Hmmm.... I too have heard since forever that the three-meat mixture is the way to go, though the final oiling step is new to me. To check my memory, I just consulted what I could grab easily. That means:
1) Paul Kovi's book on Transylvanian food, which I tend not to like. Sure enough, he doesn't mention either baking soda or soda water. He is the only one, however, who expressly calls for all three meats.
2) Anisoara Stan's book on Romanian cooking from the mid-50s uses only baking soda (though I am surprised to see her calling for beef alone). The thing I hadn't recalled--and that both call for--is thyme.
3) Lesley Chamberlain's book on Eastern European cooking calls for baking soda only and a mixture of beef and pork.
4) Nicolae Klepper's book on Romanian food (which I think is uneven) calls for beef only (though in a footnote he acknowledges that mic can also be made from lamb, mutton, pork, or a combination of all of them). Klepper also uses baking soda only. He then takes a perfectly unexceptionable recipe and ruins it by adding hot red pepper (okay, maybe) AND paprika AND caraway. A veritable League of Nations!
I think it's time to take a trip out to Saravale again. They're friendly, they're Romanian, and they've got a wonderful selection of meats, sausages, and the like.
Saravale Meat Market & European Deli
5254 W Irving Park Rd
(between Laramie Ave & Lockwood Ave)
Chicago, IL 60641
(773) 685-5126
Gypsy Boy
"I am not a glutton--I am an explorer of food." (Erma Bombeck)