Mititei or Mici

"Little Ones" in Romanian, these are delicious, skinless sausages with garlic and spices. Traditionally served with mustard, bread, and beer, you can also have fries and pickled vegetables or a salad on the side.

You want half beef and half either lamb or pork or a mixture of the two. You can buy ground beef/lamb/pork, but the texture and flavour will be so much better if you buy whole pieces and mince them yourself—and you'll know exactly what's in there, which you never know buying ground meat in a store.

• 0.5 lb. beef chuck
• 0.5 lb. lamb and/or pork shoulder
• 3 oz. beef stock
• 1 oz. beer
• 0.5 tsp. baking soda (bicarbonate)
• 0.5 tsp. kosher salt
• 3–6 cloves garlic, smashed, minced, and pounded into a paste
• 1 tsp. thyme
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 0.25 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 0.25 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 0.25 tsp. black pepper
• 0.25 tsp. smoked paprika
• 0.25 tsp. red pepper flakes

Your beef chuck is probably boneless, and your pork shoulder may be, but with lamb shoulder chops you'll need to cut the meat off the bone. Mince the meat with a sharp cleaver and place it in a large bowl.

Mix the stock, beer, baking soda, salt, and spices in a jug.

Bit by bit add the liquid to the meat, mixing it thoroughly as you add each splash. What you end up with should almost be a paste.

Cover this and let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour, preferably two, or overnight if you can. This is to let the flavour develop.

Lightly coat your hands with a little olive oil and form handfuls of the mixture into sausage shapes about 3" long and 1" thick.

You can grill these on the barbie, under the broiler, or in a cast iron skillet. Whichever you choose, pre-heat it so it's fairly hot and give them 3–4 minutes per side so they're dark on the outside and cooked in the middle. Don't overcook them as you want them to be juicy, not dry.