Pork Cevapcici (Ćevapčići)

Cevapcici is a national dish of Balkan states that formed former Yugoslavia. It consists of grilled minced or ground meat (lamb, beef or pork alone or any combination) formed into an oval sausage and is served with chopped onions, mustard and potatoes or rice. Besides Balkans all countries of Central and Eastern Europe have their own version. Wikipedia has an excellent entry on this summer meal favorite.

I prefer pork and lamb combination.

Ingredients

1 lb ground pork

1 lb ground lamb

1 egg white
1 Tbs. hot Dijon mustard

1 tsp. salt

4 cloves minced garlic

1/2 small onion, minced

1 tsp. hot Hungarian paprika

1 tsp. sweet Hungarian paprika

1 tsp. baking powder

Directions

Preheat a grill to medium-low heat.

In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, lamb, mustard and egg white.

Add the garlic, salt, baking powder, sweet and hot Hungarian paprika.

Mix well using your hands, and form into thick sausages about index finger long.

Oil the grill grate and grill sausages for about 15 minutes or until cooked through, turning till all sides are light gold.

Serve with boiled potatoes, chopped onions and mustard.

I served my Cevapcici on bed of chopped Napa cabbage and arugula.

Note: If grill is not available it is just as good to shallow fry with lard in heavy skillet. It takes about same time to cook on medium high heat.

Pork Tenderloin Shishkebab

I love anything that is on skewers and grilled on barbecue. Pork tenderloin is one of the best cuts for quick grilling but it does need help from bacon to keep it moist. I always use smoked and cooked bacon because of the short cooking time. In this version I used pork, bacon, onion wedge, red pepper piece and zucchini slice. For sauce I used hickory smoked BBQ sauce. Together with steamed rice and lettuce and cucumber salad on side it makes a wonderful warm weather meal.

When I use skewers, especially wood or bamboo, I always put triple layer of aluminum foil under to prevent skewers from burning.