Traditional Shish Kebabs Recipes

TRADITIONAL SHISH KEBABS

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a small plastic or glass bowl, combine the marinade ingredients (olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt, cumin , grated ginger, and black pepper).
• In a resealable container (a large zip-top bag works best), place the lamb pieces with the marinade. Massage them to mix and seal bag. Refrigerate the meat in the marinade for 2 to 24 hours.
• Preheat the grill to high heat. Thread lamb, onion, and pepper pieces onto skewers-intermixing the pieces or making skewers of just meat and just vegetables (see Recipe Tip below).
• Place the kebabs on the hot grill and cook for about 8 to 10 minutes, uncovered. Starting at the 2-minute mark, turn the skewers to cook another side of the cubes. Do this every 2 minutes until all four sides of the cubes have been grilled. Cook longer if lamb chunks are larger than 1-inch.
• Once cooked to your desired doneness, remove the kebabs from the grill.
• Serve on or off of the skewers, with lemon and lime slices.

GREEK ISLAND CHICKEN SHISH KEBABS

Steps:

• Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, cumin, oregano, thyme, salt, and black pepper together in a large glass or ceramic bowl. Add the chicken and toss to evenly coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap; marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
• Soak wooden skewers in water for about 30 minutes before use.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat; lightly oil the grate.
• Remove the chicken from the marinade and shake off excess liquid. Discard the remaining marinade. Alternately thread pieces of the marinated chicken with pieces of bell pepper, onion, cherry tomatoes, and mushrooms onto the skewers.
• Cook the skewers on the preheated grill, turning frequently until nicely browned on all sides, and the chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 10 minutes.

INDIAN STYLE SHEEKH KABAB

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix ground lamb, onions, mint, cilantro, ginger paste, and chile paste. Season with cumin, coriander, paprika, cayenne, and salt. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Mold handfuls of the lamb mixture, about 1 cup, to form sausages around skewers. Make sure the meat is spread to an even thickness. Refrigerate until you are ready to grill.
• Preheat grill for high heat.
• Brush grate liberally with oil, and arrange kabobs on grill. Cook for 10 minutes, or until well done, turning as needed to brown evenly.

MOM'S BEEF SHISH KABOBS

Steps:

• Whisk the vegetable oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, black pepper, and salt together in a bowl; pour into a resealable plastic bag. Add the beef, coat with the marinade, squeeze out excess air, and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator 8 hours or overnight.
• Add the mushrooms to the bag, coat with the marinade, squeeze out excess air, and reseal the bag; marinate in the refrigerator another 8 hours.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil the grate.
• Remove the beef and mushrooms from the marinade, shaking off any excess liquid. Pour the marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 10 minutes; set aside for basting.
• Thread pieces of green bell pepper, beef, red bell pepper, mushroom, and onion onto metal skewers, repeating until all ingredients are skewered.
• Cook the skewers on the preheated grill, turning frequently and brushing generously with the reserved marinade until nicely browned on all sides and the meat is no longer pink in the center, about 15 minutes.

THE BEST SHISH KEBABS

Steps:

• Soak the skewers in water for at least 15 minutes and up to overnight. Pat them dry and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
• Whisk the vinegar, scallions, Dijon, garlic, sugar, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper in a medium bowl or large liquid measuring cup. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until emulsified.
• Put the beef pieces, bell peppers, onions and zucchini in a large resealable plastic bag. Reserve 1/4 cup marinade and pour the rest into the bag and seal. Toss the bag so the meat and vegetables are well coated. Marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours and up to overnight.
• Prepare a grill for medium-high heat.
• Thread the meat and vegetables onto a skewer in the following order: beef, zucchini, red pepper, yellow pepper and onion. Repeat the threading three more times, ending with a piece of beef (there should be 5 pieces of beef and 4 pieces of each vegetable on the skewer). Repeat with the remaining skewers and ingredients.
• Sprinkle the kebabs with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Grill at an angle, uncovered, until deep char marks form and the vegetables start to soften, 5 to 6 minutes. Flip the skewers and continue cooking until the beef has reached an internal temperature of 125 degrees F when measured with an instant-read thermometer, about 5 minutes.
• Remove from the grill and brush the kebabs with the reserved 1/4 cup marinade. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.