Romania's caseless grilled rolls of beef, lamb, and pork whipped with garlic, thyme, and bicarbonate of soda, which makes them puff and stay springy on the grill. Eaten by the dozen with mustard and cold beer at street fairs; the name literally means 'small ones'.
Also known as: mititei, mititei, mics, Romanian skinless sausages
Watch it made
Ingredients
- 400 g beef mince (brisket or chuck)
- 200 g pork mince
- 200 g lamb mince
- 150 ml ice-cold beef stock
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed to a cream
- 1 tsp dried thyme and 0.5 tsp black pepper
- 0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1.5 tsp salt
- Sharp mustard and crusty bread, to serve
How to make it
- 1
Whip the three minces with salt and bicarbonate for 2 minutes until the mass lightens in color.
- 2
Beat in the icy stock a splash at a time, then the garlic cream, thyme and pepper; the texture should approach a mousse. Rest overnight, covered.
- 3
With wet hands, roll casing-free cylinders about 8 x 3 cm.
- 4
Grill over lively coals 10-12 minutes, giving quarter turns, until springy with a mottled char.
- 5
Pile onto a platter with a pot of mustard and torn bread; nothing else is required.
Pro tip: Bicarbonate plus ice-cold stock is what makes mici puff and bounce on the grill; skip either and you have dense meat sticks. Romanians whip the paste until it audibly slaps the bowl.
The story of Mici
Mici — or mititei, both meaning small ones — are Romania's caseless grilled meat rolls and the country's most reliable street-fair food. The origin story, repeated everywhere in Bucharest, credits a nineteenth-century restaurant that ran out of sausage casings and grilled the filling anyway; whether or not it is true, it is what everybody says.
They are eaten by the dozen with mustard and cold beer, and the setting is fixed: a fair, a football match, a First of May outing, a grill in a courtyard. Romania is unusual in the Balkans for how firmly its grilled mince is associated with mustard rather than with a dairy or pepper relish.
The technique that defines it
Two things make mici mici. The first is bicarbonate of soda, which raises the pH and gives the springy, snapping texture; the second is beef stock or broth beaten into the mixture, which is where the juice comes from. Both are worked into the meat until it becomes a smooth, sticky paste rather than loose mince.
The mixture then rests, ideally overnight and often for a full day, which lets the soda and garlic permeate. Shaping is done with wet hands or a piping bag into short thick fingers. Grilling is hot and fast, turned frequently, and mici visibly puff as the soda does its work — that puff is the sign the mixture was right.
Choosing your ingredients
A mix of beef, lamb and pork is traditional; beef alone is common and drier. Fat content around 25 to 30 percent, which is higher than most grilled mince, because mici are meant to be juicy to the point of dripping. Garlic goes in as a water-based infusion (mujdei) rather than as raw chopped garlic, which burns.
Thyme and allspice are the characteristic spices alongside black pepper and, in many recipes, a little coriander. Bicarbonate of soda at around half a teaspoon per kilo. Cold beef stock, a good splash, beaten in at the end until the mixture is soft but still holds a shape.
Mistakes that ruin it
Skipping the bicarbonate
It is what gives mici their spring and their puff on the grill. Without it they are plain meat fingers.
Not resting overnight
The soda and garlic need time. Same-day mici are noticeably flatter in both texture and flavour.
Raw chopped garlic
It burns on the grill and turns bitter. Use garlic infused in water or stock.
Lean mince
Mici want 25 to 30 percent fat. Anything leaner is dry no matter how much stock goes in.
How it is served
On a paper plate with a thick mustard — Romanian mustar is sharper and coarser than French — plenty of fresh bread, and cold beer. Pickles and a raw onion if you are sitting down. Nothing else is required and Romanians will tell you nothing else is wanted.
Questions about Mici
What does mici mean?
Small ones, in Romanian. They are also called mititei, which means the same thing.
Why do mici need bicarbonate of soda?
It raises the pH so the meat holds water, producing the springy texture and the characteristic puffing on the grill.
How long should the mixture rest?
Overnight at minimum, and a full day is better. The soda and garlic need time to work through the meat.
What is served with mici?
Mustard, fresh bread and cold beer. Pickles and raw onion if it is a sit-down meal.
