Frigărui

Origins and history

The word comes from the Romanian a frige, to roast; a frigare is a roasting spit. Roasting meat over a fire is as old as livestock farming, and in the Moldovan countryside families kept pigs, sheep, goats and chickens. According to moldova.travel, lamb is traditionally eaten at Easter and pork at Christmas, and every household has its own marinade recipe, often with wine. The skewers as they are grilled today have a lot in common with shashlik, which originates in the Caucasus and Central Asia. The same grill often holds mititei or mici as well, spicy minced-meat sausages that found their way to Moldova via Romania.

How it is made

Pork neck is the favourite because the marbled meat stays juicy; lamb shoulder is the alternative. The meat is cut into large chunks and marinated for at least a few hours, preferably overnight, with onion rings, salt, pepper, bay leaf and a splash of dry wine. It then goes onto metal skewers, sometimes alternating with onion or pepper. It is grilled over charcoal or glowing embers, without flames, and some people sprinkle the meat with marinade or wine along the way.

Where and how to try it

Frigărui belong to weekends outdoors, holidays and family gatherings, on a terrace, by a lake or in the Codru forest. Many restaurants with a terrace have a charcoal grill. They come with fresh bread, raw onion, a tomato and cucumber salad and often mujdei, the garlic sauce that goes with grilled pork. A glass of local red wine completes the picture.