Author: Susanne at dishwithme.com
Photographer: Susanne at dishwithme.com
Have you ever had Shish Kabobs? Do you love them? Man, I sure do. Marinated in a sweet and savory teriyaki sauce, they are magical little sticks of goodness. Marinated meat and slightly charred veggies. Yum!
Shish Kabobs are something I have had my entire life. I loved them as a child and I love them still.
Shish Kabobs can be a little time consuming to assemble, but cook very, very quickly. Are they worth spending some time to assemble? You better believe it!
The ingredients listed are all optional, as are the amounts. If there is something that you love, add it on. If there is something you don’t like, leave it off. Basically, any kind of meat or veggie can be added to shish kabobs, just use your imagination. Some ideas for other goodies are, baby potatoes, yellow squash, any color bell pepper, possibly asparagus, cubed apples, cubed pears, shishito peppers, sweet peppers, pearl onions, pineapple, cherry tomatoes, etc.
HELPFUL HINTS FOR SHISH KABOBS
If desired, you can blanch/par-boil your veggies prior to adding them to the kabob. Blanching/par-boiling means to boil your veggies for a very short time. Bring water to a boil, toss in your veggies for 1 to 3 minutes and them drain them in a colander and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
Baby potatoes should probably be done for 3 to 5 minutes. The purpose of blanching your veggies is so they don’t have to cook as long on the grill. I’ve tried both ways many times when making kabobs. Honestly, I like them either way. I kind of prefer the veggies being sort of tender crisp. So, if you’re like me and don’t mind them tender crisp, then you can save the extra step of blanching.
I love the flavor that a charcoal grill adds to meats and veggies, but, if you have a gas grill that will work perfectly fine.
I have used, both, chunks of beef and strips of very thin beef (I find these thin strips at Walmart and they are pretty convenient).
Potatoes take longer to cook than most other ingredients that would be used on shish kabobs, so if you decide to use potatoes, it’s a good idea to blanche them first.
Beef and chicken will require a longer marinade time than shrimp.
You don’t have to use only one kind of meat, mix it up.
Also, you don’t have to make combination sticks where you alternate meat and veggies, you can make meat only sticks and veggie only sticks. Some people feel it is easier to cook things evenly when the ingredients are separated.
GROCERY LIST
- Beef, chicken or shrimp
- Mushrooms
- Red onion or Vidalia onion
- Zucchini or yellow squash
- Bell peppers – any color
- Cherry tomatoes
- Basically any kind of veggie or fruit you would like grilled with your choice of meat
- Ingredients for Teriyaki sauce. *See attached recipe, or follow the link under other recipes.
LINKS TO OTHER RECIPES
BANANA CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
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LINKS TO PRODUCTS USED
This is my exact grill, it’s even the same color.
Long grill tongs are pretty helpful when working with high heat.
If you cannot find Tamari at your local grocery store, you can find it here on Amazon.
Here are some metal skewers. I like the metal skewers more than the wooden ones because the wooden skewers sometimes splinter, even when soaked in water prior to use.
SHISH KABOBS
Equipment
- Metal or wooden sticks
- Grill
Ingredients
- 1 Recipe for Teriyaki Sauce/Marinade *see attached recipe or link
- 2 pounds Beef, chicken, or shrimp
- Mushrooms
- Bell pepper red, green, yellow, or orange
- Red onion or Vidalia onion
- Zucchini
Instructions
- PREPARING THE MEAT
- Make marinade. Save part of it for basting or dipping and put the rest into a bowl or a zippered bag. Set aside.
- Remove any fat from meat.
- Cut meat into cubes or into thin strips.
- Placed the prepared meat into the bowl or bag of marinade. Toss thoroughly to make sure all meat is covered. Cover and store in the refrigerator. Let marinade for desired amount of time. From 6 to 24 hours. Give the meat a toss every now and then to ensure all meat is soaking in that lovely marinade.
- ASSEMBLING THE KABOBS
- If you are using wooden sticks, instead of metal, be sure to soak them for about 30 minutes prior to assembly. This will help prevent them catching fire on the grill.
- Cut veggies into cubes, or slices. Onions and bell peppers will be cut into squares and squash will be cut into slices.
- Whether you par-boil your veggies before assembling the kabobs is completely up to you and your personal preference. Some people enjoy their veggies more cooked and some enjoy them more tender-crisp. So, if you prefer them softer, par-boil. If you like them with a little more crunch, leave them as is.
- Alternate the meat and veggies as you desire.
- Cook on a 400℉ grill for about 2 to 5 minutes per side, or until desired temperature is reached. They cook very quickly. Use long grilling tongs to turn kabobs.
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Whisk
- Saucepan
Ingredients
- 2 cups Water
- 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
- 1/2 cup Tamari Can substitute with soy sauce
- 4 Tablespoons Mirin
- 4 Tablespoons Toasted sesame oil
- 1 cup Dark brown sugar
- 4 cloves Fresh garlic grated, medium size cloves
- 1 1/2 inch Fresh ginger grated, about 3 tablespoons
Instructions
- Grate fresh garlic and fresh ginger. Set aside.
- In a glass or bowl, combine water and cornstarch. Stir or whisk until smooth.
- Place the water/cornstarch mixture along with the remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan.
- Bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat source.
- Store in a jar or bowl in the refrigerator.