Kebapche Recipe: Bulgarian Grilled Pork and Beef Kebabs

Name: Kebapche Recipe: Bulgarian Grilled Pork and Beef Kebabs
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 15
Cuisine: Bulgarian cuisine
Ingredients: Pork 0.4 kg; Beef 0.4 kg; Pork fat 50 g; Salt, summer savory, cumin to taste

Almost every cuisine in the world has its own homemade kebab: sausages of finely ground meat grilled over charcoal. In the Caucasus they are called lula kebab, in the Middle East simply kebab. The Bulgarians call them kebapche. It is probably the most popular meat dish in Bulgaria.

In Bulgaria the kebabs, made from a mix of pork and beef and cooked on a grill, are exceptionally good. They are affectionately called kebapche, or kebapcheta in the plural. One trip to Bulgaria can make you a fan of this dish for life. A friend of mine, whenever she feels down, always sighs with feeling: “Oh, how I want some kebapche.”

The historical roots of the Bulgarian people go back a long way. More than 13 centuries ago Khan Asparukh, the third son of Khan Kubrat of Old Great Bulgaria, led part of the Bulgars from the Volga to the Danube, fleeing the Khazars. There they merged with the Slavic tribes and founded the Bulgarian state.

The culinary habits of the steppe nomads, who cooked simple food over an open fire, blended with the traditions of the local Balkan tribes. The strongest influence on traditional Bulgarian cooking was probably Turkish cuisine: five centuries of Ottoman rule left their mark. Similar dishes under different names turn up in the cuisines of nearly every people that was once part of the Ottoman Empire. Kebab, lula kebab, kebapche and so on.

Think of how Turkish coffee is made. Hot sand over a flame, a cleverly shaped pot called a cezve (also ibrik or dallah). Strong, remarkably tasty coffee, which in Bulgaria is called Bulgarian coffee and in Greece Greek coffee. Everything is very similar, or even identical, but always seasoned with local color. The same goes for Bulgarian homemade kebabs: at first glance they are just like the others, but only at first glance.

Kebapche, Bulgarian kebabs, are made from a mix of pork and beef. If the pork is not fatty enough, pork fat is added. Besides salt, the spices are summer savory (chubritsa) and cumin (kimion). Onion, black pepper and egg are not added to homemade kebapche; instead, the ground meat is kneaded thoroughly with a little water and left to rest and mature.

Ingredients

15-20 pcs

Pork 0.4 kg
Beef 0.4 kg
Pork fat 50 g
Salt, summer savory, cumin to taste

Step-by-step recipe

It might seem there is nothing to it: spiced ground meat cooked on a grill. Not so. There are secrets here, just like in violin making. A piece of wood is not enough for a violin, and a piece of meat and some spices are not enough for kebapche. The recipe is extremely simple and at the same time incredibly difficult. You have to put your soul into these kebabs and take your time. Give them a try and you will never regret it. By the way, they are perfect for a picnic.
Kebapche, Bulgarian-style kebabs, are made from fairly fatty boneless pork and beef (veal is even better). If the pork is not very fatty, add a piece of pork fat. Rinse all the meat and remove any bones, membranes, gristle and so on. Cut the meat into large chunks.
The ground meat should be very uniform and as fine as possible; then the kebabs will keep their shape and will not fall apart on the grill. An ordinary meat grinder is not the best tool for this; a high-speed food processor does the job perfectly. If you do not have one, pass the meat through a regular grinder twice, or even three times. If you can, blitz the ground meat in a blender as well.
Salt the ground meat very lightly. Add summer savory (Bulgarian chubritsa), and quite a lot of it, rubbing the dried herb between your fingers. Ground cumin (kimion in Bulgarian) is a must: half a coffee spoon. Knead the meat, adding boiled water in small portions, 1 tbsp at a time. Knead very thoroughly and with real effort. The total amount of boiled water is up to a third of a glass.
Put the ground meat somewhere cold. Better not the main fridge compartment at 9-11 °C, but the meat compartment at 2-3 °C; modern fridges have such sections. It is best to prepare the meat in the evening so it can mature in the cold overnight.
In the morning, knead the meat again, very thoroughly, adding a little boiled water, the same amount as the day before. A kilogram of ground meat can absorb quite a lot of water. Let the meat rest for another hour.
Now shape the kebabs. With wet hands, form firm sausages about 10-12 cm long and 3-4 cm thick. No bigger, or the kebapche simply will not cook through.
Meanwhile, get the charcoal going if you are outdoors, or plug in an electric grill, the Bulgarian skara. By the way, the skara is easy to find in our shops; it is sold as a contact grill. Or put a grill pan on the stove. It is not the best way to cook kebabs, but it will do.
Brush the grill with vegetable oil. Lay the kebabs on it and cook for 4-5 mins on each of the 4 sides, turning them with grill tongs. 15-20 mins is enough for the meat to cook through and be done, guaranteed.
Take the kebabs off the grill and put them on plates, 2-3 per serving.
The classic side for kebapche is fresh tomatoes, cucumber and peppers. There are nearly always French fries, and always fresh herbs.
I highly recommend a tomato sauce or plain hot mustard, but for heaven's sake, not ketchup from a packet. Like any grilled meat, kebabs go well with a good dry red wine and fresh bread.