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Mititei (Romanian Sausage)
Nothus Farciminum Edax
Lex Culinaria has issued a challenge, she writes: “I somehow manage to keep coming back to the same old standby foods when we do a barbeque: sausages, steak, potato salad, corn on the cob,” and suggests, “If you’re like me, stuck in barbeque rut, step outside your comfort zone and come up with one interesting barbeque dish.”
Leaving aside her probable misuse of the word barbeque (I suspect she means grill) I don’t know if I’m in a rut or not. I never get some sort of generic urge to barbeque or grill something. Instead
…There’s the adventure of the ingredient, the new spice, the new grain. There’s the adventure of the new pot… ~ Paula Wolfert
I get an urge for barbequed ribs (meaning smoked over low heat for many hours) or a grilled steak or a roasted Cornish hen. And when I get the urge for ribs or a steak that’s what I fix. While the fire’s going I may grill or smoke something else such as potatoes or bell peppers or asparagus or baby artichokes, but those dishes don’t motivate me to build a fire the way a slab of meat does. Nevertheless her challenge did motivate me to try something new in the realm of meat.
Oddly enough, although I regularly barbeque and grill beef, pork, poultry, and fish, I don’t recall ever grilling sausages over a fire. As a matter of fact, this winter after buying a cast iron grill pan was the first time I ever recall grilling a sausage at all.
Also, I’ve decided to declare this the Year of the Sausage (more on this in a later post) and so it seemed obvious that I needed to make some sausages and grill them. I found an appealing recipe in Steven Raichlen’s The Barbeque! Bible for a Romanian sausage called Mititei. It’s an unusual recipe because it calls for a mixture of pork and lamb — meats that are seldom paired.
To go along with it I fixed couscous using some water I had poached a couple of slices of country ham in (for inclusion in another sausage recipe) and dried figs. I also had leftover baked baby artichokes. A Castle Rock zin proved sweeter than expected and, as such, provided a surprising foil to the carbon/onion/meat flavors of the sausage
Mititei12 oz ground lamb
12 oz ground pork
1 ea sm onion — finely minced
2 cloves garlic — finely minced
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking soda
1 tsp hot or sweet paprika
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp allspice
1 pinch ground cloves
1 tbsp olive oilIn a large bowl, mix all ingredients together with your hands, squeezing and kneading to combine thoroughly.
Pinch off a small piece, fry it, and taste to adjust seasonings.
Form mixture into 8 sausage-shaped rolls about 1 inch in diameter and 3 1/2 to 4 inches long. Arrange on a lightly oiled platter or large plate, cover with plastic, and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours.
Build a hot fire, oil the grate, and cook, turning with a spatula, until browned and cooked through — 6 to 8 minutes. Serve immediately.
Overall, the sausages were excellent. The combination of lamb and pork was interesting but not tremendously so. However, the minced onions (I used my food processor) and garlic were wonderfully prominent and backed up nicely with the heat of the paprika and black pepper. I think I’ll use a half-again as much caraway next time and I think I’ll substitute dill for the marjoram.
And in the event you didn’t attempt to look up this post’s title, it’s Latin for “sausage-eating bastard.”
Delectatio!
Technorati: Food | recipe | main dish | lamb | pork | grilling | barbeque | sausage | Summer Barbecue Challenge
29 Responses to “Mititei (Romanian Sausage)”
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Disclaimer: Most quantities in recipes are approximate. Adjust as needed according to your taste and experience. Unless otherwise specified, eggs are large and butter is unsalted.
Excellent..I can’t wait to try it!
Hmmm, barbecue rut? I don’t think I’ve had one. Our light winters usually break up the ruttiness so I can catch a breather and regroup.This season’s fad is stuffing meat with savory goodies. Herbies, lemon zest, toasted nuts, greens, wine and then rubbed with finely ground black pepper.In fact, I’m doing a lamb leg roast tonight!Biggles
Stephen,They’re mighty good.Doc,After a two year hiatus from the grill, a rut looks pretty good to me.
Looks fabulous. Love the blog.
This sounds like a great sausage…i’ve never had a romanian sausage before.. actually, i don’t think i’ve ever had a romanian anything before.
Gabriella,Thanks.Amanda,I really liked the strong onion component.
I think I’ll give this a shot this weekend. Looks fantastic.
Bruce,Try it. You’ll like it!
Finally a english recipe for Mici….lived for three yrs in Romania…miss Mici Bera the most!Try it and you get hooked!!
No offense to Mr Reichlin, but the recipe is not correct/ authentic.First of all there would never be any lamb in Mititei. It is either all beef or beef/pork. Secondly, there should not be any onions in the mix. However, there would plenty of crushed garlic. Approx 1 head for 2.5 Lbs. You may add some cayenne if you like it spicy. Substitute oregano and thyme for Margoram.Take it from me I grew up on these and make them for most get togethers. They are amazing – you will get addicted!
see here an authentic recipe <>http://student.maxwell.syr.edu/irsa/cookbook/mici.html<>
Thanks.
The original receipe has neither pork nor lamb its pure beef and the spyces are far away from the original.Trust me I was born there and I like MITITEI
There is seldom (if ever) one “right” recipe for a traditional dish. For example, I was born and raised in the Southern US where fried chicken is traditional — and yet I know half a dozen different recipes.
