"heftalies are made with cinnamon-spiced pork mince; a generous amount of fresh parsley; brown onions; dried mint and seasoning, and then wrapped well in caul fat, before being barbecued over hot charcoals. The fat in the caul fat renders out, making the sheftalies juicy and delicious.
They can be eaten Cypriot style in a Cypriot pita pocket filled with a dry salad of finely diced tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and parsley; pickled vegetables; tzatziki and a generous squeeze of lemon juice or as is with a salad, roast potatoes and a dip!"
Sheftalies (Grilled Pork Meatballs)
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- Recipe Card
Prep time 2hrs
Cook time 45mins
Serves or Makes: 45
Recipe Card
ingredients
- 1 pound fresh or defrosted pork caul fat
- 1/4 cup vinegar
- 3 pounds pork mince
- 4 small yellow onions, finely diced
- 1 large bunch parsley, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons white wine
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons dried mint
For the Caul Fat
Method
Step 1
Place the caul fat in a large bowl. Add cold water to the bowl and gently agitate the caul fat, pulling the pieces apart.
Step 2
Drain the water and repeat until the water runs clear from the bowl. Cover with more cold water, add the vinegar and allow it to sit for at least 15 minutes.
For the Filling
Step 1
In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, onions, parsley, salt, pepper, white wine, cinnamon and dried mint. Combine well, ensuring an even mixture of all the ingredients.
Step 2
Using a 1/3 cup measure, firmly pack the mince meat mixture into the cup. Then roll this amount of mixture into a sausage shape, approximately 3 1/2-4 inches long.
Step 3
Place the sausage on a tray and continue to do this till all the ground meat mixture has been used.
Step 4
Drain and thoroughly rinse the caul fat. Place it in a colander over a bowl.
Step 5
Take a piece of caul fat and spread it out on a clean work surface. Place the preformed sausage meat on the edge of the caul fat and then roll the sausage with the caul fat, so the sausage has been wrapped 1.5 times by the caul fat. Fold in the caul fat on the sides, as you go. Use a sharp knife to cut off the excess caul fat surrounding the sheftalia. The caul fat will stick to itself and hold fairly well. Repeat the process until all the sausages have been wrapped.
Step 6
The sheftalies are then carefully placed on barbecue forks, with a firm sausage (kransky, chorizo or lounzt placed at the end of the array, to hold the tines of the barbecue forks firmly in place.
Step 7
If barbecuing the sheftalies over charcoals, allow the charcoals to rest for 5 minutes, once they are glowing orange-white. If you place the sheftalies on the barbecue any sooner, you risk burning them on the outside and they remain uncooked on the inside. The sheftalies should be cooked slowly over the charcoals. They shouldn’t be placed too close to the hot charcoals, as they will burn on the outside before they cook through on the inside. They are ready when they have a lovely dark brown crust on them.
Step 8
Heat Cypriot pita pockets, slice them open and fill them with a dry salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and parsley, pickled vegetables and tzatziki. Add the sheftalies to the pita pocket and squeeze some lemon juice on top