Moldavian cuisine mititei recipe. Mititei at home

Initially, it may seem that Moldovan mitites are a rather difficult dish to prepare. But if, as it should, to understand, then you can be sure that this is not at all the case. The simplicity of their preparation is simply amazing!

Culinary Help

What is this dish with such a mysterious name? Let's figure it out.

Mititei is a national Moldavian dish, which is juicy sausages without a casing, made from lamb or ground beef (as well as their combination) and a certain bouquet of herbs and spices.

Traditionally they are grilled or grilled. But in modern conditions, it is quite possible to cook them in an air grill, oven, or in a grill pan. Outwardly, mititei are somewhat reminiscent of kebabs, but in fact, these are 2 completely different dishes with their own individual taste characteristics.

Ready-made mitites exude an incredibly alluring aroma that is impossible to resist. Observing the cooking technology, you will certainly get juicy, insanely tasty and tender sausages, which, in the right to outshine even everyone's favorite traditional barbecue.

Classic cooking recipe

How to cook mititei in Moldavian style:

How to cook mititei in Moldovan sauce at home

Ingredients:

lamb tenderloin - 400 g;
beef tenderloin - 600 g;
lard - 200 g;
a mixture of spices (thyme, paprika, a mixture of aromatic peppers, nutmeg);
rock salt;
tomato puree - 4 tablespoons;
red hot pepper - 1 pc.;
garlic - ½ head.

Cooking time: 4 hours

Energy value per 100 g: 152 kcal.

Step by step description:

Divide the meat tenderloins into 2 parts. Pass one of them through a meat grinder with small holes, and the second through a slightly larger one. This action will allow to achieve the preparation of minced meat with a dense, but at the same time, heterogeneous texture;
Add salt, all the necessary spices to the prepared minced meat and start kneading. Remember, the quality of the finished products depends on the quality of the minced meat kneading. Mitites made from well-mixed and beaten minced meat turn out to be more tender, and besides, they will not fall apart during the cooking process. Cover the beaten minced meat with cling film and put it in the refrigerator for 2 hours;
After 2 hours, remove the fragrant minced meat from the refrigerator and proceed to the formation of oblong cylindrical sausages. As a rule, the length of this type of meat products is from 8 to 10 cm, and the diameter is within 1.5-2 cm;
If you have the opportunity to make a fire and fry mitites over coals - great! And if not, then they can be baked in the oven. Put the formed products in one row on a greased baking sheet and bake at 200 0 C for 35-40 minutes;
Prepare the tomato sauce separately. To do this, in a small saucepan, combine tomato puree, 150 ml of water, garlic passed through a press and red hot pepper cut into pieces. Bring everything to a boil, reduce slightly and remove from heat.

Moldavian beef sausages - homemade recipe

Components:

beef fillet - 1 kg;
unsalted lard - 0.3 kg;
rock salt;
garlic pepper;
baking soda - 1 tsp;
mineral water - 100 ml;
thyme - ½ tsp;
potato starch - 1.5 tablespoons;
garlic - ½ head.

Cooking time: 5 hours

Number of kcal per 100 g: 148.

Step-by-step description of preparation:

Pass the beef fillet twice through a meat grinder. You can also grind it using a blender;
With lard, repeat the same steps as with beef. Next, combine both ingredients;
Mince the garlic by finely chopping. Then enter to the meat;
Next, enter mineral water, baking soda and potato starch. Also at this stage, salt and all the necessary spices (thyme, pepper) are added;
Start kneading and beating minced meat. This process must be carried out with effort and at least 10-15 minutes. High-quality beating is the key to a dense structure of finished products. They will keep their shape well and will not fall apart during cooking;
Gather the beaten minced meat into a ball, wrap in cling film and put in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours. Since mitites are not made from freshly prepared minced meat;
After 3-4 hours, remove the minced meat from the refrigerator and proceed to the formation of sausages. Hands, before proceeding with the formation, must be moistened in cold water. Mitites should have an oblong cylindrical shape (length up to 10 cm, volume up to 2 cm);
Grease the air grill grate with oil. Put the formed sausages on it, close the lid of the unit, set the high convection mode, temperature mode to 250 0 C, cooking time 1 hour;
Fragrant Moldavian mititei sausages covered with a delicious golden brown crust are served with a vegetable side dish and spicy tomato sauce. Enjoy your meal!

