Romanian Mici Spiced Sausages (Printable Version)

Spiced ground meat rolls grilled until crisp outside and tender inside, featuring traditional Romanian flavors.

# What You'll Need:

→ Meats

01 - 1.1 lb ground beef (80/20 lean-to-fat ratio preferred)
02 - 0.66 lb ground pork
03 - 0.44 lb ground lamb (optional)

→ Aromatics & Spices

04 - 5 cloves garlic, finely minced
05 - 1 ½ tsp smoked paprika
06 - 1 ½ tsp ground black pepper
07 - 1 ½ tsp ground coriander
08 - 1 ½ tsp ground cumin
09 - 1 tsp dried thyme
10 - 1 tsp baking soda
11 - 2 tsp salt

→ Liquids

12 - ¾ cup cold beef stock or sparkling water

→ Optional

13 - 1 tbsp vegetable oil (for shaping and grilling)

# Directions:

01 - In a large mixing bowl, blend ground beef, pork, and lamb thoroughly.
02 - Add minced garlic, smoked paprika, black pepper, coriander, cumin, dried thyme, baking soda, and salt; mix evenly.
03 - Slowly pour in cold beef stock or sparkling water while kneading the mixture vigorously for five minutes until sticky and uniform.
04 - Cover the bowl and refrigerate for a minimum of two hours, preferably overnight, to enhance flavor melding.
05 - With lightly oiled hands, form the mixture into small cylinders approximately 3–4 inches long and ¾ inch thick.
06 - Preheat grill or grill pan to medium-high heat and lightly oil the surface to prevent sticking.
07 - Cook the sausages for 3 to 4 minutes per side, turning to brown evenly and achieve a crisp exterior while ensuring they are cooked through.
08 - Serve warm with traditional accompaniments such as mustard and fresh bread.

# Additional Tips::

01 -
  • They're grilled until the outside crisps up while staying impossibly tender inside, no dry meat in sight.
  • The spice blend is bold enough to feel special but balanced enough that you'll want to make them every week.
  • Once shaped, they freeze beautifully, so you can grill a batch whenever the craving hits.
02 -
  • The baking soda isn't a mistake—it's the secret that makes these tender rather than dense, and it's traditional in Romanian mici.
  • Cold liquid and cold hands matter more than you'd think; warm hands and warm liquid make the mixture impossible to shape evenly.
  • Don't overthink the shape—they don't need to be perfect cylinders, but they should be roughly the same size so they cook evenly.
03 -
  • The cold beef stock or sparkling water matters—sparkling water adds extra lightness and aerates the mixture even more than regular liquid would.
  • If you find your mixture too sticky to shape even with oiled hands, refrigerate it for another hour; temperature control is half the battle.
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