If you ask my mother she’ll say she’s only made beef kebabs a couple times in her life. If you ask me, one of my favorite childhood memories is my mother’s kebabs (or kabobs), cooked over the little cast iron hibachi grill my parents had on the back porch. My most vivid memory of them was the time I was recovering from pneumonia, hadn’t eaten anything for 3 weeks, and was allowed for the first time to sip some broth. And sip I did while the rest of the family ate beautiful, smoky, meaty, hearty, beefy kebabs. It. Was. So. Unfair. I can still smell them now. There was nothing I wanted more in the world at that moment than those kebabs. Sigh. Funny, the emotional ties we can have with food, isn’t it?
Video: How To Make Beef Kebabs
How to Make Beef Kebabs
I love, really truly love beef kebabs. Why? They’re fun, they’re on a stick. You can make your own, just they way you want them (lots of mushrooms please). If you’ve marinated the meat properly (several hours or preferably overnight), they’re the most juicy wonderful morsels you could possibly eat.
5 Tips for the Best Beef Kebabs
A few tips that will help ensure your kebabs turn out well:
Marinate the meat, the longer the better. Use double skewers to make them easier to turn. Use bamboo or wooden skewers so that the inside of the steak pieces stay nice and pink. Keep a little space between the items (more space than shown in the photo above, I sort of forgot that part when I did the batch pictured), so that the food grills versus steams. Most important, keep an eye on them! Do a finger test for doneness, or if the grill is too hot, tap the meat with the end of your tongs to see how much it is giving. The meat and veggies will continue to cook a little once you’ve taken them off the grill and they are resting, so keep that in mind.
The Best Marinade for Beef Kebabs
Key to this kebab recipe is marinating the beef chunks. This marinade is a mix of the following:
Extra-virgin olive oilSoy sauceRed wine vinegarHoneyGarlicGingerBlack pepper
Marinate the beef for at least 30 minutes, several hours or overnight is even better.
What to Serve with Beef Kebabs
If you’re making these kebabs for a weeknight dinner, we’d serve them with a simple tossed green salad. If you’re putting together a whole spread for a backyard barbecue, go with the classics: potato salad, macaroni salad, or three bean salad.
More Delicious Kebab Recipes to Try at Home!
Chicken and Pineapple Kabobs Smoky Paprika Shrimp Skewers Grilled Tuna Kebabs Greek Lemon Chicken Skewers with Tzatziki Sauce Grilled Skirt Steak Skewers
Shish kebab (or shishkabob) is the Americanized version of kebabs that are usually prepared on skewers and may include chicken, beef, fish, pork, and/or vegetables.
Tips for Marinating Kebabs
Allow the meat to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, but for maximum flavor overnight is even better.You can adjust the marinade ingredients according to your personal tastes, e.g., add more or less garlic, use low-sodium soy sauce, substitute brown sugar or maple syrup for the honey, try balsamic or apple cider vinegar.
Veg and Fruit to Add to Kebabs
If a fruit or vegetable can be threaded onto a skewer it will probably “kebab”! For some items, like potatoes, you may want to par-cook them in advance so they will finish cooking along with the rest of your skewers.
ZucchiniYellow squashPineappleTomatoesCorn on the cob segmentsPar-cooked new potatoes
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 1/3 cup soy sauce 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1/4 cup honey 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Kebab Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds top sirloin steak, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes 1 large bell pepper 1 to 2 medium red onions 1/2 to 1 pound button mushrooms
One way to do this safely is to put the piece that you are trying to pierce on a cutting board, and then push the skewers through the piece to the board. Using double skewers will help you turn the kebabs on the grill. If you keep a little space between the pieces, they will grill more evenly. Paint the kebabs with some of the remaining marinade.
