With an apology to my musical friends, I confess skewering kebobs reminds me of musical compositions: Variations on a theme in proteins, vegetables and fruit. As always, I let the local deals and seasonal ingredient dictate my “arrangement”. Top sirloin is on sale at a local grocer’s this week. I’ve got a fistful of button mushrooms begging to be used: Dinner is decided. I could write a novel about kebobs but I’ll spare you, sticking to beef kebob basics today.
I’ve always used well-soaked, flat-edged, bamboo skewers in the past. (The flat edges keep the ingredients from spinning when turning the kebobs.) My husband, however, received a “kebob rack and skewer” set for Father’s Day. My first reaction was “oh, no…more basement clutter”. But I used it for the first time today, and it really was quite handy. (Plus those metal skewers will be awesome for testing cakes!) Metal or soaked bamboo, the choice is yours.
To insure a tender “chew”, I always marinate my beef. The cut of meat will govern the marinate time. My simple recipe for top sirloin below (plus 16 hours of refrigeration) is fool-proof. I’ve also had great success with the Soy Vay line of marinades, available on most grocery shelves in town: Omit the first 7 ingredients and marinate beef in Soy Vay to cover.
For your meat and vegetables to finish cooking at the same time, you need to choose “sturdy” vegetables and cut them into uniform sizes. This helps when grilling them at the same time as the meat. Mushrooms, onions and peppers are always a safe bet. I was “bold” and used extra-large cherry tomatoes. One more minute on the grill, and they would have slipped through the grill grates. I,however, simply adore grilled tomatoes so monitored them carefully.
