5 Grilling Tips for the Perfect Kebab
The key to great grilling is practice. Keep grilling all summer long, and beyond. You can grill just about anything. Veggies, fruits, corn on the cob, pizza, meat, fish…. you name it the grill can handle it. In the 30 plus years Jersey Coast Appliance has been serving the Jersey Shore we have learned a thing or two about grilling and its only right that we share. Here are some tips for perfect kebabs :
1. Choose the right skewers
You have two choices and both have their strengths and weaknesses. Metal skewers can withstand the heat of the grill and can be washed and reused, but they get very hot. If you’re planning to serve kebabs to guests directly from the grill, wood skewers are a good alternative. Wood skewers won’t burn your fingers, but they must be thrown away after one use and they char easily. Many cookbooks recommend soaking wood skewers in advance to keep them from scorching, but that doesn’t work very well: The heat of the grill usually dries out the wood quickly and the skewers burn anyway.
2. Use two skewers per kebab
Threading ingredients on two parallel skewers can be tricky to master, but this method ensures that the pieces lie flat and don’t spin when you turn the kebabs.
3. Cut ingredients into equal-size pieces
On the same skewer, put similar-size pieces of vegetables, meat and fish that cook at the same rate. Nothing’s worse than a kebab with dried-out shrimp and undercooked onions. If you’re using shellfish, like shrimp and scallops, cut the other ingredients to match their size, and be sure to skewer them with only quick-cooking vegetables.
4. Space out the ingredients on the skewer
It’s best to thread the pieces so they’re barely touching or have a little bit of space in between them. This allows the heat to circulate around the food so that everything cooks completely and evenly.
5. Add unexpected ingredients for extra flavor
Adding fresh, aromatic leaves can really liven up a kebab. Sage, basil and bay leaves are all fantastic. For maximum flavor, thread them so the leaves are next to a protein. Also consider pickled vegetables: peperoncini, pickled cauliflower and okra are all hardy enough to stand up to skewering and taste delicious when grilled.
One final Tip
Of course you’ll also need a quality grill to create memorable barbeques time and time again. At Jersey Coast Appliance in Toms River we carry a wide variety of different grill models and sizes from the top brands like Weber, DCS, Napoleon and Namath. These grills are engineered better and are built with better materials. They will last longer and more importantly – perform better. Consult with our staff about your grilling lifestyle to determine the type of grill that would best suit your needs.
