Table-Side Skewer · Beef on Bay Laurel
Espetada Madeirense
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Traditionally the skewer isn't even metal — it's a fresh-cut bay laurel branch, which perfumes the beef with its oil as the meat cooks and rests.
Chunks of beef are seasoned with garlic, salt and bay laurel, threaded onto a laurel branch or long skewer, and grilled over open wood coals, often served hanging vertically above the table. Common at Madeira's street food stands and festas.
Why it's made this way: Madeira's mountainous terrain made cattle-raising labor-intensive and cattle relatively precious, so this simple, high-heat grilling method became the island's way to make the most of a valued cut of beef.
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Part of World of Street Food — 690 dishes from 118 countries.
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