Kebabs are a great way to get your meat and vegetable fixes all at once. Keep in mind though that meat, vegetables and fruit do not all cook at the same speed. Even different types of produce require different cook times.
A zucchini cooks differently than an onion, and chicken of course takes longer to cook than prawn. Our advice is to keep it simple and to use individual skewers for each type of kebab. Separating different meats, vegetables and fruits onto different skewers will cook things evenly.
A great kebab calls for a marinade. The goal is to get as much flavour as possible into your kebabs before they hit the grill. A mix of garlic, rosemary and olive oil does wonders for pork tenderloin kebabs, or you can wrap the meat in bacon. If you’re grilling seafood, a marinade of garlic, coriander, basil, paprika, lime juice, honey, salt, and olive oil is great.
You can use wooden skewers, but make sure to soak them first. Using rosemary sprigs as skewers is another fun idea. Make sure to soak your cedar wood plank before grilling, too. You’ll find the instructions on the packaging.
Kebabs are a beautiful addition to an al fresco meal, and the rosemary and cedar planking add beautiful flavour layers to the meat and vegetables.
Serve 2 or 3 skewers per person
- cedar planks for grilling
- skewers or fresh rosemary sprigs
- any meat or seafood you like, in even pieces
- onion chunks
- sweet bell pepper pieces
- pineapple chunks (optional)
- whole mushrooms
- cherry or grape tomatoes
- a marinade of choice
- salt and pepper
Step 1:
Soak cedar planks according to the directions on the package. Stick the assorted marinated meat, veggies or fruits on the skewers. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Step 2:
Place the prepared skewers on planks (3 or 4 to a plank.) Place the planks on hot side of grill, cover and allow to cook until your protein and veggies reach desired tenderness. They will be infused with the yummy cedar smoke flavour but keep an eye on them and make sure they’re not scorched to death.
Serving suggestions:
Kebabs are brilliant served with a light green summer salad, potato wedges, crusty bread rolls, rice pilaf or coconut rice. If you’re going for a Mediterranean theme, whip up an easy mint and cucumber yogurt dip to go with your meal. It’s delicious. Other sauces that go well with kebabs, depending on your choice of meat and veg, are garlic mayonnaise, peanut satay, and sweet chili.
