Kebabs are one of the tastiest summertime dinners! The most flavourful marinade mixture made with richly flavoured ingredients is all you need to enjoy a delicious summer meal.

Kebab, kebob or shish kebab? These three terms are often used interchangeably. There are a few differences, but at the end of the day, we all seem to know it refers to delicious grilled food. However, a kebab is a skewered meat dish that originated in the middle east. A shish kebab is a type of kebab originating in Turkey and meaning a skewer of roasted meat (often lamb) and vegetables. Kebob is a Western way of pronouncing kebab, and both refer to the delicious meal that is chunks of meat grilled on a skewer.

Meat & Veggies

As we have mentioned above, traditionally made with marinated lamb, the modern version of kebabs includes meat that ranges from beef to pork, chicken, and sausage. The meat generally gets marinated for up to a day ahead, both for flavour and tenderness. This is done before you put the meat on the skewers. You can use only meat, but vegetables add flavour, texture – and colour – to your dish. When it comes to veggies, choose the sturdy ones because they can stand the heat from the grill and won’t fall apart. Our suggestion: onions, mushrooms, zucchini, and bell peppers.

Marinade

The secret behind the kebab’s flavour: a marinade. Anything mildly acidic, like a vinaigrette, will help the meat get a very good taste, and it will bring tenderness to the meat. The best way to get full flavour is to add both your marinade and cubed meat to a plastic Ziploc bag. Remove most of the air before sealing and let the meat marinate for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator. However, marinating overnight is ideal to have better, more tender meat. Then remove your meat and skewer it onto a kebab.

Skewers

A little hint: meat and veggies actually cling to flat stainless steel skewers better than the bamboo ones. But there’s nothing wrong with using bamboos! However, if you do, make sure to soak them in room temperature water for at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes before you use them. This prevents them from splintering and from burning. Just keep in mind the weight, so that they don’t break.

Cooking

Cook the kebabs over high heat. Spray a light coat of cooking oil on the grill before cooking the kebabs to prevent sticking.

NOTE: If you feel like having kebabs during a busy week, don’t worry about putting them together. We have kebabs, ready to be grilled, at our locations.