These homemade sausages also known as mici (which will translate as “small” or 'little' and pronounced “Meech”) are a Romanian BBQ staple. There is no bbq without these tasty little ones. Mici or mititei is street food in Romania and they are loved by everyone that likes meat. Love at first taste and sight too as they do look appetizing.
Generally, people purchase them ready from local butchers raw and grill them at home. Mici is now available to buy here in the UK, but why buy them ( mainly frozen) when they are so easy to make at home? So, please give them a try and let me know how they came out for you.
If you are a Romanian and have visited Romania, you know what I am saying. If you are not, never visited Romania, or never met a Romanian, then, you must try these delicious little ones aka mici (mititei) immediately.
What is mici or mititei?
They are small homemade sausages with no casing and they’re so different in many ways, they're super, super nice!
Ideal for a picnic or BBQ especially to grill them and eat them freshly on the spot there and then. They can be pan-fried or baked but.... they will not be the same.
The best mici are the homemade ones obviously as they’re the real stuff. You know what’s in them and that is an absolute must as far as I believe. No need to add anything nasty for those to be the ‘real stuff’. Many people buy them ready-made because they think they’re too fancy to prepare. They are not. Not at all!!
Keep the recipe simple and you’ll see how beautiful they’ll turn out.
Traditionally the recipe calls for quite a bit of fat but I have made them with super lean (just 5% fat) pork mince and 5% fat content beef mince. The result?! Simply gorgeous, super juicy, and absolutely delicious mici. A lot healthier too!
But there is not to say that are no secrets to making those little ones, there are!
The secret to making and preparing mici….
The fat content, as believed by many, isn’t the actual secret to getting nice juicy mici, not at all.
The very secret to good mici or homemade sausages are a couple of things :
- The moisture level - need to add liquids to the mixture (see ingredients)
- Soda bicarbonate and the beer (the star ingredients)
- Fire (needs to be cooked on fairly rapid-fire) and this is the key to success.
More Important Tips
- Fresh minced meat/ground meat is important to get the best-tasting mici;
- Mici need and must be cooked on fairly rapid fire and this is to keep them juicy and tender.
- Serve immediately as they come off the BBQ;
- For the best results, taste, and flavors wise, the mixture needs to rest for a couple of hours in the fridge. No need to rest for more than a couple of hours but if no choice, make the mixture the night before.
Serving Suggestions
- traditionally, mici must be served on their own with your favorite mustard and a cold, cold super good pint of beer. Once you have all these in place you’re good to go.
- they can be served with chips, bread or buns, or a salad of your choice too (I know I will be told off by a Romanian for saying this lol).
FAQs
Can I freeze mici?
Yes, you may. If you think you made too much mici mixture and might not use it all, freeze it. Place it in a freezer bag and you may keep it frozen for up to two months. You may freeze it as a chunk or as readily formed mici. If you decide to form the mititei and then freeze them, you may do so but place them next to one another in an airtight container on layers separated by parchment paper. Remove it from the freezer and let it thaw in the fridge overnight to thaw it out.
How long can I keep mici?
They are best when consumed fresh, however, they can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days. They will need to be reheated in a pan before serving.
Here’s the recipe folks, and I’ve had quite a few requests for this recipe (sorry for the wait) but here it is now, so let’s start rolling these yummy meaty open amazing little case-free sausages.
Before getting these done, here are some more nice BBQ side dishes that you may like to make in addition to enjoying a real feast.
More recipes you might like
- Cabbage And Carrot Salad
- Courgette Salad
- Homemade Burger Buns
- Korean Corn Dog Recipe
- Delicious Egg Chicken Roll Recipe
Did you make this mici recipe? Leave a comment and even rate the recipe to tell us what you thought and how it came out for you!
Homemade mici - romanian garlicky meat open sausages
Equipment
- glass bowl
- spatula
- tongs
- tray
- mug
Ingredients
- 500 g ground beef (17.7 oz or 2.2 cups) I used 5% fat content
- 500 g ground pork (17.7 oz or 2.2 cups) I used 5% fat content ( you can use more fat content)
- 180 ml beef stock (6.09 floz) ideally homemade * see recipe notes
- 50 ml beer ( 1.69 floz)
- 1 teaspoon soda bicarbonate * ½ US teaspoon as that is larger
- 1 teaspoon salt * ⅓ US teaspoon
- 2-3 cloves garlic (small cloves) grated and made into a paste
- 1 teaspoon thyme dry or fresh
- 1 pinch nutmeg (optional)
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper or chilli flakes (optional)
Instructions
- Place the meat into a bowl, you can give it another whizz into the food processor for a double grinding but don’t worry if you don’t fancy doing this. There is another solution - extra mixing/kneading.
- In a larger mug, I mix the beef stock with beer, soda bicarbonate, spices, salt pepper and give it a good stir until the salt has dissolved entirely.
- Add this liquid mixture to the meat and mix really well until the mixture becomes almost a paste. And this is your double grinding technique
- You can now work with a dash of oil or water to form the sausages into their shapes. A little touch of oil takes you a long way so just grease your palms with a tiny dash of oil or, use a bit of water. I always use oil. It helps with preventing them from sticking. Place all on a plate or a little tray, something that can easily be placed in the fridge.
- Transfer the open sausages to the fridge to rest for 2 to 4 hours but you can leave them overnight too, it’s absolutely okay.
