Cevapcici

[Dave in AZ]

Pronounced CHE VAP CHI CHI. Come from Eastern Europe, several countries I guess. I could be wrong on origin, but these are found in Bosnia, Croatia, etc. These are just a skinless fresh sausage made with 3 parts pork, 2 parts beef, and 1 part lamb.

When I lived in Los Angeles, there was a Croatian butcher shop 100yds from my house, we used to buy these. They are simple and tasty.

I used the recipe from Marianski, from the Meatsandsausages dot com site. I looked up 6 or so other recipes on google, all were basically the same.

It is a lightly seasoned sausage, made about finger size, and grilled or pan fried. They are generally served just like a gyro, on a pita with Tzatziki sauce, and apparently they are always sold as 5 count.

1.2% salt only, 0.2% black pepper, cayenne, paprika, baking soda, garlic and onion.

I actually bought naan bread instead of using my pitas, just to see the difference. Naan is thicker, larger, and cooked lower heat.

[Denny O]

Dave in AZ said in Cevapcici:

I wonder what the baking soda does for it?

[Dave in AZ]

Denny O baking soda is a common thing in eastern sausages. Tenderizes it. Also raises pH so lets it hold more water. I pan fried these and got ZERO fat out. Pork and beef were a bit lean, lamb was pretty lean, so I added 330g of brisket fat. The beef was cross rib without much fat, so I’d say final was hmm 18% fat or so, maybe 20.

Chinese sausages and Thai often have baking soda.

[gus4416]

Dave in AZ they look real good I made some breakfast sausage without casing and they were great I don’t rember who I seen try it but they were very helpful when I asked how they vacum sealed them

[Dave in AZ]

gus4416 thx Gus! Yes, storing them can be an issue. I rolled these out with my hand on a lightly floured board, which keeps them from sticking and helps brown them up and crisp. But if you store them that way, any flour on them becomes gooey and sticky later. So I cooked them all for storage. I floured and froze some scrapple slices before…gaah, complete goo nightmare lol.

But there was 4 lbs I didn’t use, so I just stored that in 1 lb bulk bags and froze. I will just cut to finger sizes and cook later when desired.

I seem to recall maybe you extruded yours, then froze before bagging? That is probably the best, but I ran out of time.

[gus4416]

Dave in AZ yes that is what I did worked very good and taste great

[Jonathon]

Departing Contestant Want to talk about the baking soda your wife uses? I had never heard of it before talking to you about that and I think it might be an interesting thing for people to hear.

[Departing Contestant]

Jonathon I was watching my lovely wife brown ground beef for taco Tuesday, and I noticed she was putting baking soda in the pan. I asked her “why” and she explained that it was to keep the water in the meat and give it a better color. because it was not swimming in water. She let it sit for a while and I watched the process play out. She was right and I gave her the title of “Kitchen Meat Science”. It makes sense, Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is an all-natural replacement for phosphate. Her process: …For every pound of ground beef, a good rule of thumb is to add about 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and to let the meat sit for about 15 minutes before cooking.

I have seen it work with my own four eyes. She is an amazing cook, and beautiful to boot. She cooks “to make the Angels weep!”…473

[Deepwoodsbutcher]

Departing Contestant That’s some great information. Your wife sounds like she really knows her craft.

[Denny O]

Departing Contestant Interesting, I’ve got a process question when to add the baking soda.
After the meat is browned, mix the baking soda with the taco seasoning and water and stir it into the browned hamburger and let it set for 15 minutes then simmer for the 30ish minutes?

[Departing Contestant]

Denny O no she mixes it in first when it is raw and cold and let’s it sit

[salmonmaster]

Departing Contestant very interesting. I try to learn something new each day, and I just did.

[WVTim]

Departing Contestant we will have to try it. Does it work that way for anything else that you know of?

[zbigjeff]

Dave in AZ Your European locations/regions were spot on. I made these about 4-5 years ago and can’t find the recipe. But, my recollection parallels yours. I was told to make them like skinless breakfast sausages by using the stuffer and a pair of scissors while cutting them the length of the thumb. We had much fun by challenging both the cutter and the person placing the pieces. The cranker would stop after 20 or so and everyone would take a sip of pevo. You just made me smile by bringing up this gem. Thanks.

[Departing Contestant]

@wvotrfan well phosphates have many applications in our meatgistics pursuits

[Denny O]

Departing Contestant Jonathon
Then why not add a 1/4 teaspoon/pound of hamburger when I grind 30 pounds or so during the winter for my stash for the year?

[Departing Contestant]

Denny O the only honest answer is “I don’t know”
I know that phosphates react quickly with proteins and there is really no benefit to extended periods of exposure
I have to believe that any benefit is achieved in the 15 minutes. That is a good question, let me know next December

[zbigjeff]

Departing Contestant The baking soda trick is also new to me. I can now check off my mantra of learning one new thing a day. Thanks for enhancing the discussion.

[Departing Contestant]

zbigjeff thanks. Usually if I am good for anything it is as a bad example…465

[TexLaw]

I learned about the baking soda trick a while back from Cook’s Illustrated or America’s Test Kitchen (can’t recall if it was the TV show or magazine). It works, and it’s ridiculously easy to do.