Romania's grill-party skewers of marinated pork, chicken, or mutton cubes alternated with onion, pepper, bacon, and sometimes sausage, named from frigare ('spit'). They represent the Ottoman shish kebab absorbed into Romanian cookout culture and typically use paprika-and-thyme marinades rather than Turkish spicing.
Also known as: frigărui, frigarui, frigăruie, Romanian skewers
Watch it made
Ingredients
- 700 g pork neck, in 3 cm cubes
- 150 g smoked bacon (kaizer), in thick squares
- 2 onions, in petals
- 2 bell peppers, in 3 cm squares
- 60 ml sunflower oil
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp sweet paprika and 1 tsp dried thyme
- Salt and pepper
- Mustard or mujdei (garlic sauce), to serve
How to make it
- 1
Turn the pork through oil, garlic, paprika, thyme and pepper; marinate 2 hours.
- 2
Build the skewers so a square of smoked bacon flanks every cube of pork, with onion and pepper between.
- 3
Salt, then set over medium coals on the gratar.
- 4
Cook 12-15 minutes, turning regularly, until the pork is cooked through and the bacon corners have gone crisp.
- 5
Rest briefly and serve with mustard or mujdei and plenty of bread.
Pro tip: Bacon placement is the whole architecture: one smoked square against each pork cube bastes both neighbors as it renders. Skewers assembled for looks instead of fat-flow are how frigarui ends up dry.
The story of Frigărui
Frigărui are Romania's cookout skewers, named from frigare, the word for a spit. They represent the Ottoman shish kebab absorbed into a Romanian idiom — the format is inherited, the seasoning is not, and paprika and thyme have replaced cumin and sumac entirely.
They belong to the same outdoor culture as mici and appear at the same events, usually alongside them. Where mici are the fixed, near-sacred item, frigărui are where a Romanian cook improvises: whatever meat is in the fridge, plus bacon, sausage, onion and pepper, threaded in whatever order looks good.
The technique that defines it
The construction is the recipe. Cubes of pork, chicken or mutton alternate with strips of bacon, chunks of onion and pepper, and often pieces of sausage, and the bacon is not decorative — it renders down the skewer and bastes everything below it, which is why it is threaded high or distributed evenly.
The marinade is paprika, thyme, garlic, oil and a little wine or lemon, usually a few hours. Grilling is over medium coals with regular turning, and the practical difficulty is the same as with any mixed skewer: the vegetables and the bacon finish before the meat. Cutting the meat small and the vegetables large evens it out.
Choosing your ingredients
Pork neck is the most forgiving and most common; chicken thigh works; mutton needs a longer marinade. Smoked bacon in thick strips rather than thin rashers, so it renders rather than crisping to nothing. Onion in large wedges and pepper in wide squares so they survive the same time as the meat.
Sweet Hungarian-style paprika is the characteristic spice, with thyme and garlic. Romanian recipes often include a little mustard in the marinade. Metal skewers for a cookout; soaked wooden ones for a smaller batch.
Mistakes that ruin it
Vegetables cut too small
They burn while the meat is still raw. Cut the vegetables large and the meat small.
Thin bacon
It crisps to nothing in a minute. Use thick strips so it renders down the skewer.
Packing everything tight
Mixed skewers need a little air so the heat reaches all the faces. Meat-only skewers want the opposite.
Fierce heat
With bacon and sausage on the skewer, flare-ups are constant. Medium coals and attention.
How it is served
Off the skewer onto a plate with mustard, fresh bread, pickles and a raw onion, and usually a bowl of mămăligă (polenta) if the occasion is a proper meal. Beer or a rough local wine. Like mici, they are eaten outdoors as a matter of habit.
Questions about Frigărui
What does frigărui mean?
It comes from frigare, the Romanian word for a spit or skewer. Frigărui are simply small skewers.
What goes on a frigărui skewer?
Cubes of pork, chicken or mutton alternated with thick bacon strips, onion, pepper and often sausage.
What marinade is used?
Paprika, thyme, garlic, oil and a little wine or lemon, often with mustard. Romanian seasoning rather than Turkish.
How do I stop the vegetables burning?
Cut them large and the meat small, and keep the coals moderate. The bacon will flare, so watch it.
