Today I’m going to show you how to grill shish kebabs that turn out perfect. Meat and veggies on a stick; it is one of the best and easiest ways to grill. They are so easy to make, you just marinate some lamb, and alternate the meat with some colorful vegetables just as onions and peppers. It is a great looking and great tasting grilled meal.
Shish kebabs are normally made from a couple of different cuts of lamb; the shoulder or leg. I find that the leg has better flavor than the shoulder, and it is easier to cut. The downfall though is it is a bit chewier. The shoulder has more fat in it and will be moister and richer in flavor. Whichever type of lamb you go with, you will want to cut the meat into 1-inch pieces.
I really like grilling shish kebabs because they are so easy to make, and just have a ton of flavor. The majority of the work involved with making them is assembling them on the skewers. So, to make the shish kebabs you are going to want to start with about 1 ½ lbs of lamb. This should be enough to feed 4 people. Like I said before you will want to cut it up into 1-inch cubes.
Once the meat is cut, you will want to marinate it. You can marinate it in anything you want. There are tons of pre-made marinades, or you can come up with one of your own. This is the nice think about making shish kebabs; there are so many different flavors you could make by just using a different marinade. A lot of times I like to use just plain Italian dressing. I think it adds a great flavor to the kebabs. You will want to marinate the lamb for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
For my veggies, I’m going to use one large onion, a green bell pepper, and a red bell pepper. Feel free to change up the vegetables and add in what you like. Cut up the onion into 8 chunks, and cut the bell peppers into 1-inch squares.
Once the lamb is done marinating, it is time to assemble the shish kebabs. You will need 4 skewers. I use flat stainless steel skewers. Slide on a chuck of lamb onto each of the skewers, and then add the onion and peppers. Keep alternating with the lamb, onions, and peppers until the skewers are full.
Set up your gas or charcoal grill for direct grilling over high heat. One your shish kebabs are assembled put them on the grill over the heat. Sprinkle on a bit of salt and pepper. Also I like to baste the shish kebabs during grilling. I baste it with the marinade. I heat the marinade on the grill using a cast iron basting pot and brush. Grill the shish kebabs for about 2 to 3 minutes per side, basting throughout. Since they are cubed, there will be 4 sides to grill on. So, we are looking at a total grill time of about 8 to 12 minutes.
Once they are done transfer them to a platter, and slide the lamb and veggies off the skewers, and serve. That is how to grill shish kebabs that turn out great. Feel free to try out different veggies and marinades to make your shish kebabs really unique.
As I mentioned before, I use flat stainless steel skewers. The advantage of using flat skewers is that the meat and veggies won’t slip when you flip the skewers. Here are the skewers that I use.
image courtesy of kennejima/flickr