- Place them onto a hot, hot grill or in a hot pan and cook them on each side ( x 2) for no longer than 4 min.
- Mici must be served with mustard and a super cold glass of beer. HEA VEN!
Notes
- To make the beef or lamb stock at home I always choose oxtail or lamb neck and boil these for a good few hours. They can be made separate or mixed it really does not matter.
- If you don’t eat pork replaced this with lamb but if you do, feel free to mix all three types of meat to a ratio of 2:1:1 meaning 2 parts of beef, 1 part pork and 1 lamb. It’s a sensational one.
- Needless to say that I always add chilli flakes to spice things up a little or serve them with nice 'n spicy mustard.
- Resting time it’s an important step as they will soak in all the spices and all flavours will blend in nicely.
- Mixing the meat is crucial - this needs mixing by hand until resembles a paste
- Mici can be grilled, ideally on the charcoal grill but a gas or electric grill would do the job too. They can be even fried in a pan or baked in the oven.
- These need to be grilled on quick-fire. High temperature is another secret to PERFECT MICI and turned a couple of times - this is for the best-looking mici (see picture below) but also for delivering some really nice mouthwatering and very juicy mici 'little ones' 😉
- To check whether Mici or the little ones are cooked to perfection while on the grill tap them harder with a fork or the tongs and if they are bouncy, they are ready.
Tammy says
Beautifully photographed! I have to make my own sausages...nothing compared to homemade and I love the heat in these. Sounds and looks SO good!
Colleen says
This is the first time I've heard of these, but I would love to try making them this summer. They look delicious and I'm sure they will be a hit!
Chef Dennis says
I would love to try a Romanian BBQ staple! This mici looks absolutely delicious. I am so excited to have this on our table.
Bernice Hill says
These mici look pretty amazing and I can't wait to try them for our next barbeque. Garlic sausage is one of our favourites.
Elizabeth says
Great recipe! So delicious!
Jessie says
These sound incredible! Could I make them with just beef, or will they end up too dry? What a great meal with a little crusty bread!
Ramona says
Hi Jessie,
Yes, absolutely! Beef only will work beautifully too and it does not have to be high in fat content 😉
Audrey says
Such an authentic recipe! Talk about yummy too.
Julia says
Wow learned something new today! These will definitely be great for summer BBQs but I can also see myself prepping these for my WFH lunches!
Ksenia says
I can see why these babies are beloved by many! So flavourful
Maddie says
I've never heard of this dish and can't wait to try it now. What a delicious and flavorful combination!
aurel dumitrescu says
Hai sa traiesti Ramona si numai bine. Facem mici de o gramada de timp chiar si iarna care in Canada cere respect si nu-mi aduc aminte sa fi ramas ceva pe masa. Ca o paranteza la reteta ta as trece nutmeg coriander si cumin la optionale de bere sincer nu am incercat dar 50 ml nu e o moarte de om la un kilo de carne. In retetele vechi bicarbonatul de sodiu se stingea cu zeama de lamaie sau apa gazoasa si noi asa o facem desi noul stil se pune pudra direct in carne. Unii prefera ienibaharul allspice un sfert de lingurita in locul corianderului altii adauga paprika sweet jumatate de lingurita la un kg ma rog preferintele se leaga de locuri. Sarbii mananca micii lor cevapcici cu caimac si ajvar un fel de zacuska si ii baga intr-o lipie rau nu este dar gustul difera poate saracia condimentelor. Plangerile de baza la consumatorii din familie au fost impotriva bicarbonatului nestins si a usturoiului pisat si in cantitate mare. Mai nou la 4 catei de usturoi pisati minced se adauga ceva apa cam la 2 linguri si iese un fel de mujdei care mai taie din iuteala noua de place the pink garlic lautrec in franta chesnot in usa. Altfel suntem aproape de reteta ta si bere si cartofi prajiti sa avem sa le descantam. Sanatate si numai bine.
Ramona says
Buna Aurel,
Ce bucurie mi-ai facut!
Da, intr-adevar retete sunt mai multe depinde de loc si placul fiecaruia, cu grasime, fara grasime, mirodeniile difera depinde de gustul fiecaruia. Eu sincer, de fiecare data can fac mici adaug mirodenii diferite dar cimbrul nu lipseste. Da, eu adaug bere in loc de apa minerala, sincer imi place mult si dizolv bicarbonatul in bere adaug toate mirodeniile si amestec pentru o omogenizare cat mai buna. Nici mie nu imi place cu ustroi in nestire, sincer.
Multumesc mult pentru ca te-ai oprit si mi-ai lasat acest mesaj de la suflet 😉
Salutari din Londra si MULTA sanatate!!
Gunjan says
Love your photography. I don’t eat meat do I shared your page with my brother and he is making it tonight 🙂
Eileen Kelly says
My family loved these meatballs. The flavors are bold and delicious, a wonderful meal.
Veronika says
Wow, what a fun recipe! I've never tried these mini sausages before but want to make next weekend. So much flavor in a mini package!
Aditi Bahl says
They looks absolutely delicious. The recipe sounds so doable, am trying these tommorow for dinner. Thanks for sharing.
Ramona says
Thanks Aditi, oh, it’s definitely a delicious doable recipe 😊
Tatiana says
These sausages look amazing and so delicious! Grilled to perfection! Saving for trying as soon as I have some free time!