Community Pick
Mititei (Small Ground Beef Sausages)
"Author Nicolae Klepper says that mititei were invented one evening at an inn called La Iordachi in Bucharest, known for its sausages, when the kitchen ran out of casings. Originally published in Saveur in 1998. Cooking time includes five hours chilling time."
photo by Ycooks2
- Ready In:
- 5hrs 25mins
- Ingredients:
- 9
- Yields:
-
40 sausages
ingredients
- 2 lbs lean ground beef
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed into a paste
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1⁄2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1⁄2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, crumbled
- 1⁄2 teaspoon paprika (hot or sweet(your choice)
- 1 teaspoon caraway seed
- salt & freshly ground black pepper
directions
- Combine beef, oil, garlic, baking soda, thyme, red pepper, paprika, caraway seeds, and 2 tablespoons water in a large bowl.
- Season with salt and pepper and knead for 5 minutes, wetting your hands frequently to help keep mixture moist.
- Cover bowl and refrigerate for at least 5 hours.
- With wet hands, roll meat, 1 tablespoons at a time, into small balls, then shape balls into sausages about 3'' long and 1'' thick. Heat a grill pan over medium heat.
- Cook sausages in batches, turning frequently, until well browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes.
- Serve as an hors d'oeuvre or with potatoes as an entrée.
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Reviews
-
I have the author's cookbook. This is a kosher recipe. I have modified it to according to my Romanian in-law's tastes. I use 1 lb ground beef, 1 lb ground pork and 1 lb ground lamb, 8 cloves of garlic, 1 package of fresh thyme or oregano if no thyme is available. I use more paprika: 1 tbsp if sweet plus 2 tsp black pepper. If hot paprika, then 2 tsp. This is really to the taste. It's better to start off with less initially and add more paprika later. Keep mixture in fridge for 24 hrs before rolling sausages. Then, let meat warm up on table and add soda water before rolling. This is the magic for the texture and makes rolling easier. Fry a little bit of the meat and adjust garlic, paprika and salt as required before rolling all of the meat. Enjoy! -
Sorry, Kate. This didn't work out for me. But you know Cookgirl-she'll keep trying until she gets it right! Thanks! -
Lovely! The entire family fully enjoyed this recipe. I followed the advice of others and left the baking soda the same amount and doubled the amount of all the spices. Excellent! Thank you. -
DEFINATELY take advice from Chef#1283785 review! As these were over FANTASTIC at a party last night too! Used about 3 1/2 pounds beef, TRUE! Next time will try combos of meats as think would bring flavours out even more too! Used 1 1/2 cups of soda water, marniated everything over night, This recipe IS a delight! Placed under griller for about 10 -12 minutes, was done for me, Next time, will try to oil spray and bake....we'll see.. Thank you for this GREAT recipe, Was a real conversation started mentioning "soda water"...people were as E-X-C-I-T-E-D as ME!!!! :) Thanks! -
Lovely flavor - wonderful texture. Deviated from the recipe in that I made some into small patties - rest into small sausages...but great flavor. Not sure why these turned out unattractive for someone - but they were pretty and tasty to us!! Made for PAC Spring 2009
see 19 more reviews
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Chef Kate
Annapolis, 60
<p>I have always loved to cook. When I was little, I cooked with my Grandmother who had endless patience and extraordinary skill as a baker. And I cooked with my Mother, who had a set repertoire, but taught me many basics. Then I spent a summer with a French cousin who opened up a whole new world of cooking. And I grew up in New York City, which meant that I was surrounded by all varieties of wonderful food, from great bagels and white fish to all the wonders of Chinatown and Little Italy, from German to Spanish to Mexican to Puerto Rican to Cuban, not to mention Cuban-Chinese. And my parents loved good food, so I grew up eating things like roasted peppers, anchovies, cheeses, charcuterie, as well as burgers and the like. In my own cooking I try to use organics as much as possible; I never use canned soup or cake mix and, other than a cheese steak if I'm in Philly or pizza by the slice in New York, I don't eat fast food. So, while I think I eat and cook just about everything, I do have friends who think I'm picky--just because the only thing I've ever had from McDonald's is a diet Coke (and maybe a frie or two). I have collected literally hundreds of recipes, clipped from the Times or magazines, copied down from friends, cajoled out of restaurant chefs. Little by little, I am pulling out the ones I've made and loved and posting them here. Maybe someday, every drawer in my apartment won't crammed with recipes. (Of course, I'll always have those shelves crammed with cookbooks.) I'm still amazed and delighted by the friendliness and the incredible knowledge of the people here. 'Zaar has been a wonderful discovery for me.</p>
