Beef Espetada

Cut the beef (sirloin or a thick-cut chuck works best) into cubes of roughly 4×4 cm — this is the traditional size for Madeiran espetada.

Peel the garlic and crush it in a mortar with the coarse salt until you get a smooth paste; gently crush the bay leaves between your fingers to release their essential oils.

In a large bowl, combine the beef cubes with the garlic-salt paste, black pepper and olive oil; mix thoroughly by hand so the seasoning coats every piece evenly.

In authentic Madeiran style, the meat is NOT marinated for long: cook it right away, or within 15-20 minutes of seasoning at most, otherwise the salt will draw out all the juices and the meat will turn dry.

Thread the beef cubes onto metal skewers (traditionally, Madeirans use bay branches), alternating with whole bay leaves between the pieces of meat.

Light a grill or barbecue and let the charcoal burn down to fierce, glowing heat — the fire needs to be very intense.

Grill the skewers for 8-15 minutes over high heat, turning two or three times, until nicely charred and crusty on the outside and juicy and pink in the middle.

Remove the skewers from the heat, gently shake off any excess salt crust, let the meat rest for 5 minutes under foil, and serve hot straight off the skewers.