Mitmita

[Gerry D.]

Anyone ever use it in a rub? An Ethiopian friend of mine gave some and was telling to make a sauce out of it with water and scotch and dip raw beef into it. Can it have any use in bbq or would the flavors dissipate over the long cooking time?

 

[Steve Cutchen]

Well I had to look up mitmita on wikipedia:

Mitmita (Ge'ez: ???? m??m???) is a spicy powdered seasoning used in the Cuisine of Ethiopia. It is orange-red in color and contains ground African birdseye chili peppers, cardamom seed, cloves, salt[1], and occasionally other spices including, but not limited to, cinnamon, cumin, or ginger. It is used to season the raw beef dish kitfo and may also be sprinkled on ful (fava beans). Mitmita may also be presented as a condiment and sprinkled on other foods or spooned onto a piece of injera so food can be lightly dipped into it.

Based on Chris Baker's tests, I would expect the following after a BBQ
the pepper kinda depends... Bird's eye is a hot pepper, so I'd think at least the heat would make it.
the cardamon and ginger disappear
cumin would be a strong flavor
clove a medium flavor
cinnamon, a weak flavor

 

[K Kruger]

In most cases I think Baker is incorrect. African bird pepper is a hot pepper; it does not have much flavor but it does have substantial heat (I use it in Ethiopian berbere all the time). This holds.

Cardamom and ginger in no way 'disappear'.

Cumin stays strong.

Clove is not actually 'medium', imo; it changes - but this is what Baker often seems to miss: the flavor change. One needs to account for this and use it to one's advantage.

Cinnamon (unless he was testing cheap supermarket stuff) is far from a 'weak flavor' after cooking.

 

[Scooter B]

My wife and I have been doing a lot of playing with spice lately and I to can vouch what Kevin is saying.

I did a marinaded roast with a cracked pepper, cardamom rub and I was shocked at how strong the cardamom stays after cooked. Would be VERY easy to over season if you use fresh.

I also frequently use cumin, ginger and cinnamon and I can assure you they stick around. In fact we quite like our pork (butts/ribs) with a rub containing allspice, ginger, and cinnamon.