History

Espetada began as a cattle-herders' and festival dish in the Madeiran interior, cooked on branches cut from the laurel woods that cover the island's slopes. The wooden skewer is not a garnish. Green laurel does not burn through, and its oils pass into the beef while it sits over the embers. Restaurants now hang the finished skewer from a metal stand at the table so the juices drip onto bolo do caco below. Câmara de Lobos and Estreito de Câmara de Lobos built their reputations on it, but every Funchal grill runs a version.

Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 25 minTotal 3 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 1.2kg beef topside or rump, cut into 4cm cubes
  • 6 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
  • 4 fresh bay leaves, torn
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 4 green bay-laurel branches, about 60cm, bark stripped at one end
  • 50g butter
  • Bolo do caco or crusty bread, to serve

Method

  1. Mix the crushed garlic, coarse salt, torn bay leaves and vinegar into a rough paste and rub it through the beef cubes in a bowl.
  2. Cover and leave at room temperature for 2 hours, or refrigerate for up to 6 hours and bring back to room temperature before cooking.
  3. Strip the bark from one end of each laurel branch and sharpen it to a point with a knife.
  4. Thread 6 to 8 cubes onto each branch, leaving a finger's gap between them so the heat gets all the way round.
  5. Build a wood fire and let it burn down to grey embers, roughly 15 minutes. The skewers cook over embers, never over flame.
  6. Lay the skewers across the grill and turn every 3 minutes for 12 to 15 minutes total, until the outside is dark and the centre is still pink.
  7. Melt the butter and brush it over the meat off the heat, then hang or rest the skewers for 3 minutes before serving over bread.

Tip from the editors. If you cannot get laurel branches, use metal skewers and add four extra bay leaves to the marinade rather than substituting rosemary.

Where to eat espetada

Espetada in Funchal

Casa das Espetadas ★ 4.1

Portuguese (grill)€€LidoFri-Tue 18:30-22:30, closed Wednesday and Thursday

Casa das Espetadas cooks Madeira's laurel-skewer espetada over wood in Funchal, with beef, chicken, tuna and pork versions off the same fire.

Signature: Espetada, Bolo do caco, Wood-oven plates

Order: Beef espetada on the bay-laurel skewer, hung at the table.

Tip: Closed Wednesday and Thursday, and the terrace runs folklore and fado on some evenings.

Estrada Monumental 175-177, 9000-100 Funchal

Casal da Penha ★ 4.4

Portuguese€€LidoMon-Sat 11:00-22:30, closed Sunday

Casal da Penha is a family-run Funchal restaurant just off the hotel strip, with a classic dining room, a Madeiran terrace and a grilled fish carte.

Signature: Espetada, Grilled codfish, Bolo do caco

Order: Espetada on the laurel skewer, or the grilled codfish that fills most tables here.

Tip: The terrace is the reason to come. Ask for it when you book rather than on arrival.

Beco da Ataíde 1, 9000-604 Funchal

Doca do Cavacas ★ 4.4

Seafood€€Ponta da CruzTue-Sun 10:00-23:30, closed Monday

Doca do Cavacas is built on the rock above the Ponta da Cruz sea pools in Funchal, serving grilled fish, shellfish and espetada by the water.

Order: Grilled fish of the day, with the natural pools below the terrace.

Why locals love it: Built on a rock above the Ponta da Cruz sea pools, well past where the promenade walkers stop.

Tip: Closed Mondays. Lunch on the terrace catches the sun over Praia Formosa.

Rua da Ponta da Cruz 66, 9000-250 Funchal

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