Espetada
Madeira's iconic meat skewer — large cubes of beef sirloin marinated in garlic, bay leaf, sea salt and olive oil, threaded onto freshly-cut bay laurel branches and grilled directly over embers until smoky, juicy and perfumed with the laurel.
- Total
- 50 min
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Easy
Prep 20 min · Cook 30 min
Ingredients
Method
Combine beef cubes with garlic, coarse salt, pepper and olive oil. Mix thoroughly to coat. Marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes (or refrigerate up to 4 hours).
About 5 min
Thread beef cubes onto bay laurel branch skewers (or metal skewers) with bay leaves between each cube. The bay leaves perfume the meat as they char.
About 14 min
Grill over very hot charcoal embers or a gas grill at maximum heat for 8–10 minutes, turning every 2 minutes to char all sides. The exterior should be well-caramelised but the interior still pink and juicy.
About 14 min
Traditionally espetada is served by hanging the skewer from a special espetada hook at the table, letting the juices drip onto slices of bread underneath.
About 14 min
Pull meat off the skewer onto plates. Serve with bread, boiled potatoes and Madeiran wine. The simplicity is the point — only excellent beef, bay and sea salt.
About 3 min
Nutrition per serving (estimate)
- Calories
- 520
- Protein
- 48 g
- Carbs
- 5 g
- Fat
- 34 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
- Sugar
- 0 g
- Sodium
- 620 mg
Contains: gluten, dairy
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Recipe by Boon Tools.