Search
Brazil
Argentina
Bolivia
Chile
Colombia
Ecuador
Guyana
French Guiana
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
Paraguay
Peru
Suriname
Uruguay
Venezuela
Germany
Austria
Belgium
Croatia
Denmark
Spain
Finland
France
Greece
the Netherlands
Hungary
Ireland
Iceland
Italy
Luxembourg
Norway
PolandPortugal
the United Kingdom
the Czech Republic
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
the United States
Mexico
the Dominican RepublicTurkey
South Africa
Australia
FijiFlavors · Madeira
Pieces of beef seasoned with garlic, coarse salt and bay leaf, skewered on laurel sticks and grilled over embers. It is one of the most emblematic dishes of Madeira’s traditional cuisine, present at festivals and gatherings.
Traditional dish from Madeira
Also known as: espetada madeirense, espetada à madeirense, espetada da Madeira
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
Click a photo to enlarge it.
Espetada em pau de louro — Madeira, Portugal
The Madeiran espetada is made with large cubes of beef, with some fat, rubbed with garlic, coarse salt and bay leaf. The pieces are threaded onto laurel sticks, a tree common on the island, and roasted over wood or charcoal embers. The bay leaf and the smoke give the meat its characteristic aroma.
Turismo da Madeira presents the espetada as one of the most emblematic dishes of the island’s traditional cuisine, and Turismo de Portugal calls it Madeira’s most traditional meat dish. The secret, both sources say, lies in simplicity: little more than the meat, garlic, bay leaf and embers.
In the past, because beef was expensive, espetada was eaten only by some families at religious festivals, pilgrimages and village fairs, often just with bread and wine, holding the skewer by hand. Over time it became a regular presence at any gathering and entered the restaurants of Madeira and Porto Santo. Often, the laurel skewers are replaced by iron skewers.
At the fairs, espetada is usually served with wine mixed with laranjada, a soft drink produced in Madeira since 1872, which softens the alcoholic content.
At the table, espetada is served with fried corn in cubes and bolo do caco, the island’s bread, with garlic butter. French fries and salad also appear.
Beef in cubes, garlic, coarse salt and bay leaf; laurel sticks as skewers.
Right after coming off the embers, removing the meat from the skewer at the table. It is accompanied by fried corn, bolo do caco with garlic butter, french fries or salad. At fairs, with wine and laranjada.
All year round; traditional at the fairs, pilgrimages and religious festivals of Madeira.
Your questions
Bay laurel is common on the island, and skewers made from it give the meat a distinctive aroma. Many households use iron skewers, but the laurel stick is the traditional form.
With fried corn in cubes and bolo do caco, the island’s bread, with garlic butter. French fries and salad are also common.
It used to be: because beef was expensive, it was eaten mainly at religious festivals, pilgrimages and fairs. It remains present at those gatherings and also in the island’s restaurants.
Flavors of Portugal
Stew of meats, sausages and vegetables cooked for hours in a pot buried next to the Furnas hot springs, using only the volcanic heat of the ground. A tradition from the island of São Miguel in the Azores.
Very moist sponge cake with an almost liquid center, eaten with a spoon. Made in Alfeizerão, in the municipality of Alcobaça, it is the region's best-known sweet according to Turismo de Portugal.
Suckling pig of one to one-and-a-half months, seasoned with garlic and pepper and roasted whole in a wood-fired oven until the skin becomes thin and crispy. Specialty of the Bairrada, centered in Mealhada, in the district of Aveiro.
Sweet of egg yolks and sugar syrup, served in painted wooden barrels or inside wafers shaped like sea motifs. It was the first Portuguese sweet with a protected geographical indication under European law.
Pudding of egg yolks, sugar and Port wine, with an unexpected ingredient: bacon. It was created in the 19th century by the abbot of Priscos, a parish of Braga, who was a banquet cook for the court.
Thick cut of Mirandesa-breed beef grilled over charcoal with only coarse salt. Turismo de Portugal identifies it as typical of the Miranda do Douro region, in the district of Bragança.
