Mititei — Our Family Recipe

Ovi & Maria’s Mititei

This recipe makes one 5-pound batch. Five pounds is the maximum our food processor can handle at one time.

When Maria and I make mititei, however, we rarely stop at five pounds. We usually make 40–50 pounds, preparing the mixture in separate 5-pound batches. We eat some fresh and freeze the rest for family, friends, dinners, and visits.

Ingredients

Meat and Basic Seasoning

• 3½ lb ground chuck

• 1½ lb ground lamb

  If lamb is not available, you can replace it with an equal amount of beef. This is how we make our mititei when we don't have lamb.

• ½ head garlic, crushed

• 3 teaspoons salt

• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 7 teaspoons baking soda

• 3½ cups (800 ml) beef bone broth

Grind Together in a Spice Mill

• ½ teaspoon rosemary

• ½ teaspoon anise

• 2 tablespoons summer savory or thyme

Additional Spices

• 1 teaspoon hot Hungarian paprika

• 1 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika

• ½ tablespoon ground cumin

• ½ teaspoon turmeric

• ½ teaspoon ground allspice

Preparation

Put all the dry ingredients into the beef bone broth and mix well.

Place the ground chuck, ground lamb, and seasoned broth mixture into the food processor.

Process for approximately 30 minutes, until the meat develops a smooth, paste-like consistency. This long mixing is important—it is what helps the mititei hold together even though, unlike sausages, they have no casing.

Cover the mixture and refrigerate overnight, allowing the ingredients and flavors time to work together.

Shaping the Mititei

The next day, remove the mixture from the refrigerator and run it directly through a sausage press.

As the meat comes out of the press, form and cut each mititel to the desired length.

In our house, we don't use a ruler.

Ovi's palm is the ruler.

We arrange the mititei on foam trays, usually 18–20 pieces per tray.

Freezing

If you are making mititei to freeze, arrange them in two layers on a foam tray, placing a sheet of plastic wrap between the layers.

Cover the entire tray securely with plastic wrap so the meat is not directly exposed to the freezer.

Freeze until needed.

Grilling

If frozen, thaw the mititei completely before grilling.

Lightly oil both the grill and the mititei before cooking. This helps prevent the meat from sticking.

Place the mititei on a hot grill and turn them so that they cook evenly on all sides.

After grilling mititei for many years, I don't use a timer. I arrange them in rows and gradually roll the rows toward the end of the grill as each side is cooked. When mititei are ready, they become plump, fluffy, and slightly bouncy.

We prefer ours medium-rare, which on our grill usually takes approximately 5–6 minutes. The actual cooking time will depend on the heat of your grill and the thickness of your mititei.

Our chef Eugen taught me one final rule about grilling mititei that I have never forgotten:

„Ovi, când mănânci mititei, trebuie să te frigă la buze!”

“Ovi, when you eat mititei, they should be hot enough to burn your lips!”

In other words, don't let them sit around.

Mititei are meant to be eaten sizzling hot, straight from the grill.

And don't forget the secret ingredient —

a little bit of Owl Spit. 🦉