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Espetada (Portuguese Beef Skewers)‪

Big, juicy grill-seared chunks of beef served over thick slices of artisan bread. Espetada, or Portuguese Beef Skewers, is a recipe that calls for a party!

Tender, juicy grilled beef seasoned with garlic and bay, served over thick slices of crusty bread. Big, juicy grill-seared chunks of beef served over thick slices of artisan bread. Espetada, or Portuguese Beef Skewers, is the perfect summer party recipe. | www.CuriousCuisiniere.com

Big, juicy beef skewers

Espetada (ace-PAE-ta-da) is a dish originating from the island of Madeira. 

 

It traditionally consists of large chunks of beef that are rubbed with garlic and salt and skewered onto a bay laurel branches before being grilled over hot coals.

The bay branches infuse the meat with flavor as the skewers grill.

Since there aren’t a whole lot of bay laurel trees in Wisconsin, we decided to infuse the meat with the bay flavor through the marinade. 

How to serve espetada

It is common for the dish to be served with the skewer hung vertically from a hook, so the the juices can drip down onto a plate of thick-sliced crusty bread.

Likely, you don’t have a hook and skewer set up for your table, so serving these skewers atop thick, grilled slices of artisan bread is the next best thing. 

Tender, juicy grilled beef seasoned with garlic and bay, served over thick slices of crusty bread. Big, juicy grill-seared chunks of beef served over thick slices of artisan bread. Espetada, or Portuguese Beef Skewers, is the perfect summer party recipe. | www.CuriousCuisiniere.com

How to cook these beef kebabs

Cooking skewers can be tricky to get the perfect doneness of the meat. And even if you’re a master at other skewers, these are a bit different because the cubes of meat are so thick.

Our advice: treat them like a steak.

We use a medium high heat to get a good sear on the cubes. Then we cook them until they just start to feel firm.

Resting the skewers, covered, helps finish off the cooking slowly and stabalize the juices. 

The goal is to achieve a nice medium to medium rare color and juiciness in your meat.

A simple dish with big flavor

Even though this dish consists of a surprisingly small number of ingredients, the flavor is incredible!

Paired with some crusty bread, each bite of this party meal is summer heaven!

Tender, juicy grilled beef seasoned with garlic and bay, served over thick slices of crusty bread. Big, juicy grill-seared chunks of beef served over thick slices of artisan bread. Espetada, or Portuguese Beef Skewers, is the perfect summer party recipe. | www.CuriousCuisiniere.com

More Portuguese and Portuguese inspired recipes

Take a trip to Portugal with some of these recipes inspired by Portuguese flavors! 

 

 

Yield: 6 people

Espetada (Portuguese Beef Skewers)

Tender, juicy grilled beef seasoned with garlic and bay, served over thick slices of crusty bread. The perfect summer party recipe.

These big, juicy beef skewers are ready for a summer cookout party!

Letting the beef marinate for at least four hours is key to the incredible flavor of this dish. If possible, let the beef marinate overnight.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Marinade Time 4 hours
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbs beef sirloin, cubed into 2" chunks
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 12 bay leaves, crumbled
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/4 c Madeira wine
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 3 Roma tomatoes, halved
  • 2 green pepper, halved and seeded
  • 2 tsp salt

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, mix together minced garlic, crushed bay, and black pepper. Rub the beef chunks with the mixture and place them in a flat baking dish or ziploc bag.
  2. In another small bowl, mix together the Madeira wine and olive oil. Pour the wine mixture over the beef cube, making sure they are well coated. Place the beef in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
  3. When you are ready to cook your beef, preheat your grill to medium high heat. (You should be able to hold your hand over the cooking grate for approximately 5 seconds.)
  4. Place the beef chunks on soaked, sturdy, wooden skewers (or metal skewers if you have them), interspersed with the tomato and green pepper halves. Sprinkle the beef and vegetables with salt.
  5. Grill the meat for 3-5 minutes. Flip the skewers and grill for an additional 3-5 minutes, until the beef is just starting to become firm. Remove the skewers from the grill to a platter. Cover the skewers with aluminum foil and let them stand for 10 minutes before serving.
  6. Serve the skewers on a bed of crusty bread, drizzled with any juices that pooled in the platter as they rested.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1/6 of recipe

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 343

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DY

Thursday 11th of August 2022

My Family that still lives in Madeira, does not marinate the meat. They use good quality meat & have lots of chopped garlic broken up bay leaves, good quality rock salt "Kosher if possible"(hard to find in the states), dried red pepper broken in 1/2 (only if you want a kick) & Bay sticks ready. Just before grilling over bay wood, they, coat the meat with all of the above put the meat on the sticks nothing but the meat on the sticks & grill to medium rare. As soon as the meat comes off the grill the sticks are hit, enough for extra salt & leaves to fall off the meat, serve with crusty bread. NOTE: In the states I use regular kabob sticks & I put a few dried bay leafs in a throwaway aluminum pan under the kabobs while they cook, the smoke from the leaves will give the flavor of cooking them on bay wood.

Sarah Ozimek

Saturday 13th of August 2022

Thanks for sharing DY!

Terri/Love and Confections

Tuesday 11th of August 2015

These skewers look divine! I love the colors. Thank you for participating in the celebration. What a wonderful recipe for Isabel's birthday!

Sarah Ozimek

Tuesday 11th of August 2015

Thanks Terri, and thanks for hosting such a fun event!

theninjabaker

Saturday 8th of August 2015

Looks like you've master minded the perfect post for Isabel's birthday party, Sarah. Love the history behind your yummy dish, too =)

Sarah Ozimek

Monday 10th of August 2015

Thank you! We had fun deciding what to make!

Renee Dobbs

Thursday 6th of August 2015

"...each bite was summer heaven" - Yes! I can just imagine it and almost taste it by reading your post. I'll have to make this and see for myself.

Sarah Ozimek

Friday 7th of August 2015

Thanks Renee! You'll have to make it and let us know what you think!

Bobbi from Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen

Wednesday 5th of August 2015

Big, beefy, and ooohhh sssoooo goooood!

Sarah Ozimek

Thursday 6th of August 2015

Oh yes!! :)

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