These garlicky little bites of ground meat are Romania’s answer to trendy street food. They are crowd-pleasers hot off the grill and served on long bamboo skewers with dipping sauce or simple grainy mustard. The texture of these little sausages can vary from dense and meatball-like to authentic and spongy when seltzer and baking soda are added.
Ingredients:1 pound ground beef
4 to 5 garlic cloves
1 tspn kosher salt
1 tspn sweet or hot Hungarian paprika
1/2 tspn freshly ground black pepper
Generous splash of Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp ketchup
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tbsp seltzer or club soda, optional
2 tspn baking soda, optional
For the dipping sauce4 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tspn ground cumin
Splash of Worcestershire sauce
Preparation:- Put the ground beef in a medium bowl.
- Grate the garlic using a Microplane over the meat so the garlic juice is included; you want about 2 tablespoons total.
- Add the salt, paprika, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and parsley. For a more authentic spongy texture add the seltzer and baking soda. Use your hands to thoroughly blend the spices into the meat.
- Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to 1 day.
- Combine the dipping sauce ingredients and refrigerate until ready to use.
- When ready to cook, light the grill or preheat the broiler and take the meat out of the fridge.
- Wet your hands and form the meat into rounds the size of a golf ball, then elongate them into 3-inch thumb-like shapes.
- Grill or broil for 4 to 5 minutes, turn them over, and continue to cook for 3 to 4 minutes longer. Serve with the dipping sauce or mustard on the side.
Makes 12 pieces.
Start to Finish: 15 minutes to prepare the meat; at least 4 or up to 24 hours to rest in the fridge; under 15 minutes to grill.
Recipe courtesy of The Kosher Carnivore: The Ultimate Meat and Poultry Book by June Hersh
Romania [
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