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Oh weird. I didn't know that. I usually make the trip in on a Saturday or Sunday morning and have never came across them being out before. I guess I've always had good luck! I did get up there once before phoning first only to find them on a week long vacation. That was pretty dissapointing but I went over onto Irving Park to stock up at Beograd Meat Market. They also make a nice Cevapcic but I think Lalich has more flavor in theirs.

Beograd Meat Market
2937 W. Irving Park Rd.
Chicago, IL 60618 773-478-7575

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One Mint Julep was the cause of it all.

I should qualify that. On a few occasions, I have been to the store in Niles mid-week and they were out of Cevaps. I was told to come back later in the week (thursday?). Maybe that doesn't apply to the store on Lawrence or on weekends.

Here is a recipe for mici from one of my former students, Angelo *escu.

ANGELO'S MICI

5 Cloves garlic, peeled, pureed
1/4 c Water
1 lb Ground chuck
2/3 lb Coarsely ground pork
1/2 lb Ground lamb
1 ts Baking soda
1 1/2 ts Salt
1 ts Black pepper
1/2 ts Dried thyme, whole
1/2 ts Dried basil
1/2 c Beef stock


Crush the garlic well. Stir the meat, baking soda, seasonings, and garlic puree together. Add Beef Stock and mix well. For each sausage, take 1/3 cup of the meat mixture, and roll between the palms of your hands into a sausage shape about 4 inches long. Place sausages side by side in a container and cover. Refrigerate overnight so that the flavors can blend. These are excellent on the grill. They may also be broiled or baked in the oven. Broil the sausages about 3 minutes per side until cooked through and browned.. HINT: When hand rolling sausages or meatballs of any kind, keep a small bowl of water near you so that you can keep your hands a bit wet. This way the meat will not stick to your hands.

Angelo says that he also sprays the almost-ready sausages with beer, just before taking them off the grill.

Geo

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Sooo, you like wine and are looking for something good to read? Maybe *this* will do the trick!

Just some thanks to the forum for turning me on to Azur meats. Wanted to make some cevaps for a family get together and it was truly a one stop shop.

Cevaps.. Flatbread (Lepinja??) Ajvar and Kajmak. Everything was extremely fresh.. the bread was still warm when i took it home.

Blew a few minds w/ these and it was pretty minimal effort:



judging by the multiple "this number has been disconnected" messages i got on saturday trying to find a good bosnian bakery, the numbers are dwindling.

Not in Chicago, but some of the better raznici I've had on this side of the Atlantic are at the Old Time Serbian Gourmet House, 90 minutes north in Milwaukee:

Map to Old Time Serbian Gourmet House,

They also serve tasty kajmak, the Serbian salad is not to be missed, and an excellent burek of beef, as well as decent cevapcici. Try the off-menu mixed grill of raznici and cevapcici for the best of both worlds.

But as for cevapcici in particular, I prefer my home made, prepared in accordance to my Slovenian grandpa's recipe, grilled, never pan fried or broiled...

I liked Old Town Serbian when we had an LTH dinner there.

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Chicago Craft Beer Week!

I'm in Oak Park - wondering if anyone knows if there are any good sources of cevapcic nearby-ish. If not, looks like the place to go is Azur Meats? We're planning on taking advantage of this weekend for another backyard bbq before the weather gets too cold

Grizzly--I noticed that you didn't come right out and offer to share that recipe with us... Would you??


Geo

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Sooo, you like wine and are looking for something good to read? Maybe *this* will do the trick!

I'd be interested to see it, too. My current recipe is 1/2 lamb, and then either 1/4 beef 1/4 pork, or 1/2 beef. And I've discovered that baking soda (as I see present in your recipe) is key for the type of light texture that I like in it. (Then some garlic, black pepper, paprika, and salt or Vegeta.)

You've inspired me to research more on this, specifically Bosnian cevapi (as they are my favorite) and it looks like a lot of recipes, at least in the original language, contain an aging/fermentation step. I've come across a number of recipes where the technique is to cube your meat, add garlic water and salt, let rest for 24 hours in the fridge. Then grind. Add spices, grind again, and leave at room temperature for anywhere from 1-5 hours to continue developing lactic acid. Refrigerate (preferably overnight), add baking soda, and grill. I'm going to have to try this soon.