In order for the formed products to keep their shape well, the minced meat must be kept in the cold for at least 3 hours (and preferably more).

Since the minced meat for the preparation of Moldovan sausages does not include eggs, it should be beaten as intensively as possible for at least 10-15 minutes.

If you see that the minced meat turns out to be slightly dry and not juicy enough, add a small amount of meat broth, mineral water or milk to it. The main thing is not to overdo it! The liquid should add juiciness to the minced meat without violating its viscosity.

Ready-made purchased minced meat for the preparation of these sausages is not recommended. It is best to cook it yourself, using fresh tenderloin from young animals.

Increasing the viscosity of the finished stuffing can be quite simple. A small amount of potato starch should be added to it.

Traditional Moldavian mitites are cooked only with beef, lamb, and occasionally pork. Poultry and other types of meat are not acceptable for these products.

If you plan to bake mititei in the oven, place a baking sheet with a little water under the grate with products. Firstly, the released fat will fall on the baking sheet, and not on the lower surface of the oven, and secondly, this will give the finished sausages additional juiciness.

Mititei is a dish of Romanian and Moldavian cuisine, these are small fried homemade sausages without a casing. For their preparation, fresh meat and spices, herbs are used. Mititei, photos and recipes of which are given in the article, have an original taste and aroma, combined with any side dish. How to cook a Moldovan dish at home? What ingredients are used for this? Cooking recommendations, recipes for mitites are presented below.

Fragrant mitites are easy to cook at home

Ingredients

boneless beef 1 kg Soda 200 grams boneless beef 1 kg Onion 1 piece(s) Garlic 7 cloves Paprika 1 tsp Salt 1 tsp Beef broth 150 milliliters Ground black pepper 2 pinches Beef broth 150 milliliters

Servings: 4
Time for preparing: 12 minutes

How to cook Moldavian mititei: a step by step guide

For mitites, only fresh meat is used, from which minced meat is then prepared. In some recipes, minced meat is used instead of minced meat, eggs and bread crumb are added.

To cook Moldavian mititei you will need:

Fresh boneless beef - 1 kg;
lard - 200 gr.;
baking soda - 1 tsp without a slide;
garlic - 7 cloves;
hot ground red pepper - to taste;
paprika - 1 tsp;
salt - 1 tsp;
onions - 1 pc.;
beef broth - 150 ml;
fat or vegetable oil for frying;
thyme - 1 tbsp. l.

Rinse the meat, free from the film, cut into small pieces and 2 times, together with lard, pass through a meat grinder with a large grill. Add grated garlic, chopped onion, salt, spices and baking soda to the minced meat, mix.

Pour the broth into the workpiece, knead and beat the minced meat, collecting it and throwing it into the bowl, until it stops sticking to your hands. Put the mixture in the refrigerator for 12 hours. After the time has elapsed, remove the minced meat from the refrigerator and, using the attachment for the meat grinder for sausage, make sausages 10–12 cm long.

If there is no nozzle, then mitites can be formed with hands dipped in cold water. Fry the resulting sausages on all sides in a grill pan, generously greased with vegetable oil or fat.

When the mitites are reddened, they must be removed from the pan and served with a vegetable salad or a side dish of stewed (fresh) vegetables. Also, the meat dish goes well with buckwheat, barley and pea porridge.

"Holiday" mitites at home with cheese and smoked meat

This recipe uses cheese and smoked brisket to make a Moldovan and Romanian dish. The latter can be replaced with ham or smoked chicken breast.