Has anyone ever tried putting lovage in a mititei?
almost true…. i grew up there also and it is one of my favorites for the grill, also ready in 10 minutes.you really get the best taste by mixing all 3 meats – pork, beef and lamb. i use only salt, pepper,baking soda, paprika and garlic as spices. another good secret is to use sparkling water for the mixture or beef stock. let them sit for at 24 hours to get the best results. serve with mustard, (some people serve them with french fries as side) , good bread 9i recommend french or sourdough) and must have cold beer!!! I personally do not like a lot of garlic in them , in that case use about 3-4 cloves for 3 pounds of meat
Anon,Thanks.
looking for good mititei go to SUNNYSIDE MEAT MARKET4310 43 streetsunnyside ny 11104
Just returned from Romania, and I can say that getting an “authentic” recipe for mici is like getting an “authentic” brat recipe from Germany. It varies from region to region. Having said that it is uniformly delicious and I will try your variation this evening. tesek
I look forward to hearing what you think of this recipe. And you’re right about “authentic,” when it comes to traditional foods authenticity doesn’t exist.
Hi Kevin,
Your recipe, picture and side-dish of choice sound more Turkish than Romanian.
Most Romanian recipes indeed include at least half beef (the oldest documented one I’ve found, from 1920, from a beer garden in Bucharest known for some of the best mici/mititei even today, actually mentions that mixing any other type of meat ruins the taste). You should eat them with mustard and fresh bread (I also like fries and cabbage salad on the side).
Condiments are as follows:
Prepare beef broth, from bones with marrow, 500 grams of bones to every kilo of meat.
Prepare for each kilogram of meat spices and condiments as follows:
* 8 grams of finely crushed fresh pepper
* 12 grams of dried thyme (as fresh as possible) finely crushed
* 4 grams of finely crushed allspice
* 2 grams of finely crushed coriander
* 2 grams of finely crushed (Turkish) cumin
* 1 gram of finely crushed star anise
* 8 grams of sodium bicarbonate
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* 1 tablespoon oil
* 1 garlic head (dunno what this is called in English, one “head” is the bulb with all the cloves)
For quantities larger than five kilograms, add one more measure of spices for each additional five kilograms of meat.
Hope you try this version as well! :)
Mititei (or mici as it is more commonly called) is one of the great culinary secrets of Romania. I lived in Romania for 8 years and married a Romanian woman (who is a great cook, by the way). I have never made mici but I have eaten plenty of it. I can tell you this – you will NEVER find it served with couscous, figs, and artichokes!! Nor would it be served with wine. Mici is great stuff, but it is more like the Romanian equivalent of a hamburg or hot dog. It is almost always served with bread and mustard and usually with french fries. To wash it down, forget the wine and go for lots of beer which will be readily available as mici is mostly sold at beer gardens (“terasa” – or terrace in English). Timisoareana is the best beer, but that is another subject. :)
Peter,
Thanks for writing and of course not on the couscous and artichokes. Traditionally you’d never find Southern fried chicken served with taboullah – but in my Southern house taboullah is often found on the table with fried chicken. I have an intellectual interest in what’s traditional, but a gustatorial interest only in what tastes good.
Cast iron is simply the best. I used non-stick pans for a long time, but a nice steak fried in a cast iron skillet plays in a whole different league. Besides, you can buy a high quality skillet for something like 80 bucks and it will probably outlive you. The non-stick stuff may last 4 years or so if you get lucky. If you search the web a bit, you can often get a quality pan on sale. There are always some awesome offers on cast iron cookware posted on the cast iron pots website. Ok, that did it, now I’m starving. I’m off to the kitchen to clog my arteries with some steak and eggs.
Hi,
just one comment. Never grill them until they are dry. They have to be still juicy inside. From your photo they seem to be something else :)
I personally believe that they are better just eaten very simply, without a lot of fuss and posh side dishes (just mustard). Just stick some toothpicks into them, dip them in mustard and accompagny with some great bread! Why spoil a good thing just to feel you are doing fusion cuisine?
i’ve tasted it and it’s delicious!!
The problem with the recipe is pork, true mititei are made of mutton, beef, lambor or a mix of lamb and beef, but NEVER with pork! And we do not use caraway seeds but thyme and also add a little rosemary. These mititei are cooked medium rare and are eaten with bread and mustard, they are an appetizer that goes well with beer and (or) red wine, even “firewater”. I ate many in my life and none was made with pork, which implies you have to cook it well done and that RUINS it.
Here are some tips to make the best mititei! original
I do not use lamb mince i find pork and beef work better.
Step one place your mince in a deep bowl add your bicarb soda and mix well add juice of lemon to set off the bicarb
soda salt and mix well then leave in the fridge covered for a few hours even overnight now you are ready to mix your spices.I use garlic powder,onion powder,paprika powder,marjoram or oregano,corriander powder pinch alspice
powder 2 pinches of ground cloves powder,pepper,beef liquid stock or chicken stock works well.
If you do not set off the bicarb soda with lemon juice too much lemon juice will spoil them!
ratio 1 tablespoon bicarb soda use 2 tablespoons lemon
juice.I would not eat rare to medium rare mince of any kind if you put a gun to my head it is not a steak!
http://www.cevabun.ro/mititeii-de-la-carul-cu-bere-povestea-reteta-proba/
the original ’20s from carul cu bere
made only with beef- from arownd the neck cut
aprox 15% fat
made with beef bones reduction and marinated for 1 day in fridge.
cook. on coal or wood – high temp no flame turn only 3 times
enjoy
pofta buna.
and very cold beer
originaly a kebab we turned it in a national dish.
like curry