A Different Kebab
Don’t put away the grill yet! Given my choice, I might well grill every day; we grill with charcoal as I adore the flavor it imparts. I loved grilled meats, vegetables, and even fruits. We recently served grilled pineapple and nectarines, which I had marinated in a mixture of melted butter and honey, to coat, and a little homemade vanilla (fresh vanilla beans and equal parts bourbon and rum which you let sit for a couple of months before using). Kate grilled them for about 5-10 minutes per side; and we served them with rainbow sherbet and homemade short bread – truly a perfect end to a great grilled dinner.
Kebabs are genius. Bite size pieces of lean meat and vegetables, which are easy to prepare, serve, and enjoy – even as leftovers. Traditionally, marinated pieces of meat or seafood and vegetables are skewed and roasted, with your guest serving themselves a skewer, of alternating meat and vegetables. There is certainly nothing wrong with this familiar kebab, however, I have found that preparing kebabs with a single item is actually a better alternative.
Tomatoes will roast faster than peppers, which will be done before the onions – and oddly there are those who do not like onions or mushrooms. Preparing separate skewers allows you to roast each item to perfection and permits your guest to serve themselves exactly what they like.
There is truth to the notion that roasting a mixed skewer does help to impart greater flavor, as the meat seasons the vegetables, but I have found that a good marinade makes up for this loss.
This is a dish which is only limited by your imagination.
Kebabs:
About ½ pound of meat or fish per person
1 small onion per person
½ bell pepper per person
1 medium tomato per person
1 small zucchini per person
½ cup of whole mushrooms per person
Directions:
Cut the meat and vegetables into uniform bite size pieces. If making single item skewers, proceed to thread the skewer with each item, and set aside, until all done; if making traditional kebabs thread the skewer alternating between meats and various vegetables. Keep meat and vegetables separated in different containers. You may want to marinade meats longer than vegetables.
Alternatively:
Hot peppers
Asparagus
Eggplant
Patti Pan Squash
Carrots (yes, roasted carrots become sweet and smoky – a delicious addition to a kebab dinner)
Marinade:
There are as many differed marinades as there are things to marinade; but this is a standard recipe.
¾ cup of acid – Normally, I use lemon or lime juice, but pork and chicken both do well with orange juice, I also like pineapple and cranberry juice and pomegranate syrup or juice, the acid can also be wine or beer.
¼ of oil of your choice, I tend to use olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Herbs and Spices – to taste
(This is where you will be creative and adaptive – if you would like a more Asian flavor think about adding powdered ginger to the marinade, for seafood crushed dill, a more Latin or Mediterranean flavor screams out for oregano, cumin, and marjoram, for French flavor think of thyme, and sage always enhances poultry – there are no limits)
Alternative:
Melted honey or jams are a wonderful addition to grilled foods. If I am making nice steaks, I will cover them in honey, garlic, salt, and pepper, and then have them soak in beer. This same concept can be adapted for grilling kebabs. For example, if you are roasting pork, you can marinated the cubes of meat in white wine, and then coat in melted apricot or peach jam, season them with garlic, salt, pepper, and ginger – add apples and peaches to the kebabs and sit back to enjoy the wow’s.
Directions:
Mix everything in a large bowl. Place prepared kebabs in a long, rectangular pan, and pour marinade over them, rotating to make sure all sides are coated. Cover and refrigerate at least three hours – up to twenty-four. If you have prepared vegetable and meat kebabs separately, then marinade separately, as you do not want to contaminate the raw vegetables with meat juices.
Take everything out of the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, before putting them on a very hot grill, cooking until a beautiful char appears – then enjoy!