Ingredients:

Beef - 1 kg;
fatty pork - 300 gr.;
smoked meat (brisket or chicken breast) - 200 gr.;
onions - 2 pcs.;
garlic - 6 cloves;
soda - 1 tsp;
mineral water - 140 ml;
bell pepper - 2 pcs.;
hard cheese - 150 gr.;
fresh herbs (onions, parsley, dill) - 1 bunch;
salt - to taste;
ground ginger and paprika - 1 tsp;
thyme - ½ tbsp. l.

Grind two types of meat in a meat grinder with garlic and onions. Introduce spices, salt, soda, chopped herbs into the minced meat, combine with mineral water and mix thoroughly. Put the mixture in the refrigerator for a day.

When the minced meat is infused, finely chop the bell pepper and grate the cheese on a coarse grater. In a mixture of two types of meat, add the brisket (smoked chicken breast or ham) cut into small cubes, mix and beat off. Moisten your hands with cold water, form small cakes from minced meat, put cheese mixed with bell pepper inside.

The seams need to be well connected and form sausages. Fry mititei in a deep frying pan (on the grill) and serve with a side dish of mashed potatoes or vegetable salad.

Small juicy sausages without a casing, prepared according to the recipes presented above, are suitable for both the festive table and for everyday lunch and dinner. By changing the ingredients and their quantity, you can create original and delicious homemade sausages.

Small cutlets-sausages "Mititei" - a dish of Moldavian-Romanian origin. Romanian mitites are more spicy, Moldovan ones are more juicy, in my opinion. Do not confuse mitites with cutlets, they are completely different in taste. In any case, you must try.

Traditionally, fatty beef is used as minced meat for Moldavian mitites, but if you haven’t found one, then pork fat will be very useful.

So, Moldovan mitites...

Pass the meat and fat through a meat grinder along with garlic.

Please note that starch and baking soda are added to the minced meat. Moreover, baking soda is one of the main components. If you do not like garlic, then you can replace it with onions. Many housewives add both onions and garlic.

Another question. Milk or mineral water? Try two options and find the best one for you. I added milk. The essence of the liquid is the juiciness of ready-made mitites.

So, add soda, starch, milk. Salt and pepper to taste.

Just mixing minced meat is not good, you need to beat it for at least 10 minutes.

Gather all the meat with both hands, gathering it into a ball, and toss it back into the bowl. Thanks to the beating of minced meat, the mitites will be held by dense and elastic sausages, and not cutlets that can fall apart right in the pan.

A very important point! Sausages are not formed immediately from this minced meat! Minced meat should be infused in the refrigerator all night or at least 5 hours.

Then form the sausages either with your hands or with a special nozzle on a meat grinder for sausage. To be honest, I just didn’t find it at home and was very upset. With the help of a nozzle, sausages are obtained the same size and even.

Fry the sausages then on the grill or pan on all sides until crusty.

Very juicy and very tasty small Moldavian mititei sausages are ready.

Compound:

beef - 0.5 kg.,

pork - 0.5 kg.,

soda - 1 teaspoon without a slide,

starch - 1 tbsp. a spoon,

salt, ground black pepper - to taste,

bay leaf - 2 pcs., water - 1/2 cup,

garlic - 6-8 cloves.

Cooking.

Cooking miteey at home you need to start with the preparation of minced meat. To do this, the meat must be taken fresh.

Pass the meat through a meat grinder with a fine grate 2 times. Chop the garlic with a knife or pass through a meat grinder. Add garlic, salt, pepper, starch, soda quenched with vinegar to the meat and mix well by adding water. After mixing, the minced meat must be beaten for 10 minutes so that it is elastic and placed in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

Then take the minced meat out of the refrigerator and form sausages. To do this, you need to take a meat grinder, pull out a knife and a grate from it, insert a nozzle for making sausages and make them, as shown in the photo. Sausages can also be formed by hand. So that the minced meat does not stick to your hands, you need to grease your hands with vegetable oil. We spread the finished sausages on the spacing.

