Prepared and Photographed by: 
Recipe Source: An "old" Romanian friend
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 8
 
Introduction: Mici (meech) are the most popular Romanian outdoor grill. "Mici" are caseless sausages, made of ground beef meat mixed with spices, garlic, and beef broth. They are served with mustard, fries and/or country bread next to a cold beer. From the inexpensive street food stops, to summer patios or fancy restaurants, you can find them all over the country! You can smell them everywhere in the summer and they smell so good! In Romania you can buy them from any grocery store, fresh or frozen, then you can load up your car with a grill and coals and grill away on the side of the road! I miss them here in the US! While I was living in Romania, I never bothered to prepare them but here in the US, just to get the taste of home I had to learn to prepare them. It takes at least 24 hours to prepare and mature the meat and have the truly tasty Mici experience.
Ingredients
  • 1 tsp of baking soda
  • 1 tbsp of lemon juice
  • 2 lb ground beef
  • ¼ lb ground beef suet
  • 2 cups of beef broth
  • 1 tsp of salt
  • ½ tsp of black pepper
  • 2 tsp of summer savory*
  • ¼ tsp ground cumin
  • ¼ tsp of ground coriander
  • ¼ tsp of ground all spice
  • 1 tsp of paprika
  • ¼ tsp of cayenne pepper
  • 5 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tbsp of oil (for brushing)
Instructions
  1. In a small glass dissolve the baking soda with the lemon juice
  2. In a large bowl put the meat with all of the ingredients and the dissolved baking soda (except the oil). Mix thoroughly all of the ingredients. Add the broth in stages, mixing well after each addition. The meat mixture needs to get to a consistency that will allow modeling in small sausage shape, you do not want your mixture to be too loose. Depending on your meat water content, you may not need all of the broth to be added. You also want your mixture to incorporate enough liquid so the grilled "Mici" will be juicy. Refrigerate overnight for the meat to absorb flavors.
  3. Take the meat out of the refrigerator and with wet hand, form the "mici" in a cylinder shape 2-3 inches long and 1 inch thick.
  4. Put them on a foil lined tray and continue to form "Mici" until all of the meat is finished. Brush them with oil.
  5. Grill them on high heat, preferably on coal, not gas. Flip them to cook on both sides and cook them to your desired doneness. They are very good when done with just a little pink inside, and very juicy.
  6. Serve with mustard, bread or French fries next to a cold beer. Enjoy!
Notes
Summer Savory (cimbru) is one of the key ingredients of "Mici". You can replace it with dried basil, but the result will not be the original taste. If you like pork, you can use half beef and half pork, however, be cognizant of the fact that in this case the "Mici" will need to be thoroughly cooked, with no pink inside.
Recipe by Claudia's Home Cooking at http://www.claudiashomecooking.com/romanian-mici-meech/