Big news for 1 big bite: last weeks post about my favorite summer drinks: iced coffee, strawberry limes will be featured on the foodista homepage on the July 6, just one day, you don’t want to miss that. I am really excited about that and put the foodista badge all over this side, rather not cool but I don’t get this honor every day.

Cevapcici is a Serbian speciality or is it from Croatia? We better don’t fight over that, I am already confused about dishes I know from Germany which become French or Swiss or vice versa. At the end it’s all European. Let’s say it is traditional cooked in the Balkan area. I even saw them in a few Greek restaurants served over pita bread with cole slaw and tzatziki on the side and this is how you should have them to get the whole deal.
I would describe them as a meatball changed his job and become a sausage. They are grilled the best but if it is pouring rain outside I am more than ok to pan fry or even bake them rather than refrain from enjoying them. Traditionally they are made with very fine ground meat, you can ask your butcher to ground your meat a second time, I like to use my food processor. The ground meat you get at your grocery store will work just great.
Usually cevapcici don’t come wrapped in bacon but I think why not? Everything is better with bacon, I even got bacon with chocolate and ice cream. Not bad but it feels just strange, unnatural.

cevapcici

serves 2-4

Make ahead! They need to rest at least one hour in the fridge but one day would be even better for developing more flavor.

You can use many kind of meats like pork, some people say the best choice is half beef and half lamb, I am not a fan of lamp, so beef it is for my recipe but use what you like.
Make some variations with green olives, feta cheese (crumbled or filled), oregano etc. You got the idea!

500 g / 1 pound ground beef
1 minced onion
2 minced cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons sour cream
3 tablespoons bread crumbs
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1.5 tablespoons fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon paprika powder
1 teaspoon curry powder (optional)
8 bacon stripes

Put everything in a bowl and knead with your hands until well combined. Or use your food processor with the blade attachment for one minute.
With wet fingers form a sausage like shape about 10 cm / 4 inch long, you should get 8 cevapcici. Roll every cevapcici in one slice of bacon. It will stick, you won’t need to fix it with a toothpick.
Put them on a plate, cover and put it into your refrigerator for at least one hour.

Grill over medium heat (200 C / 400 F, direct) until the bacon is nice and crispy.

Since we live in Kansas City -the BBQ Capital- we are grilling about 11 month per year, it would be 12 months if we would not be too lazy to shovel the snow away to find our grill.
Even this year we already had BBQ several times but last weekend we managed to sit outside and enjoyed the nice weather for the first time. I was hungry for spring and wanted something that says “spring” on my plate, so we made fresh green asparagus brushed with the peppercorn flavored oil (see below *), added some salt and grilled over high heat for about 3 minutes. There had been some ciabatta with garlic butter involved and of course filet mignon (you read the headline?). Although asparagus is not in season yet and filet mignon might not be the best choice for this flashy seasoning it was a great spring welcoming dinner before winter weather came back. Too happy too soon!

Filet mignon is a very lean piece of a beef tenderloin, to keep its shape you can tie a piece of kitchen twin or wrap a strip of bacon (not thick cut bacon) around each steak and fix it with a toothpick.

Since a couple of weeks I can’t get enough of this blog yummy supper it is a travel and cook diary from exotic places around the pacific. You can find more of her gorgeous pictures here: 316 pacific days.

grilled peppercorn-crusted filet mignon

Adapted from Thomas Keller “ad hoc at home” peppercorn-crusted beef tenderloin with the difference that he cooked his steaks first in the pan and then finished them in the oven.

If you like to read more about how to grill a filet mignon look here or ask uncle google. But be aware there are as many techniques how to grill a steak as cooks, some with a lid open, some add the salt before and some after grilling. I think you know your grill so you might know exactly how to use it.

35 g / 1/4 cup black peppercorns
1 cups canola oil (more oil lessens the sharpness of the peppercorns)
6 filet mignon (5-6 ounce each, 1 1/2 inch thick) wrapped with bacon
sea salt

Pour the peppercorns and the oil in a small saucepan, bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from the heat and let steep for about an hour.

*) Empty the saucepan through a stainer. You can keep the oil in the refrigerator for up to 1 month and use it for salad dressing etc. I love to brush it over veggies before I roast them in the oven.

Crush the peppercorns in a mortar with a pestle or put them in a reclosable zipper bag and smash with the bottom of a heavy pan until coarsely.

Spread the pepper on a plate and crumb the filet mignon on both sides with as much pepper as you can handle. Let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Preheat the grill until at least 260 C / 500 F. If you don’t have a thermometer heat the grill until it is nearly too hot to stand beside it when open. Salt the steak, place them on the grill and close the lid. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side if you like your filet mignon medium rare.

Remove from the grill and let rest for about 5 minutes but make sure it won’t get cold especially in the early spring or air-conditioned rooms. A preheated cast iron pan (80 C / 180 F) or a preheated (microwave) plate work great. Make sure not to cook the steak it should just rest.