Shish Kabob

Bring the Mediterranean to your own backyard with my tasty shish kabob! Skewers of tender meat marinated in traditional spices, paired with fresh veggies!

Get ready for an exotic backyard barbecue with a shish kabob feast you’ll remember! Our simple, flavorful, and tenderizing marinade yields some tasty meat sticks! So, fire up the grill for a night of Mediterranean celebration! The shish kabob origin dates from long ago in the middle east. As you might imagine the variations through that region as well as throughout the world are endless.

The great thing about shish kabobs is that you can conjure up all sorts of meat and veggie combinations. And why not throw a little fruit on the skewer every now and then? Like shish kabob shrimp with pineapple… good stuff!

And hey, if the weather’s not so peachy, make up a shish kabob in oven feast, using a grill pan. Hunger necessitates resourcefulness!

I like to go another kabob route occasionally with my Indian spiced beef kabobs. Amazingly, you can go exotic without even leaving the house! Another super versatile dish is my grilled cilantro lime chicken.

You can treat it as a main dish and serve with rice or pasta, slice it to top salads, or chop it up for taco filling. If you have time to do some meat smoking, I hope you’ll try my barbecue smoked ribs.

Let’s grill these!

What I Love Most About Beef Shish Kabob Recipe

First of all, I love to say shish kabob. I also love the rich spices in this recipe. It really needs no alteration. I think you’ll be pleased with the flavors, too. However, another great thing about kabobs is the almost limitless number of options you have for ingredients and marinade components.  

How to Make Shish Kabob?

Marinade Shish Kabob first: Mix together the first 6 ingredients, then place the meat and marinade in a ziplock bag. Place the bag in a bowl and put it in the fridge for at least 4 hours, (24 is best) –  turn periodically.

Get the grill going on high and toss the veggies with olive oil, salt, and pepper on it. Skewer the meat and shish kabob veggies, leaving a little space between each piece. Grill prepared shish kabob sticks, covered, for 1-2 minutes on each side.

That’s all there is to it! Eat them right off the stick or slide them onto a plate!

What Ingredients Do You Need To Make Shish Kabob Marinade?

If you decide to personalize a shish kabob marinade for the shish kabob meat, have at it! I’m all for creativity. Just make sure that you have the necessary components to render tender meat – an acid, a fat, and of course, seasonings to add layers of flavor.

Having an acid is important to help the flavors in a marinade to penetrate the meat by breaking down its connective tissues, also allowing the meat to tenderize. Fat-soluble flavors are transferred to the meat by their fat components. Fat like olive oil, full-fat yogurt, and coconut milk act to retain moisture in meats.

Shish Kabob Serving Recommendations

• Greek opa dip is hummus dip and a Greek salad all in one! Serve it with your favorite Greek bread and this easy shish kabobs recipe and you’ll have everyone in the neighborhood beating down your door! Hope you like your neighbors!
• My tzatziki sauce is a nice, cool accompaniment to my shish kebab, but there are other options. For instance, a cucumber-yogurt sauce would definitely fit right in with this Mediterranean shish kabob recipe.
• But, the kabob side to beat all kabob sides is my tortellini salad. This salad is really more than a side, it is sooo delicious and filled with bold flavors that perfectly match my Shish Kabob. f you want to go a little lighter with a side, try my Mediterranean salad. It’s super quick to make and has a scrumptious vinaigrette. Or, for a sweet alternative, try our Grape Salad. It’s full of grapes, but that’s not all! Grapes are loaded with fiber, antioxidants, and other nutrients. And, let your imagination run wild with your choice from the multitude of grapes in the world!
• Go for Crunchy: Another sweet and creamy Southern side to make your meal multicultural is my KFC coleslaw. It’s not my mission to claim this salad as all my own. Hence, I kept its namesake, but you really can’t tell the difference between my dressing and the original. Just sayin’.
• Go Classic: Keep it simple with our classic macaroni salad! It’s a real go-to if you’re looking for a super creamy and tangy cold pasta salad.

