Kebab – Summer Delight on a Skewer

Kebab is such versatile dish that almost every region in the world has their own version. I had prepared Shish Kebab using small and larger pieces of beef, pork, lamb, chicken, rabbit, seafood and vegetable and even ground meat (lamb, pork, veal or beef) in a dish called Ćevapčići. Recipe for my version is here.

As usual, Wikipedia has detailed article on Kebabs from around the world.

Last week I have prepared 2 versions of Kebab.

First one was inspired by Chinese cuisine: all beef kebab with Char Siu sauce and fried rice with scapes, yellow beans and carrots. The kebab was grilled on BBQ on high heat, turned every 2 minutes for total of 5 minutes for medium done.

Second was more elaborate, a typical Western take on Shish Kebab. I have alternated slices of pork tenderloin, smoked & cooked bacon, onion, red pepper and yellow zucchini (squash). Each skewer had 5 pieces of meat and 4 of each other ingredients and was basted by hickory barbecue sauce. I grilled kebabs on direct medium low heat with BBQ lid closed, turning every 3 minutes for total 8 minutes. It was perfect: tender, juicy and right amount of heat and served on bed of shredded Napa cabbage with bowl of steamed rice.

One tip: I used flat bamboo skewers. These are absolutely ideal because they do not allow anything that is skewered to move or rotate. They are worth to look for. I bought mine in Dollar Store, really inexpensive. Also, I wrapped exposed end of bamboo in few wraps of aluminum foil to prevent burning. This way you can just wash and reuse them.