Mititei
Eh, without explaining the recipe for mititei and what it does here on the brink of winter, you will throw stones. So, let me explain: after I make sausages, I also make babic; if I make babic, I have to make mititei, because I need to buy a whole leg of sheep or ram. Here, there aren't many crafty butchers who will give you what you want - you either buy or you don't, and that's it! From babic, a half 'thigh' of ram remains, so I make mititei. I don't eat mititei only in summer - for me, mititei go all year round. So here I am with a topic that should have taken place in summer - but who knows, maybe it's not in vain to bring it up now - who knows what will happen by summer?
I make mititei from beef (neck, throat, beef flank, and beef tenderloin), the boneless meat from the ram's leg (with its fat), and, at the request of some, sometimes I also add pork (but rarely, it spoils the true taste). Making mititei is an art in itself - only after many experiences does one reach the desired balance between the spices with which the meat mixture is seasoned. I will tell you how I do it, after years of experiments.
I put the meat in equal parts: one part neck beef, one part flank, and one part ram. When pork is requested, I replace the beef flank with pork leg. I never replace the meat from the beef neck - it has enough fat in its muscle needed for mititei, as well as the nerves around which it is distributed. This way, the fat stays in its place in the mititel, it doesn't melt and flood the grill, causing smoke and a lot of melted fat in the grill's grooves.
I debone the ram's leg and boil the bones, together with one or two vertebrae from the beef neck. This way, I get the 'water' with which I 'beat the mititei dough'. While the bones are boiling, I chop the meat and initially mix it only with the many spices, freshly ground in a mortar: black pepper, sweet pepper, coriander, mustard seeds, thyme, and garlic. When the bone broth is ready and cool, I dissolve baking soda, sea salt, and a little bit of cumin in it (even if you don't like cumin, don't hesitate to put a little - you won't taste it, but its absence will be felt!).
The hard part comes now: this 'dough' must be beaten well with a wooden spoon, always adding from the bone broth. I beat until it makes bubbles of frustration! When both I and it are exhausted and beaten badly, I put it in the fridge for 24 hours. How do I get rid of the unpleasant and time-consuming part of shaping the 'dough' for well-made mititei? Simple: I fill a nylon bag with the mixture, cut its tip, and lay the 'carnaciori' on a damp tray. Their size is taken care of by the palm of the hand: according to some expert opinions, the portion of meat at a meal should be the size of that person's palm. Mititei are made just a little bigger than the palm of the hand, because they shrink when grilled.
There is still a secret to grilling them: the grill is not greased, but heated dry first, then only the tops are greased with a piece of bacon. The mititei are aligned and turned on all sides with the same piece of bacon, without being pierced and before becoming completely hard; thus, they are left on each side only until they form a crust and the grill marks are visible - the true mititel must be almost raw in the middle (medium rare) and in no case burnt/dry - it loses at least half of its taste, aroma, and juiciness. In short, the mititel must be pink in the middle. Meanwhile, caress the mititei with the same slice of bacon and they will be crispy on the outside and soft/juicy on the inside. Everything that remains unheated on the day of 'tasting', I put in the fridge and it behaves exactly as if I made it yesterday: without leaving extra water or fat - unlike those bought from the store. See you again in summer!
Ingredients: beef and sheep or lamb meat bone broth spices Salt Black pepper Sweet pepper Coriander Thyme Mustard seeds Cumin Baking soda
