Chef Dimitra
Aegean Island Katsiki sti Souvla (Κατσίκι στη Σούβλα)
Aegean Easter goat on the spit, lean and full-flavored, turned slowly over charcoal and basted with lemon, oregano, garlic, and good olive oil.
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Attiki Moscharisia Brizola sta Karvouna (Μοσχαρίσια Μπριζόλα στα Κάρβουνα)
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Attica's beef steak belongs to the hasapotaverna grill: thick-cut beef, fierce charcoal, no marinade, and a clean finish of oregano, lemon, salt, and olive oil.
Main Dishes
Greek
BBQ
Outdoor Dining
Dinner Party
15 min
Active Time
10 min cook•35 min total
Yield4 servings
Attiki moscharisia brizola is the beef steak of the hasapotaverna, the butcher-taverna of Athens and Piraeus, where the grill works harder than the menu. It is not a sauced dish. It is thick-cut beef over fierce coals, dressed only after the fire has done its work: salt, oregano, lemon, and good olive oil.
The one method that decides it is the rest. Greek cooks argue about lemon, oregano, and whether the potatoes should be fried twice, but the meat needs those quiet 8 minutes off the heat. Cut too soon and the juices leave the steak for the platter. Wait, and they settle back through the fibres, so every slice tastes of beef instead of apology.
I don't marinate this brizola. A marinade would move it toward something else, and this dish is plain on purpose. Your job is to buy a decent bone-in steak, dry it well, grill it hot, and finish it cleanly. The region is the dish's surname, and here that surname is the urban grill of Attica.
Brizola comes from the Italian braciola, a word that entered Greek food language through long contact with Venetian and Italian cooking, but the charcoal-grilled beef steak became especially visible in the butcher-tavernas of Athens and Piraeus in the 20th century. Older Greek meat cookery leaned more often on lamb, goat, and stewed beef; the thick grilled beef steak belongs to the urban grill house, where customers chose meat by the cut and ate it simply cooked over coals.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
bone-in beef rib steaks (moscharisies brizoles)
Quantity
4, about 350g each
3cm thick
fine sea salt
Quantity
12g
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
4g
extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil
Quantity
40ml
plus more for finishing
dried Greek oregano (rigani)
Quantity
2 teaspoons
rubbed between your fingers
lemons
Quantity
2
halved
flaky sea salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon
for finishing
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| bone-in beef rib steaks (moscharisies brizoles)3cm thick | 4, about 350g each |
| fine sea salt | 12g |
| freshly ground black pepper | 4g |
| extra virgin Koroneiki olive oilplus more for finishing | 40ml |
| dried Greek oregano (rigani)rubbed between your fingers | 2 teaspoons |
| lemonshalved | 2 |
| flaky sea saltfor finishing | 1 teaspoon |
Equipment Needed
- •charcoal grill with adjustable grate
- •long metal tongs
- •instant-read thermometer
- •warm metal taverna platter
Instructions
- 1
Salt the steaks
Pat the steaks very dry. Salt both sides with the fine sea salt and leave them uncovered at room temperature for 30 minutes while you light the coals. The surface must be dry before it meets the fire, or the steak steams first and browns late.
- 2
Prepare the fire
Build a fierce charcoal fire and let the coals turn gray at the edges while still throwing strong heat. Set the grill grate low, brush it clean, and oil it lightly. You want the hand-over-fire test to feel too hot after 2 seconds.
- 3
Oil and season
Rub the steaks with 40ml olive oil, then season with black pepper. Keep the oregano for the end. Burnt oregano turns bitter, and then no lemon can save it.
- 4
Grill hard
Lay the steaks over the hottest coals and grill for 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare, turning once. For medium, give them 4 to 5 minutes per side. The outside should be deeply browned with clean char at the fat edge, while the meat still springs under your finger.
If the fat flares, move the steak aside for a few seconds, then return it to the heat. A little flame kisses the meat. Too much flame tastes of soot. - 5
Rest and dress
Move the steaks to a warm platter and rest them for 8 minutes. This is the method that decides the dish: rest it off the heat so the juices settle through the meat instead of running across the board. Finish with flaky salt, rubbed oregano, lemon juice, and a thin thread of olive oil.
- 6
Serve at once
Serve the brizoles whole, with lemon halves on the plate and the resting juices spooned back over the meat. Add fried potatoes, a horiatiki without lettuce in summer, or bitter greens with lemon. Λίγα και καλά: beef, fire, oil, oregano, salt.
Chef Tips
- •Buy the steak thicker than you think, about 3cm. Thin beef over Greek coals goes from browned to tired before you can pour the wine.
- •Do not put oregano on before grilling. Rub it between your fingers and add it at the end, while the meat is glossy with oil and lemon.
- •If you don't have good beef, don't pretend the seasoning will fix it. Make lamb chops or beans that day. Sourcing wins.
Advance Preparation
- •Salt the steaks up to 8 hours ahead and refrigerate them uncovered; bring them out 45 minutes before grilling.
- •Cut the lemons and set out the oregano, flaky salt, and olive oil before the steaks hit the fire. Once grilled, they wait for no one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 240g)
Calories
705 calories
Total Fat
54 g
Saturated Fat
20 g
Trans Fat
2 g
Unsaturated Fat
32 g
Cholesterol
180 mg
Sodium
1500 mg
Total Carbohydrates
3 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
52 g
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