Mici (Romanian meat balls)

Every year when the summer starts, any Romanian goes out to eat a "mic". In a rough translation this means "small". And yes they are small meat balls. So, Romanians either they go out for a grill in their backyard or near a forest, or they just buy them in a park or restaurant. You find them everywhere and they are recognized as Romanian traditional food. And the truth is that they are delicious. You need to eat them with mustard. This combination works very well.
When I have moved from Romania I started to miss them. I found them again in the Romanian shops in Brussels, some were good, some were too spicy, some where not so tasty ... it was just luck. Later I moved a bit far from Brussels and I stopped buying them. The only available option was to make them myself. How difficult could that have been? I have tried several versions and finally I found the perfect recipe and here I share it with you.

Ingredients: 

• 2kg minced pork mixed with calf 
• 50 g sodium bicarbonate 
• 15g fresh thyme (or dried) 
• 1 head of garlic smashed
• 15g salt

Direction: 

1. Blend all ingredients in a large bowl. I use kitchen mixer because it requires a bit of force to mix everything by hand. 
2. Shape the meat balls in your hand about 7cm long. To catch good flavor and spices, usually I shape them the day before the grilling. 
3. Turn the fire on (coal or wood) to grill and wait until the embers is created. 
4. I put the meat balls on the grill and rotate them when done on one side. 
5. Serve them with mustard. 

Recipe inspired from Traditional Romanian recipes - Livia Sandru, page 5