minutes.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 egg whites lightly beaten
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 1/2 lbs lean ground lamb
- 1 1/2 lbs ground veal i use mild buffalo
- 1 small onion minced fine
- 2 garlic cloves minced vry fine
- 2 large red onions thinly sliced
- sweet hot mustard sauce
- 1/4 cup mustard powder
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- Carbohydrate 79.7196964201485 g
- Cholesterol 694.2763463125 mg
- Fat 67.1023992926235 g
- Fiber 4.57705001382896 g
- Protein 88.1196009675797 g
- Saturated Fat 27.3179223600689 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (850g)
- Sodium 604.670271943082 mg
- Sugar 75.1426464063195 g
- Trans Fat 7.12444430915024 g
- Calories 1271 calories
Step-by-step
- Heat the oil in a frying pan. Saute the onion for 10 minutes, stir in the garlic and saute for an additional 2 minutes.
- Drain well (this does make a difference) and transfer the onion and garlic to a large bowl.
- Add the meat, paprika and egg whites to the bowl. Blend the ingredients well.
- form into rolls 1 1/2 inches in diameter and 4 inches long (like a sausage). Place on a cookie sheet, cover with wax paper and refrigerate for 8-24 hours. This will allow the rolls to set.
- Leaving a space between them, thread the rolls (lengthwise) onto skewers. Two or three will fit on each skewer. Place the skewers on the grill over a high heat (400 F) for approximately 10 minutes, or until well-browned. Roll them back and forth across the grid so that all sides get browned.
- Remove the sausages from the skewers, arrange on a bed of red onion slices, and serve with Sweet Hot Mustard Sauce.
- Combine the sugar, mustard powder and flour in a saucepan. Add the beaten eggs and whip with a whisk until smooth.
- Stir in the the water, lemon juice and vinegar and place on a medium heat. Cook and stir until the sauce becomes thick and creamy.
- Allow to reach room temperature before serving.
Shaping ground lamb and veal into oblong cylinders before threading them onto skewers ensures even contact with high heat, a technique developed along the Adriatic coast to maximize surface browning without drying out the interior. Because these small meat rolls cook rapidly over a 400 degree Fahrenheit flame, visual and physical cues matter far more than guesswork when determining doneness.
- Saute the minced yellow onion for a full ten minutes over moderate heat to drive out excess moisture, preventing the raw juices from compromising the structural integrity of the sausage rolls during the mandatory eight to twenty-four hour refrigeration setting window.
- Thread two or three formed rolls lengthwise onto wooden or metal skewers to simplify the turning process, allowing you to roll them continuously across the grill grid until the exterior develops a uniform mahogany crust.
- Look for firm resistance when pressing the meat with tongs and check that juices run clear rather than pink, which typically occurs after approximately ten minutes of high-heat exposure.
- Whisk the mustard powder, sugar, and flour thoroughly with beaten eggs before introducing liquids like lemon juice and vinegar to prevent lumps from forming in the saucepan.
- Store the prepared mustard sauce in a sealed container under refrigeration where it thickens further, and freeze uncooked sausage rolls on parchment-lined trays before transferring them to bags for longer storage.
Thoroughly draining the cooked aromatics prior to mixing prevents excess liquid from diluting the protein bonds during the chilling phase. Proper preparation of the sweet mustard base provides a sharp acidic contrast to the rich, spiced profile of the grilled meat.
