The Basics of Shish-Kabobs

@vivasuzi (4127)
United States
June 6, 2012 11:31am CST
I want to make shish kabobs this weekend and I have some questions. I'm not looking for marinade recipes (I'll get that from my dad), but I want to know the following. Meats: What meats do you recommend? What meats work well together? Veggies: What veggies are best for Shish-kabob. I want a variety of as many veggies as I can fit on that stick! Fruits: I want to shish-kabob fruit too, I think that would be awesome. What fruits work best for shish-kabob? How do you recommend cooking them? (i.e. what temp around should the grill be and how long?) Finally, would you put these things all on the same shish-kabob stick, or better to keep them separate? IE one meat stick, one veggie stick, one fruit stick. I'd probably keep the fruit separate regardless, but not sure if I should put meat and veggies on the same stick. I've helped my dad put these together years ago but I never made my OWN on my OWN grill! I know it's a lot of questions, just trying to get some of the basics!
1 response
petersum
@petersum (4522)
• United States
6 Jun 12
I find that mutton rather than lamb is best. It can be from goat or sheep. Chicken can also work as long as it is quite dry originally, although you miss the smoky taste from the fat burning on the grill. Vegetables should be hard, like onions, peppers, marrow or even cucumber slices. Avoid soggy things like tomato. Cook slowly and mix the meat and veggies on each stick. You may need to precook the meat a little first.
rawbutterfly
@rawbutterfly (4)
• United States
6 Jun 12
I have only used chicken, and it worked really well. The chicken cooked about as fast as red onions, red peppers, squash and zucchini. I used carrots and potatoes too, but I had to precook them till they were halfway done. Every grill is different but I set mine on low-med temperature. I cooked the kabobs for 5 minutes on each side. Then I check the chicken to make sure it's white all the way through. The first time you cook them, start with 3 minutes on each side before you check. You can always cook them longer; but if you overcook the chicken it's not as good. I've never grilled any fruit, but I would think pineapple would be really good.