Making evapii popular in Windsor-Essex

evapii is one of the mostpopular Balkandishes.

It's a mixture of different ground meats and spices that isshaped into little cylindersand grilled. While it looks similar to breakfast sausage, there is no casing involved. The dish ismore like a hamburger patty that's been formed into a sausage shape.

evapii is especially popular in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina but you don't need to fly there to find it. Thanks to a few local businesses,you can try it in Windsor.

Deda's Meats & Deli is one of the most popular of these establishments. Located a few blocks east of PilletteRoad at 5211 Tecumseh Rd. E., it's a retail/takeout counter and provincially-inspected meat processing plant that specializes in Serbian foods.

The shop isrun by the Stankovic family.

"Back in the 80s, my parents used to have a delicatessen they had it for a number of years. They ended up selling it; they were both factory workers, so it was a little tough for them," says Milan Stankovic.

"My dad was [then] doing it on the side he had private customers. I went on to school to become an engineer. Nobody ever thought I'd become a butcher. After doing engineering for about 10 years, I decided to get into the family business of opening up a meat shop."

Deda's Meats & Deli opened five years ago,callingthemselves the "Home of Louis' Famous evapii."

While the restaurant offers a few varieties of the dish, the most popular is the original, which is made with ground pork, veal and beef.

While mixing three meats with some spices sounds simple enough, Stankovic says there's more to it than meets the eye.

"There's a procedure on how you grind the meats and how it binds, and what meats yougrind first. It's a lengthy process. Then we add our natural spices. There's no nitrates, no preservatives, gluten-free, no fillers, no breadcrumbs, nothing at all."

Every week, Deda's Meats & Deli produces 900 kg (2,000 lbs) of evapii, or about 24,000 individual pieces. While most of it is sold in Windsor, as a provincially-inspected meat processor, the Stankovicssell to customers across the province.

At thestore on Tecumseh Road, half of the evapii is sold raw for cooking at home. The otherhalf is freshly grilled at thetake-out counter, where it is served on a large Serbian bun,and topped with onions.You don't eat it as a giant sandwich you rip the bread into pieces, and eat the evapii with your choice of sauce. Some of the popular options are a creamy garlic sauce and apepper sauce calledajvar.

Whileevapiiis a staple of Balkan cuisine, Stankovich says that people of all different backgrounds are buying his product andusing it in non-traditional ways.Some chop it up and use it instead of meatballs in tomato sauce. Otherspurchase the ground meat mixand use it inchili.Whatever way you decide to eat theevapii, it's very delicious.

Hear Jonathan's latest food adventure every Thursday at 8:10 a.m. on CBC Radio One - 97.5FM in Windsor,91.9FMinLeamington,88.1FMin Chatham &90.3FMin Sarnia.Do you have a food, restaurant or dish that you think Jonathan should explore? Call (519) 255-3400, email windsormorning@cbc.ca or tweet him directly at @jonathan_pinto.