Next, carefully transfer the sausages to a frying pan heated with oil and fry over high heat on all sides until golden brown.

Then you need to put bay leaves on the bottom of a cauldron or pan, then put the fried mitites, pour boiling water, salt a little and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer the mititei until tender, about 20-30 minutes.

Mititei are small sausages that are cooked in Moldova and Romania. They can be baked in the oven or grilled, or even better - on the grill. After all, traditionally this dish is made on the grate of a gratar - a brazier that resembles a brazier we are used to. If you know the recipes of mititei and know how to cook them correctly, you can diversify the home menu and not guess what to cook at a picnic if you are already tired of the barbecue.

Cooking features

Minced meat sausages can be found not only in Moldovan cuisine. But still mititei have a unique taste. For this reason, it is impossible to cook Moldovan mitites if you do not know exactly how they are usually cooked in Moldova or Romania.

The basis for mititei is beef or lamb, which is almost always mixed with pork or lard to add juiciness to the dish. It is not customary to cook mititei from other types of meat, including poultry meat.
Mitites are made from finely chopped minced meat. To obtain it, the meat must be scrolled through a meat grinder twice.
Minced meat will taste better if you cook it yourself. It is best if the minced meat is at least half of the pulp and about a quarter or even a third of meat cut from the neck or shank, where there is a lot of coarse connective tissue, due to which the minced meat will turn out to be more viscous. Purchased minced meat is unlikely to meet these requirements, and you can hardly be sure of the quality of the ingredients used for its preparation.
The viscosity of minced meat can be increased by adding starch to it. It is customary to infuse meat for minced meat in a cool place for a day, after cutting it into pieces of approximately the same size as for barbecue, that is, 4-5 cm each. Due to this, the minced meat turns out to be non-watery.
Minced meat for mitites is not only kneaded, but also beaten off, throwing it on the board. This is done so that the stuffing is dense and keeps its shape well.
Mitites should be small in length - 8-10 cm, their width is usually 2 cm.
The grate on which the mitites will be fried must be greased with vegetable oil or lard so that the sausages do not burn.
If you are roasting mititei in the oven, place a baking sheet under the wire rack and pour some water into it. First, it will protect your oven from dirt. Secondly, thanks to this, the mitites will turn out to be more juicy. When frying Moldovan sausages on the grill, they need to be sprinkled more often with clean water. The goal is the same - to make sausages juicy.

Mititei are served with hominy, green peas or stewed green beans. A salad of fresh vegetables goes well with them. In winter, it can be replaced with pickles.

Mititei in Moldavian

beef - 0.9 kg;
lard - 100 g;
garlic - 5 cloves;
water - 100 ml;
celery greens - 50 g;
salt, black and red ground pepper - to taste.

Cooking method:

Wash the meat. Pat it dry with paper towels. Remove film and tendons. Cut the pulp into pieces of 50 g. Put them in a bowl, sprinkle with salt. Cover with a cloth and put away for a day in a cool place. If you do not have much time or do not want to postpone the preparation of Moldovan sausages for the next day, keep the meat in a cool place for at least 2-3 hours.
Scroll the meat through a meat grinder, then turn the minced meat through it.
Pass the garlic through a special press. Add it to the minced meat along with spices. Also put finely chopped celery here.
Grind lard with a blender or the same meat grinder. Set aside a spoonful of chopped bacon, put the rest in a bowl with minced meat and mix.
Add water and mix everything with your hands. After kneading the minced meat well, beat it off on a cutting board.
Put the minced meat back in a cool place and leave for 3-4 hours, if you are not in a hurry. If necessary, this time can be reduced to one and a half hours.
After wetting your hands with vegetable oil so that the minced meat does not stick to them, form sausages from it 8-10 cm long, about 2 cm wide. Temporarily place the sausages on parchment soaked in oil.
Lubricate the grate with lard and put the mitites on it.
Fry on the grill or in the oven. If you cook mitites in the oven, preheat it to 200 degrees and bake them in it for half an hour. On the grill, they will fry three times faster.