Meat from an old goat marinated in red wine with garlic and bay leaf and cooked for hours in a clay pot in a wood-fired oven. A dish from the mountain ranges of the Coimbra district, where Miranda do Corvo and Vila Nova de Poiares compete for the title of capital.
Half-moon of very thin pastry, baked in the oven, filled with a sweet made from egg yolks and almond. A convent sweet associated with the Mosteiro de Santa Clara, on the banks of the Mondego, in Coimbra.
Sweet made from egg yolks, milk, flour and cinnamon, baked in a clay dish until it cracks, served with Elvas plums in syrup. Eating sericaia with Elvas plums is one of Turismo de Portugal's recommendations for the city.
Almond paste sweet shaped like a loaf of bread, filled with egg sweet, chila and egg threads, served with marzipan olives. Created by the nuns of the Convento de Santa Helena do Calvário, in Évora.
Shellfish, fish or meat cooked in the copper two‑shell vessel that closes. Turismo de Portugal highlights clams in the cataplana among the traditional dishes of the Algarve.
Half-moon of puff pastry filled with egg sweet, almond and chila, brushed with sugar syrup. A legacy of the nuns of the former Convento de Santa Clara, now the seat of the Câmara de Guimarães.
Sweet made of egg threads, egg sweet, almond and cinnamon, wrapped in colored metallic paper. Tradition links its creation to the old Carmelite convent of Lagos, in the Algarve.
Leavened bread dough filled with ham, salpicón, meat in vinha-d'alhos or cod, baked in a wood-fired oven. It is the specialty that Turismo de Portugal recommends trying in Lamego.
Small sweet made of eggs, sugar and almond, cooked in a bain-marie, soft and glossy. Emblematic of Leiria’s confectionery, listed in the official catalogue of traditional products.
Pastry made with puff pastry filled with an egg-yolk, milk and sugar custard, eaten hot with cinnamon. Lisbon's official tourism presents it as the city's most emblematic sweet.
Fortified wine from the Madeira designation of origin, made from grapes grown on terraced vineyards on volcanic soil and aged with heat, either by estufagem or in casks. It has been exported for centuries.
Ginja liqueur, an acidic cherry from the region, served in small chocolate cups that are eaten afterwards. Tasting ginjinha in a chocolate cup is one of the things Turismo de Portugal recommends in Óbidos.
Sandwich made with sliced sandwich bread and meats, topped with melted cheese and bathed in a hot tomato-and-beer sauce. It originated in Porto in the 20th century and is a common sight in the city's cafés.
Veal tripe stew with cured meats, white beans and carrot, served with rice. It is a historic Porto dish and the reason people from Porto are called tripeiros.
Hearty bean soup with pork and beef cuts, sausages and vegetables, served with a stone at the bottom of the pot. It is a traditional specialty guaranteed by the European Union and associated with Almeirim, in the district of Santarém.
Strips of choco coated in flour and fried until golden, served with lemon and french fries. It is one of the dishes most associated with the city of Setúbal, where the City Council holds a gastronomic week dedicated to choco.
Fortified (liqueur) wine from Moscatel grapes, from the Setúbal designation of origin, with a demarcated region since 1907 in the municipalities of Setúbal, Palmela and Montijo and part of Sesimbra.
Small tart with a thin, crisp pastry filled with fresh cheese, egg yolks, sugar and cinnamon. The Câmara de Sintra presents it as the oldest sweet in the town's gastronomy.
Slices of egg yolks beaten for a long time, cooked in a bain-marie in a special pan and soaked in sugar syrup. A convent sweet from Tomar, traditionally linked to the Convento de Cristo.
Rice cooked with pork, beef and chicken, pork blood and spices, served with rojões and sausages. The Municipality of Ponte de Lima, in the district of Viana do Castelo, calls it the hallmark of its gastronomy.
Fortified wine from the Porto denomination of origin, made with grapes from the Douro and linked to the cellars (caves) of Vila Nova de Gaia, where law concentrated the trade of this wine in 1926.
Crescent of crisp puff pastry filled with minced veal. It has a protected geographical indication from the European Union, with production restricted to the municipality of Chaves, in the district of Vila Real.
Brazil