Recipe Notes for Steak Kabobs:

• Marinating time: With meats a 24-hour marinade time is best, but 4 hours often is adequate. The proper marinating times is a debatable/controversial topic, that said – you gotta trust someone.
• Skewer design spoiler alert: Although kabobs are much more attractive when you mix in multi-colored veggies with the meat on the skewers (like I generally do!!!), the cooking times for each vary, reality is one or the others not gonna be happy. That said, a lot of people suggest putting the vegetables and the meat onto their own individual skewers so as to control the cooking time for each.
• Bamboo skewers: If you’re using bamboo skewers, remember to soak them for a few hours before you thread them. Alternatively, if you don’t want to mess with the extra step of soaking you can always invest in reusable metal skewers. I like these flat-style skewers (they come in 12 inches or 17-inch lengths) because they help to prevent the meat from rotating as you flip the skewers. I think they’re amazing!)

How To Cook Shish Kabobs In The Oven

Here’s How:

1. 1. Marinade beef cubes per recipe. Soak bamboo skewers in water. Be sure to submerge them and hold them underwater. I fill a 9×13 baking dish with water, add the skewers, then place a few salad plates on top of them to weigh them down.
   2. Line a large-rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
   3. Thirty minutes before you plan to cook the kabobs, preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
   4. As the oven heats, assemble the skewers.
   5. Place the assembled skewers on the baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven, making sure to flip the kabobs halfway through, until the beef is lightly browned on the outside and just lightly pink in the very center.

How to Store and Make Ahead

Storing + Freezing Tips

• How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for 3-4 days.
• Can You Freeze This? Yes, without the veggies, this can last in the freezer for 2-3 months.
• Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.

More Yummy Grilled Recipes

• Chicken Gyro
• Grilled Chicken Marinade
• Greek Chicken
• Huli Huli Chicken
• Amazing Grilled Beer Brats

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Shish Kabob

This has been our Shish Kabob recipe for decades! The easy marinade makes the beef tender and super flavorful. You'll love these.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time5 minutes mins

Total Time35 minutes mins

Servings: 4 Servings

Author: Kathleen

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds steak cut into 1 1/2 inch square cubes x 1/2 thick
• 1/2 red onion sliced
• 1 bell pepper sliced
• 1 zucchini sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

• Make the marinade by mixing the first six ingredients in a small bowl until well combined. Pour the marinade into a resealable 1-gallon ziplock bag and add the meat, squeeze out excess air, and seal the bag well. Turn the bag over a few times to distribute the marinade evenly over the meat. Place the bag in a bowl in case it leaks and marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours minimum, ideally 24 hours, turning periodically.
• Heat the grill to high. In a medium bowl, toss the veggies with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season them with salt (1 teaspoon) and pepper (½ teaspoon).
• Thread meat and veggies on skewers, leaving a little space between each piece so the pieces cook more evenly.
• Lightly oil the grates of the grill. Place prepared skewers on a heated grill; cover grill and cook, turning skewers once, 1-2 minutes per side or to the desired doneness.

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Notes

1. Marinating time: With meats a 24-hour marinade time is best, but 4 hours often is adequate. The proper marinating times is a debatable/controversial topic, that said – you gotta trust someone.
2. Skewer design spoiler alert: Although kabobs are much more attractive when you mix in multi-colored veggies with the meat on the skewers (like I generally do!!!), the cooking times for each vary, reality is one or the others not gonna be happy. That said, a lot of people suggest putting the vegetables and the meat onto their own individual skewers so as to control the cooking time for each.
3. Bamboo skewers: If you’re using bamboo skewers, remember to soak them for a few hours before you thread them. Alternatively, if you don’t want to mess with the extra step of soaking you can always invest in reusable metal skewers. I like these flat-style skewers (they come in 12 inches or 17-inch lengths) because they help to prevent the meat from rotating as you flip the skewers. I think they’re amazing!)

© Gonna Want Seconds. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media/website/blog is strictly prohibited.

 

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