In order to cook mititei according to the classic Moldavian recipe, you need to be patient and strictly follow the technology. If you skip at least one step or slightly change the technology, the dish may not turn out the way you want it to be. For example, minced meat may not be dense and viscous enough, because of which the mitites fall apart and do not look appetizing. But if everything is done correctly, you can be proud of your culinary masterpiece and will listen to countless compliments from guests and household members for a long time.

Mititei with muzhdey sauce

ground beef - 1 kg;
lard - 0.3 kg;
meat broth - 0.4 l;
soda - 10 g;
cumin - 20 g;
thyme, dried basil, salt, pepper - to taste;
garlic - 1 head;
fresh parsley - 50 g;
vegetable oil - how much will go;
ground paprika - 5 g;
walnut kernels - 50 g.

Cooking method:

Grind pork fat with a meat grinder or blender, mix it with ground beef.
Add salt, pepper, dried basil and thyme, cumin. Stir.
Pour off 100 ml of broth to prepare the sauce. Pour soda into the rest of the broth, mix.
Pour the broth into the minced meat in small portions, mix it, then knead it with your hands and beat it on a cutting board.
Place the minced meat in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours.
Finely chop the garlic.
Break the walnut kernels into small pieces.
Place the garlic and nuts in a mortar. Add salt and paprika to them. All well ceiling.
Dilute with two tablespoons of oil and broth. Add finely chopped parsley, stir. You will get muzhdei sauce, which in Moldovan cuisine is served with both meat and fish dishes. It is believed that it suits the mitites especially well.
Take the mince out of the refrigerator. Make small sausages out of it. If desired, you can use the appropriate function of the meat grinder, but this is not necessary.
Grease a grill pan with vegetable oil and heat it up. Put the sausages in the pan and brown them on all sides over medium heat. This will take you 2-3 minutes.
Transfer the mititei to a baking sheet, greased with oil, and send for 20 minutes in an oven preheated to 200 degrees.

Serve hot mititei with muzhdei sauce.

Mititei at home

pork - 0.5 kg;
beef - 0.5 kg;
milk - 0.2 l;
potato starch - 40 g;
onions - 150 g;
garlic - 7 cloves;
black peppercorns - 10 pcs.;
bay leaf - 3 pcs.;
soda - a pinch;
salt, black and red ground pepper - to taste;
vegetable oil - how much will it take.

Cooking method:

Wash pork and beef. Pat them dry with paper towels and cut into pieces. Scroll through the meat grinder using a nozzle with large holes.
Pass the garlic through a press and combine with minced meat.
Salt the minced meat and pepper.
Mix milk with soda and starch. Pour into the minced meat and knead it well with your hands.
Put the minced meat on a film, cover with another layer of film, lightly beat through it and put it in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
Shape the minced meat into tight sausages and fry them for a minute on each side in boiling oil.
Transfer the mititei to a saucepan or thick-bottomed saucepan.
Peel and cut the onion into not too small rings or half rings. Sprinkle it on top of the sausages.
Put the fox laurel and peppercorns on the sausages. Fill them with water and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.

Home-style mitites always turn out juicy and fragrant, they go well with any side dish.

Mititei is one of the best dishes of Moldavian cuisine, deserving the attention of housewives all over the world. These tasty and satisfying sausages are prepared with little effort and do not require high culinary skills. At the same time, they look extremely appetizing. They can be served with any side dish and without it at all, with traditional Moldavian sauce or with ordinary ketchup, with pickles and fresh vegetables. We can safely say that Moldovan mititei is an almost universal dish that is pleasant to eat at any time of the year.