Roštilj mixed grill
Also: Mešano meso, Balkan mixed grill, Roštilj platter
A shared platter of assorted charcoal-grilled meats — ćevapi, pljeskavica, veal or pork chops and skewers — served with raw onion, flatbread and ajvar.
Identity criteria
- 1Cooked over wood charcoal (roštilj), never gas or oven
- 2An assortment of grilled meats on one platter rather than a single cut
- 3Always includes ćevapi (skinless minced-meat fingers) and pljeskavica (a flat minced-meat patty)
- 4Served with raw chopped onion and bread (lepinja/somun)
- 5Eaten communally as a centerpiece, not plated per person
Components
Lepinja or somun flatbreadessential
Ćevapi (minced beef/lamb/pork fingers)essentialThe non-negotiable core of any Balkan mixed grill
Pljeskavica (flat minced-meat patty)essential
Veal or pork chops, ražnjići skewers, chicken, kobasica sausageoptionalThe 'mixed' assortment varies by grill house
Raw chopped onionessentialServed alongside, not cooked in
Ajvar (roasted pepper relish), kajmakoptional
Urnebes, hot peppers, fresh tomatooptional
Technique
- Charcoal grilling (roštilj)
- Wood-charcoal smoke and high direct heat give the meats their defining char and aroma; the method names the dish
- Mincing and seasoning meat (for ćevapi/pljeskavica)
- The skinless minced-meat forms are what distinguish Balkan grill from a generic barbecue
Form & serving
- Served
- Heaped on a large shared platter or board with bread and onion
- Temperature
- Hot off the grill
- Portion
- Large, shared among several people
- Pairs with
- Lepinja/somun bread · Ajvar · Kajmak · Raw onion · Šopska salad · Beer or rakija
Character
Flavour
Texture
Juicy, charred-exterior meats with soft bread
Eaten
Centerpiece of summer gatherings, restaurants (kafana), and family celebrations across the Balkans, eaten communally.
When
summer · year-round
Variations & related
Regional variations
- Leskovački roštilj · Leskovac, Serbia
The grilling capital; renowned for its ćevapi and a dedicated grill festival
- Sarajevski ćevapi style · Bosnia
Ćevapi served in puffy somun with onion and kajmak, often beef-only for halal diners
- Mješano meso · Croatia / wider ex-Yugoslavia
Same concept under regional spelling and protein mix
Related dishes
- sibling Ćevapi
The hero component of the platter, also eaten on its own
- sibling Pljeskavica
The patty member of the grill family
- pairs-with Ajvar
Roasted-pepper relish served with the meats
- pairs-with Šopska salad
Standard fresh accompaniment
Substitutions
Charcoal grill → Gas grill or oven broileradmissible
Possible but loses the wood-smoke character that defines roštilj
Mixed pork/beef/lamb → All-beef or all-chickenadmissible
Common for halal or dietary reasons; still recognizably roštilj
Grilled minced-meat forms → A single whole steakinadmissible
No longer a mixed grill — it becomes a plain grilled cut
Common mistakes
- Using gas or oven instead of charcoal, losing the smoke
- Treating it as a single grilled steak rather than an assortment
- Omitting ćevapi or pljeskavica, the obligatory minced-meat forms
- Forgetting the raw onion and flatbread that complete the plate
Provenance
A everyday and festive grill tradition across the former Yugoslavia, strongly associated with Serbia (especially Leskovac); part of a shared Balkan grilling culture.
References
- 1.Balkan culinary tradition
- 2.Serbian grill (roštilj) culture
Confidence: high