Mici are one of the main symbols of Moldovan cooking and of the festive table. The name comes from the Romanian word "mici", meaning small: they are small skinless sausages of minced meat that are cooked over open fire. They are eaten hot with bread, mustard and raw onion, usually with beer or lemonade. They never smell as tempting as on a grill somewhere by a river or in the yard of a country house.

What mici are and how they differ from other grilled meat

Mici are often confused with kebab, but they are a different dish. Mici do not have lamb as a base, there are no hot spices, and the main ingredient is garlic. The base is a mix of beef and pork, salt, black pepper, garlic and cold water or stock. That is all. The simplicity and the freshness of the meat make mici what they are.

The shape is special too: short thick sausages that stay on the rack and do not fall apart.

Which meat to take

Take minced beef and pork roughly half and half. If you make it yourself, pork neck and beef shoulder work best: they have enough fat. The meat should be chilled, even slightly frozen, which makes the mix dense.

If you buy ready mince, look at the colour and smell: the meat should be pink, with no greyish tinge. Here is what the catalogues have now in meat:

In the catalogues now: meat

All offers

The secret of juiciness

The great secret of mici is kneading and cold liquid. The mince with salt and garlic is worked by hand for at least ten minutes: it should become sticky and stretch. During this the cold water or stock is poured in small portions. The liquid stays in the meat fibres and turns to steam in cooking: the sausages puff up and come out tender.

Many people add a pinch of bicarbonate of soda to the mix: it makes the meat fluffier. But it is not required, and it works without.

Resting in the fridge

After kneading, the mix must be left in the fridge for at least two hours, preferably overnight. During this time the salt dissolves the meat proteins and the mici become springy. If you skip this step you get a crumbly mass that sticks to the rack.

Do not forget to cover the bowl with film: meat quickly absorbs foreign smells.

How to cook them

The grill must be well heated: grey coals, even heat. Oil the rack. Lay the mici with a small gap and do not touch them for a minute, until they set and release by themselves. Then turn every two minutes.

Finished mici are brown, with light char, and juicy inside. Do not cook them too long: dried-out mici lose their taste.

In a pan or in the oven at 220 degrees mici also turn out well: put them on a rack over a tray.

What to serve with them

The classic serving is fresh white bread, mustard and sliced raw onion. Pickled cucumbers, sauerkraut and mămăligă go well. And the bread is best chosen in advance by price:

In the catalogues now: bread

All offers

For a festive table mici are cut in half and served on a wooden board.

How to make mici cheaper and safer

The meat for mici costs the most, so watch the promotions: mince and pork neck often get cheaper at weekends, when shops expect customers for a barbecue. Buy more and freeze: raw mici keep well up to two months, lay them on a board one by one and then bag them. Thaw them in the fridge, not on the table. And remember safety: mince spoils faster than a whole piece, so keep it cold and cook it right through, with no pink juice inside.