Saturday, April 29, 2006

Mititei (Romanian Sausage)

Nothus Farciminum Edax

Mititei

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

Mititei

12 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 oil

In 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!

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17 Comments:

Anonymous stephen said...

Excellent..I can't wait to try it!

5/01/2006 12:05:00 PM  
Blogger drbiggles said...

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

5/01/2006 06:05:00 PM  
Blogger Kevin said...

Stephen,
They're mighty good.

Doc,
After a two year hiatus from the grill, a rut looks pretty good to me.

5/01/2006 06:30:00 PM  
Blogger Gabriella True said...

Looks fabulous. Love the blog.

5/02/2006 12:51:00 AM  
Anonymous amanda said...

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.

5/02/2006 05:54:00 AM  
Blogger Kevin said...

Gabriella,
Thanks.

Amanda,
I really liked the strong onion component.

5/02/2006 09:17:00 AM  
Blogger Bruce Anderson said...

I think I'll give this a shot this weekend. Looks fantastic.

5/31/2006 04:01:00 PM  
Blogger Kevin said...

Bruce,

Try it. You'll like it!

6/01/2006 09:20:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Finally a english recipe for Mici....lived for three yrs in Romania...miss Mici Bera the most!
Try it and you get hooked!!

9/30/2006 05:54:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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!

2/26/2007 12:27:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

see here an authentic recipe http://student.maxwell.syr.edu/irsa/cookbook/mici.html

4/15/2007 09:19:00 AM  
Blogger Kevin said...

Thanks.

4/15/2007 10:10:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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

4/22/2007 01:03:00 AM  
Blogger Kevin said...

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.

4/22/2007 09:53:00 AM  
Blogger Chris said...

Has anyone ever tried putting lovage in a mititei?

7/12/2007 07:51:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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

3/30/2008 03:38:00 PM  
Blogger Kevin said...

Anon,
Thanks.

3/30/2008 04:16:00 PM  

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