Try delicious recipes for meat pancakes that are suitable for any occasion. Get inspired!

Do you love classic hamburgers and other ground meat delicacies? Then definitely try the patty recipes.

Here, a luxurious delicacy from Balkan cuisine will tempt our taste buds and delight you and your loved ones.

Try one of our dishes and find out which one will be better and you will love to come back to it.

It’s such a different, and somewhat spicier, alternative to hamburgers or our good old meatballs.

True Pljeskavica

Why go to “Mekáča” when you can prepare a much better hamburger at home in the form of a Balkan specialty made of minced meat. Do not hesitate to view the recipes for meatballs .

Ingredients:

• 450 g of ground beef
• 450 g of minced pork
• 2 teaspoons of sea salt
• 1 teaspoon ground sweet paprika
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ cup sparkling water
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 medium onions finely chopped
• Vegetable oil for frying as needed

For decoration:

• 4 pieces of pita bread
• Ajvar
• Kajmak
• Onion
• Pickles

Method:

• Mix ground beef and pork in a bowl, add salt, sweet paprika, pepper and sparkling water.
• We mix thoroughly with our hands so that everything comes together and the spices really get everywhere.
• Brush the surface of the meat mixture with olive oil, which will keep the necessary moisture in the meat.
• Cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight.
• The next day, add chopped onion to the meat and mix well again.
• Divide the meat mixture into 4 balls of the same size and then gently shape each into a thin patty, which should be approximately 15-17 cm in diameter.
• Put the patties on the hot grill and fry for about 4 minutes on each side, or a little longer, depending on how fast the grill cooks.
• If you don’t have a grill and would still like to prepare this delicacy, you can fry it in a pan or even roast it in the oven, but pljeskavica tastes best on the grill.
• Then all you have to do is spread the pita bread with ajvar and cream, add sliced onions, cucumbers and insert the meat patty.

Balkan patty

A meat patty that looks like a flat meatball, but at the same time tastes absolutely unbeatable, will please everyone, regardless of age or gender.

You can easily prepare such a delicacy for a snack, for dinner or for a bite when you go fishing, for example. Thanks to Lepinja bread, an ordinary meat mixture acquires a completely different dimension and taste. You’ll lick all ten of it and you won’t even want to part.

Ingredients:

For Lepinja bread:

• 400 g bread flour (about 3 and 1/4 cup)
• 12 g granulated sugar (about 1 tablespoon)
• 8 g of salt (about 2 teaspoons)
• 7 g instant yeast (about 2 and 1/4 teaspoons)
• 300 g lukewarm water (about 1 and 1/4 cup)
• 30 g lukewarm milk (about 2 tablespoons)

For the Urnebes salad:

• 2-3 red jalapeño peppers
• 600g Feta cheese (or farm cheese can be used)
• 3 tablespoons of cream cheese
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon ground sweet paprika

On the patty:

• 900 g of ground beef
• 300 g of finely chopped bacon
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup of grated Kaskaval cheese
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of hot pepper
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of sea salt
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda

Method:

Preparation of Lepinja bread:

• Place the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix until everything is combined.
• Add water and milk and mix at low speed for about 2 minutes, then set medium speed and knead for 5 minutes.
• Remove the bowl from the stand, cover with cling film and leave to rise at room temperature for about 1 hour to double its volume.
• Then we transfer the dough to a floured surface and divide it into 6 equal parts, from which we shape balls.
• Transfer them to a tray lined with baking paper, cover with a clean tea towel and let rest for 10 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 220 degrees, shape each ball into a wheel shape, about 3-5 cm thick. Cover again and leave to rise again for 20 minutes.
• Place in the middle part of the oven and bake for about 7 minutes, until the bread acquires a golden hue.

Preparation of salad urnebes:

• Preheat the grill and prepare a thin tray with a rim on which to place the peppers and roast them on the grill until the skin turns brown and the pepper softens. The main thing is to turn it during roasting so that the skin does not burn.
• Then transfer the peppers to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 15 minutes.
• Peel the peppers, remove the seeds, chop them finely and put them in a bowl. Add Feta cheese, cream cheese, garlic, paprika and mix thoroughly with a hand mixer.
• Place the mixture in an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.

Preparing the patty:

• Place the beef, bacon, onion, cheese, paprika, salt, pepper and baking soda in a large bowl.
• Mix thoroughly with your hands until all ingredients are combined.
• We divide it into 6 parts, each weighing 200 g and shape them into flat patties.
• We continue like this until we have processed all the meat mixture.
• Put the grill grate where it belongs, close the grill and let it preheat for 5 minutes.
• Brush the grate with oil, place the individual meat patties on it and brown them on both sides, turning them continuously, then transfer them to a plate.
• Finally, cut each lepinja bread in half and place the cut side on the grill grate to warm up.
• Put the buns on a serving plate, spread a layer of ajvar, place the meat patty, urnebes salad, onion on it and cover with the other half of the bun. We serve immediately.

What is a patty

This is a typically Balkan dish that you can taste not only in traditional countries such as Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Slovenia and, last but not least, Croatia, but all over the world.

The traditional recipe always consists of a mixture of minced meat, most often beef and veal, or even pork. Also important are onions and ajvar, which is served as a condiment and is made from peppers and eggplant.

The most common and also the most popular variant is the so-called Leskovačka pljeskavice, whose birthplace is the town of Leskovac in Serbia and is really full of juicy onions. It has a perfectly spicy to sharp taste. Punjena, on the other hand, is filled with high-quality sheep’s cheese.

From the Šar planina region, you can also try Šarska pljeskavica, which is served with excellent kaškaval cheese. Hajdačka is a combination of smoked pork and classic minced meat. The Vranjan patty is flavored with a sauce made from tomatoes and peppers. Of course, the base is always a meat patty.