Grill recipes

Ștefan Baciu, 30.04.2017, 13:46

To make a grill
people in Romania use pork, chicken, sausages and the traditional minced meat
rolls. Sometimes fish is used in grill recipes, such as mackerel, particularly
in springtime, catfish or carp. Because the latter two are large fish, they are
usually chopped into slices, 2-3 centimetres thick. A 2-3 kilogram carp could
be turned into a real delicious grill dish. After slicing it, the carp should
be left to pickle for an hour or so in a sauce made up of white wine, a
teaspoonful of pepper and another one of salt. Then place the slices on the
grill with a couple of tomatoes that will be later used in the preparation of a
garlic sauce. After the tomatoes have been grilled, peel and mash them into a
puree. Add to this puree a couple of mashed garlic cloves, which have
previously been mixed with a little bit of oil. Mix all these ingredients until
you get a homogeneous cream, which should be poured over the grilled fish.

Another interesting grill
recipe are joints roasted on the spit, although this dish may take more time to
prepare. You need a kilo of pork butt, or any other kind of fatty meat, and cut
it in small 3 cm cubes. Place all these slices on a 30 cm spike with onion,
mushrooms and bell pepper slices between them. These spikes are all placed on
the grill but care should be taken to rotate them in order to grill them
properly on either side. You can serve them hot with French fries and a pint of
cold beer.

However, nothing compares
with the traditional mititei. This is a
staple of any festive gathering of Romanians. It is to Romanians what burgers
are to Americans. We are talking about the so-called mici or mititei,
skinless sausages grilled to a crisp on high heat, preferably on charcoal. Most
likely based on a Turkish recipe, that for kebab, it is now a Balkan staple,
being eaten with delight in all countries of the area. However, the Balkan Christians
have included pork in the original mutton-based mix.

This is how we make them: mix in equal parts minced
beef, mutton and pork, seasoned with black pepper, dried thyme, allspice, one
whole head of garlic for each kilogram of meat, which we turn to a paste, and
salt to taste. To make the mixture more tender, either add minced fat, or a
strong stock made from beef bones. Put in all the finely ground spices and mix
well to an even consistency, and at the end add a mixture of baking soda and
lemon juice, blending well. It is best left a few hours in the fridge for the
flavours to blend.

When you are ready to grill, take out the mixture,
and start taking out small handfuls of the mix, as much as you can hold with
closed fingers, shaping them like tiny loaves of bread. Leave them a bit for
the surface to dry, reducing the mess, since the mixture is quite sticky. It is
helpful to rub a bit of cooking oil on your palms when handling them to avoid
this problem. The Romanian traditional way of cooking them is on a grill close
to a bed of searing hot charcoal, so that the surface is almost burned while
the insides are still slightly pink. Grilling them to perfection is an art
form, so keep practicing, and definitely enjoy!