Espetada (also known as espetinho, especially in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

) is the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

term used for the technique of cooking food on

skewers A skewer is a thin metal or wood stick used to hold pieces of food together. The word may sometimes be used as a metonym, to refer to the entire food item served on a skewer, as in "chicken skewers". Skewers are used while grilling or roasti ...

, and for the dishes prepared that way. Espetada is a traditional dish in

Portuguese cuisine The oldest known book on Portuguese cuisine, entitled ''Livro de Cozinha da Infanta D. Maria de Portugal'', from the 16th century, describes many popular dishes of meat, fish, poultry and others. ''Culinária Portuguesa'', by António-Maria De O ...

. In Portugal, espetadas can be prepared with different types of meat, as well as squid or fish, with

monkfish Members of the genus ''Lophius'', also sometimes called monkfish, fishing-frogs, frog-fish, and sea-devils, are various species of lophiid anglerfishes found in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. ''Lophius'' is known as the "monk" or "monkfish" ...

being commonly used. The most common are beef or pork, or a mixture of the two. More recently, turkey or chicken is used. Often pieces of bell pepper, onion, and

chouriço Chorizo (, from Spanish ; similar to but distinct from Portuguese ) is a type of pork cured meat originating from the Iberian Peninsula. In Europe, chorizo is a fermented, cured, smoked meat, which may be sliced and eaten without cooking, or ...

are placed between the meat pieces. Espatada is usually accompanied by white rice or potatoes, and salad. In

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

, beef on

bay laurel ''Laurus nobilis'' is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glabrous (smooth) leaves. It is in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region and is used as bay leaf for seasoning in cooking. I ...

skewers is a typical dish, with origins in the

Strait of Câmara de Lobos A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean chan ...

. The meat, after being cut into cubes and before being grilled, is seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic and bay leaf. It is then cooked over hot coals or wood chips.

Bolo do caco Bolo do caco is a circular Madeiran flatbread, shaped like a cake and thus called ''bolo'' (Portuguese for 'cake'). It is traditionally cooked on a ''caco'', a flat basalt stone slab. The bread is usually served with garlic butter, or eaten as ...

is usually eaten with it, or

milho frito Milho frito (''fried cornmeal'' in English) is a typical Madeira side dish made of cornmeal, finely sliced collard greens (although kale is a common substitute), water, garlic, lard and olive oil cooked slowly and cooled into forms. Similar to ...

, fried squares or triangles of firmly set polenta, to soak up the juices of the meat. The dish can be served on a skewer which hangs from a hook on a stand for presentation. File:Espetada.jpg, Grilling espetada at a Portuguese community day in Petersham File:Espetada,Boaventura-Sao Jorge - panoramio.jpg, Espetada before being cooked File:Zum Grill umgebautes Fass mit Espetada-Spießen.jpg, Cooking in

ember An ember, also called a hot coal, is a hot lump of smouldering solid fuel, typically glowing, composed of greatly heated wood, coal, or other carbon-based material. Embers (hot coals) can exist within, remain after, or sometimes precede, a ...

File:Espetada de vaca em Linda-a-Velha.jpg, Espetada after being cooked

References

Pork dishes Grilled skewers Madeiran cuisine Portuguese cuisine Brazilian cuisine Beef dishes {{portugal-cuisine-stub

See also

References