Romanian meatballs, also known as chiftele or parjoale are juicy, garlicky, and full of herbs and flavor. Grandma-style pork and beef meatballs - this is one of the most popular Romanian recipes.
Meatballs are popular all around the world; I can imagine that there is hardly any country that doesn't have a traditional recipe. These are the Romanian meatballs, the way my grandmother used to make them, the best chiftele ever! Of course, that is something every Romanian would say about their grandma/mother's meatballs... But these are really amazing, trust me on that!
The recipe she used was originally a Moldovan parjoale (roughly translated as “burnt on embers”) recipe. My grandfather was born in the Romanian part of Moldova, so many of the dishes my grandmother cooked were typical for that region. Have a look at these Cabbage Pies, Branzoaice or Sweet Cheese Pies, or Chicken in Cream Sauce.
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What sets chiftele apart from other meatballs?
The shape. Traditional Romanian meatballs are not cute and round like the ones we see most of the time. They are rather large and flat. My grandma used to say that it is important to flatten them so that they cook quicker and more evenly.
The meat: You can use a mixture of beef and pork or only pork. Pure beef meatballs are not typical for Romanian cooking.
No dried breadcrumbs: They are made with soaked bread or grated raw potatoes. If you would like to replace the bread in this recipe, grate about 2 small potatoes on the fine grater and add them to the mixture. The potato was used not only to add moisture to the meat mixture but also as a way of stretching the meat during the difficult communist times.
The onions are grated and not pre-cooked like you see in many other recipes. That is why it is important to grate or chop them very finely before adding them to the chiftele mixture.
Herbs: Fresh dill OR dried savory, either the one or the other, never combined. Dried savory is typical for Romanian cuisine but rather difficult to find outside Romania unless you have access to ethnic stores. It can be replaced with thyme; it is somewhat similar, although not the same. But the meatballs will still be delicious!
Flour coating: The patties have to be turned into flour before frying. The flour makes them slightly crusty.
How to make Romanian meatballs?
Step #1: Soak the bread and grate the onion and the garlic on the fine grater.
Step #2: Mix all the ingredients (except the flour and the oil) in a large bowl. Salt is important.
Step #3: Form them; they should be rather large, slightly elongated, and flat. Turn into the flour. Pat them carefully to remove the excess.
Step #4: Fry them in a cast-iron skillet or another thick-bottomed pan until deeply browned on both sides, about 3-4 minutes on the first side and 2-3 minutes on the second. Check they are cooked through.
- Place on kitchen towels to absorb the excess fat and keep warm while you fry the next batches.
Can you bake them?
- Yes. This way, you will use less oil, work less, and the house will not smell of fried foods.
- Place the Romanian meatballs on a baking sheet lined with baking paper spray them lightly with cooking oil. Bake in the preheated oven at 400°F/ 200°C for 25-35 minutes, turning and lightly spraying with oil at half time.
- Check if they are cooked through by cutting one in the middle.
Storage
- My grandmother used to make some extra every time, not only so that we could eat them on bread the next day but also to make chiftelute marinate, which are meatballs in tomato sauce.
- They keep well in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
- You can also freeze them for up to 3 months. Freeze them on a baking tray at first, so that they don't stick to each other. Once frozen, place in freezer bags or airtight containers. Let thaw in the fridge and reheat in the oven.
How to serve?
Make a full Romanian meal
Starter: Spinach Roll and white bread.
Main and side dishes: Romanian Meatballs with Garlic and Rosemary Mashed Potatoes and Garlic Green Beans.
Dessert: Cremeschnitte
Recipe
Romanian Meatballs - Chiftele Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground meat mixed pork and beef, 1 kg, Note 1
- 5.5 oz white bread 150 g
- 1 medium onion
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 4 large garlic cloves
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 4 eggs
- 2 tablespoons dill chopped, Note 2
- 2 tablespoons parsley chopped
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 3-4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3-4 tablespoons vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Soak bread: Tear the white bread into smaller chunks and let them soak in water until needed. Grate the onion and the garlic on the fine grater.5.5 oz white bread/ 150 g
- Combine: Place the ground meat into a large bowl. Squeeze the soaked bread very well and add it to the meat. Add grated onion, grated garlic, milk, oil, lightly beaten eggs, chopped dill, and parsley. Add the salt and pepper and mix very well with your hand. If you want to make sure that there is enough salt in the mixture, fry a very small meatball and taste it. Adjust the taste again accordingly.2 lbs ground meat/ 1 kg + 1 medium onion + 4 large garlic cloves + 3 tablespoons milk + 1 tablespoon vegetable oil + 4 eggs + 2 tablespoons dill + 2 tablespoons parsley + ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt + freshly ground black pepper
- Form the meatballs. They should be rather large, slightly elongated, and flat.
- Coat with flour: Place the flour onto a large plate and turn the meatballs into the flour. Pat them carefully to remove the excess flour.3-4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Fry meatballs: Heat about 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large cast-iron skillet or a non-stick pan, turn the heat to medium-low and fry the meatballs in batches, turning once, to brown on both sides. Add more oil between the batches, if necessary.3-4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- The cooking time depends on the size of the meatballs. They should be deeply browned and cooked through. I cooked mine about 3-4 minutes on the first side and a bit less on the second side. Check one meatball and adjust the cooking time accordingly. The fact that they are flat means they will cook a bit quicker than round meatballs of the same size.
- Serve: Place the fried meatballs on kitchen paper to absorb the excess fat and keep warm. Serve as suggested above.
Notes
- Ground meat: You can use a mixture of ground beef and pork or only ground pork.
- Herbs: You can use about 2 teaspoons of dried savory instead of fresh dill and parsley.
Sandu says
Close enough to my mom's recipe.
Adina says
Glad to hear it, Sandu.
Alina says
How can you not love these meatballs? My grandma made them all the time, and I looove them with some mashed potatoes.
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop says
These meatballs look lovely!
allie says
These look so delicious Adina. I'm intrigued by the different shape and the fresh herbs. Grabbing my fork! XO
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
Meatballs are my husband's favourite! I have never thought of using dill in meat...now I can't wait to try it. These look so very juicy and tender.