Day 9: Now for a European Skewer
Day 9 of the World Cup of BBQ jumps us back to Europe for another skewer cook. This time from Portugal, with this Espetada dish being a speciality of Madeira.
No matter which country skewers / kebabs are cooked from, it is such a simple process that packs tonnes of flavour. Such low effort for great tasting food.
Preparation and the Cook
Once again, this cook started with marinating the beef with all the other ingredients before the actual cook. I used Sirloin for this cook. Many of the recipes I looked at use Fillet, but Sirloin is my preferred cut.
My default grill is the Aldi Kamado at present – I really do need to start using my others more. After lighting and bringing it up to the right temperature to cook on I skewered the Beef (and Bay Leaves). Once the BBQ was up to temperature I cooked the beef for 8 minutes, turning every 2 minutes. The meat came off medium so depending how well-done you like your beef you may need to alter the cooking time.
As the Beef was cooking, I made the salad for the Espetada to sit on.
The Verdict
This was a cracking dish. I love the simplicity and the flavours, with the added bonus being the ease and speed to cook it. Another keeper!!
Espetada
Ingredients
- 500 g Sirloin Steak
- 6 Bay Leaves
- ½ Onion (finely chopped)
- 3 Garlic Cloves (crushed)
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
- 1 tsp Salt
Instructions
- Start by cutting your Sirloin Steak into cubes (aim for 3cm square) and place to one side.
- Mix together the Olive Oil, Red Wine Vinegar, Bay Leaves, Onion, Garlic and Salt in a bowl and then add the Sirloin. Place in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours.
- Remove the marinade from the fridge and skewer both the Sirloin cubes and Bay Leaves.
- To cook, get your BBQ to around 200°C and cook the Espetada direct for 8 minutes, turning every 2 minutes.
- Remove from the BBQ and let the Espetada rest for 3-4 minutes. I usually wrap the skewer in foil to keep it warm.
- I served this with a Portuguese Salad which went really nicely but you could serve this with rice or chips.
