Mititei or Mici

Ingredients for 5 servings:

• 1 kg minced beef, fatty (approx. 30% fat content), e.g. neck, freshly ground
• 8 g black pepper, freshly ground
• 6 g thyme, fresh, finely chopped
• 6 g savory, fresh, finely chopped
• 2 g coriander seeds, freshly ground
• 2 g cumin, freshly ground
• 2 g star anise, freshly ground
• 8 g baking soda
• 10 g salt
• 1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar
• 1 bulb(s) garlic, aromatic (small bulb)
• 125 ml water, hot
• ½ liter bone broth

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Rest period approx. 1 day; Cooking/baking time approx. 6 minutes; Total time approx. 1 day 1 hour 36 minutes

the juicy and tender grilled minced meat rolls popular in Romania

Knead the well-chilled meat in a bowl with baking soda, lemon juice, half of the bone broth, and the spices (1 hour by hand, 20 minutes with a food processor), at least until a homogenous, binding meat dough is formed. Cover the mixture and let it sit for 24 hours at a maximum of 2°C. Cover the finely chopped garlic with the hot water, let it sit for about 1 hour, and then strain it through a sieve. Mix this garlic broth, the remaining bone broth, and the salt into the meat dough and knead everything again thoroughly (15 minutes by hand or 5 minutes with a food processor) until well combined. Shape the meat into balls weighing approximately 50 to 60 grams and measuring approximately 30 mm in diameter and freeze until ready to use. Remove frozen mititei from the freezer about 3 hours before grilling, brush with oil, and let dry for 1 hour. Grill the mititei on a very hot charcoal grill, turning three times. Immediately brush the grilled side with garlic sauce, water, or broth after turning. They should be well browned on the outside and still juicy on the inside, but no longer raw. Serve hot from the grill with hot mustard and fresh white bread. Important notes: – Use well-aged, fatty meat—better with 40% fat than 20%. – Knead the meat dough for as long as you can! – If the bone broth already contains a lot of salt, reduce the amount of salt. – If the mititei are cooked at too low a heat, they will become dry. – In a pinch, a very hot pan on the stove will do, but there’s simply no substitute for the aroma of a charcoal grill.