Today I’m bringing a Romanian classic your way: mici, also known as mititei. Germans have bratwurst, Americans have hot dogs, Romanians have mici. If you like juicy, tender and flavorful meat then you’re going to love this!
Mititei, which translates to “little ones” from Romanian, are a mixture of ground meat and spices. They’re one of the most popular street foods in Romania, you’ll find a shack selling these at festivals, concerts, even flea markets, it’s the perfect finger food. They’re also an absolute barbecue staple and a Labour day tradition. Romanians celebrate Labour day on the first of May, they get together with their families and grill a bunch of mici to honor the day. This dish is commonly served with spicy mustard on the side, a slice of plain bread or fries, and maybe a tomato-cucumber-onion salad if you’re feeling fancy, maybe pickles too.
It’s not as common for Romanians to make them at home, they’re ridiculously easy to find at grocery stores or farmers markets. Or they know someone, who knows someone that makes them. I genuinely think they’re worth making at home: you can use your favorite meats and play around with different spices. The recipe I’m sharing today is very similar to the one I grew up making with my mother.
I know you read “a mixture of ground meat and spices“ and probably thought: so they taste just like another meatball or kebab, right?! Wrong! This dish comes with two really interesting ingredients that change the familiar texture and flavor of ground meat: baking soda and bone broth.
Bone broth adds moisture and flavor to the final dish, while baking soda raises the pH levels of the meat, which prevents the proteins from clustering together too tightly, keeping the cooked product extra-tender and juicy. The ground meat and bone broth get emulsified into a paste, which gets shaped into little sausages and chilled overnight. I have attached some pictures at the end of this post of what the final mixture should look like. They can be grilled on an open fire, which is always the best case scenario, baked in the oven, or cooked in a hot cast iron skillet.
They freeze very well, you can make a double, triple batch at once, shape and freeze them up to a few months.
I hope you’ll enjoy this recipe!
RECIPE
Makes: 16 to 20 mici
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Chill Time: 6 to 12 hours
Cook Time: 5 to 10 minutes
Special Equipment: food processor or stand mixer
INGREDIENTS
450 grams ground beef, 80% lean, 20% fat
400 grams ground lamb
I couldn’t find any ground lamb at the store, so I bought two lamb shoulders, deboned them and ground them straight in the food processor
10 to 12 medium garlic cloves, about a head of garlic
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne, optional
1 1/2 teaspoon smoked, sweet or hot paprika
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons coriander seeds, crushed, or 1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons whole pepper, freshly ground, or 3/4 tablespoon ground pepper
2/3 cup bone broth, plus more as needed
INSTRUCTIONS
Add garlic to a food processor and blend for 1 to 2 minutes. The garlic should look finely chopped, if there are any larger pieces, continue pulsing.
Add salt, pepper, coriander, cayenne, paprika, baking soda and pulse for a few seconds, until combined.
Add half of the meat to the food processor, then pulse and blend until the meat and spices are roughly combined. Keep an eye on your food processor, it might have a hard time in the beginning. Pause as much as needed and scrape down the sides.
Add the remaining meat to the food processor and pulse for a few more seconds. Have 2/3 cup of bone broth on hand, and start incorporating splashes of it while blending the meat. Blend for 2 to 4 minutes, the mixture will start emulsifying and turn into a paste. If your food processor can’t fit all the meat, feel free to work on this recipe in batches.
Lay plastic wrap or parchment paper over a small baking tray. Wet or oil your hands to prevent the meat from sticking to your fingers, pinch about 60 grams of meat paste and form it into a 10-12 cm or 4-5 inch long sausages. Repeat until you’re out of meat paste. You should end up with 16 to 20 sausages. You could also shape them by piping them straight on the tray using a piping bag. Arrange the meat on the baking tray (no need to leave much space in between them, it’s okay if the meat cylinders are touching). Tightly wrap the tray with plastic wrap.
Allow the meat to rest in the fridge for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight (8-12 hours) before cooking. This step is crucial, annoying, I know. The meat needs time to marinate and properly absorb all the flavors we’ve added to it. While testing this recipe, I cooked a couple of tests right after shaping the meat: it’s still delicious, but the version that got an overnight rest is objectively superior, much more flavorful and juicier.
In an ideal case scenario, these mitiei get cooked on a smoking hot grill outside, somewhere in nature. Don’t worry, a hot pan inside your home will do the job. I like to turn off my smoke detector, open a couple of windows and get a cast iron skillet nice and hot on high heat. Grease the skillet with 1 to 2 tablespoons of neutral oil and turn the heat to medium. Arrange the meat in the skillet, and grill the mici for 2 to 4 minutes on each side, or until they form a deep dark brown crust. Serve them right away with a side of mustard, soft bread, and a glass of beer. If you don’t feel like smoking your entire apartment, these can be baked in the oven, at 400°F or 205°C for 12 to 18 minutes.
A Taste of Romania