Shish Ka-Blog

June 23, 2017

Summer is the season for grilling. Why not make an impressive array of shish kabobs? It’s actually easier than you think; here are some tips to get you started.

Start with a good marinade

Salad dressings, marinade kits and teriyaki sauce work great for marinating vegetables and meat. Try experimenting with different sauce combinations for a truly unique flavor – like a 50/50 mixture of teriyaki sauce and Italian dressing with a little bit of chopped garlic. For food safety precautions, marinate your vegetables and meat separate.

For best flavor, marinate animal protein for at least 8 hours before grilling – this will also help your protein from drying out. If you’re using tofu or plant based proteins, marinate for at least 2 hours before cooking, then continue to brush marinade over the plant-based protein every 10 minutes while grilling.

Salad Girl Dressings are one of our Minnesota-made favorite salad dressings. They have a variety of dressings that can be used as a marinade and can be found in our produce department.

Cooking kabobs evenly

People often worry about cooking their shish kabobs thoroughly and evenly. If you’re making kabobs with both vegetables and a protein on the same skewer, cut up the protein into bite size pieces so that they cook more evenly with the vegetables. The more uniform size your protein and vegetables are, the more evenly they should cook.

If appearance isn’t at the top of your priority list then skewer all of the protein on one skewer and all of the same vegetables on other skewers. That way you can cook each ingredient just how you like them.

If you’re using bamboo skewers, be sure to soak them for at least 30 minutes before grilling to prevent them from catching on fire. If you’re using metal skewers, spray them with non-stick cooking spray before adding your ingredients.

Once your skewers are ready, grill them for about 4 minutes on each side until they are finished. Spreading marinade on the meat for the first half of cooking will help them from burning the outside.

Have fun with it!

Picking a theme will make shopping for ingredients much easier. The best thing about a shish kabob is that you can add or exclude any ingredients to meet the preferences of you and your guests. Here are some ideas to get you started: