Tired of the same old kebab? Why not give Beef For Kebab a try! They’ve got lots of different tasty products including: – ground wholesale beef – sirloin steaks – round steaks – tenderized pieces – flank steaks – chicken breast – boneless skinless breasts dices and cutlets – ribs, short ribs, meaty ribs, lean cuts

Beef Kebabs

Call them kabobs, kebabs, or shish kabobs. Either way, what’s a summer grill without them? Marinate sirloin chunks in soy sauce with garlic, ginger, and olive oil. Skewer with veggies and get to grilling!

How is it that two people can remember things so differently?

If you ask my mother she’ll say she’s only made beef kebabs a couple times in her life.

If you ask me, one of my favorite childhood memories is my mother’s kebabs (or kabobs), cooked over the little cast iron hibachi grill my parents had on the back porch.

My most vivid memory of them was the time I was recovering from pneumonia, hadn’t eaten anything for 3 weeks, and was allowed for the first time to sip some broth. And sip I did while the rest of the family ate beautiful, smoky, meaty, hearty, beefy kebabs.

It. Was. So. Unfair. I can still smell them now. There was nothing I wanted more in the world at that moment than those kebabs. Sigh.

Funny, the emotional ties we can have with food, isn’t it?

Video: How To Make Beef Kebabs

Beef Kebabs

How to Make Beef Kebabs

I love, really truly love beef kebabs.

Why? They’re fun, they’re on a stick.

You can make your own, just they way you want them (lots of mushrooms please). If you’ve marinated the meat properly (several hours or preferably overnight), they’re the most juicy wonderful morsels you could possibly eat.

5 Tips for the Best Beef Kebabs

A few tips that will help ensure your kebabs turn out well:

• Marinate the meat, the longer the better.
• Use double skewers to make them easier to turn.
• Use bamboo or wooden skewers so that the inside of the steak pieces stay nice and pink.
• Keep a little space between the items (more space than shown in the photo above, I sort of forgot that part when I did the batch pictured), so that the food grills versus steams.
• Most important, keep an eye on them! Do a finger test for doneness, or if the grill is too hot, tap the meat with the end of your tongs to see how much it is giving. The meat and veggies will continue to cook a little once you’ve taken them off the grill and they are resting, so keep that in mind.

The Best Marinade for Beef Kebabs

Key to this kebab recipe is marinating the beef chunks. This marinade is a mix of the following:

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Soy sauce
• Red wine vinegar
• Honey
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Black pepper

Marinate the beef for at least 30 minutes, several hours or overnight is even better.

What to Serve with Beef Kebabs

If you’re making these kebabs for a weeknight dinner, we’d serve them with a simple tossed green salad. If you’re putting together a whole spread for a backyard barbecue, go with the classics: potato salad, macaroni salad, or three bean salad.

What’s the Difference Between Kebabs and Shish Kabobs?

Kebabs refer to Middle Eastern dishes that contain grilled meat, which are sometimes placed on wooden skewers, but not always. Traditional kebabs can consist of either fish, lamb, or beef meat that are grilled on skewers with vegetables and/or fruit. They may also be grilled without skewers or prepared in a pan on the stove or in the oven. Pork versions are usually excluded due to religious reasons in Middle Eastern cooking. 

Shish kebab (or shishkabob) is the Americanized version of kebabs that are usually prepared on skewers and may include chicken, beef, fish, pork, and/or vegetables.

Tips for Marinating Kebabs

• Allow the meat to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, but for maximum flavor overnight is even better.
• You can adjust the marinade ingredients according to your personal tastes, e.g., add more or less garlic, use low-sodium soy sauce, substitute brown sugar or maple syrup for the honey, try balsamic or apple cider vinegar.

Veg and Fruit to Add to Kebabs

If a fruit or vegetable can be threaded onto a skewer it will probably “kebab”! For some items, like potatoes, you may want to par-cook them in advance so they will finish cooking along with the rest of your skewers.

• Zucchini
• Yellow squash
• Pineapple
• Tomatoes
• Corn on the cob segments
• Par-cooked new potatoes

Beef Kebabs

PREP TIME45 mins

COOK TIME15 mins

TOTAL TIME60 mins

SERVINGS4 to 6 servings

Using bamboo or wooden skewers instead of metal will help keep the steak from getting overcooked on the inside. Metal transfers heat, so it’s useful to use for chicken, or a meat that you want to cook all the way through, but not so useful for steak that you want done rare or medium rare.

Ingredients

Marinade Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Kebab Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds top sirloin steak, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 large bell pepper
• 1 to 2 medium red onions
• 1/2 to 1 pound button mushrooms

Method

1. Marinate the meat:Mix the marinade ingredients together in a bowl and add the meat. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, preferably several hours or even overnight. (Heck, I’ve kept the meat marinating for a couple days, still great.)
2. Soak skewers in water:Soak the wood or bamboo skewers in water for at least 30 minutes before grilling. This will help prevent them from completely burning up on the grill.
3. Thread the meat and veggies onto the skewers:Cut the vegetables into chunks roughly the width of the beef pieces. Taking care not to poke yourself, thread the meat and vegetables onto double bamboo skewers.One way to do this safely is to put the piece that you are trying to pierce on a cutting board, and then push the skewers through the piece to the board.Using double skewers will help you turn the kebabs on the grill. If you keep a little space between the pieces, they will grill more evenly.Paint the kebabs with some of the remaining marinade.
4. Grill on high, direct heat:Prepare your grill for high, direct heat. Grill for 8 to 10 minutes, depending on how hot your grill is, and how done you would like your meat, turning occasionally.
5. Let rest:Let the meat rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Steak Kebabs

Steak Kebabs are the one of the tastiest summertime dinners! These are layered with juicy tender pieces of flavorful, marinated beef and colorful quartet of tender veggies. An exciting recipe the whole family can agree on!

Steak Kebabs (Skewers) – A Must Try Steak Recipe!

These kebabs start with the most flavorful marinade mixture made with richly flavored ingredients like Worcestershire, soy sauce and bright red wine vinegar. And of course a generous amount of marinating time really allows the flavors to soak right into the beef and also help tenderize it.

Steak Kebab Recipe Video

Steak Kebabs

Steak Kebabs are the one of the tastiest summertime dinners! These are layered with juicy tender pieces of flavorful, marinated beef and colorful quartet of tender veggies. An exciting recipe the whole family can agree on!

The recipe itself is really easy to make, it just takes a bit of time to get everything threaded onto the skewers so grab a friend to make it go twice as fast.

You’ll love them for entertaining and cook outs. Just keep in mind they’ll go quick so you may want to do a double batch.

Ingredients Needed for the Marinade and Beef Skewers

• Olive oil
• Soy sauce
• Lemon juice
• Red wine vinegar
• Worcestershire sauce
• Honey
• Dijon
• Sirloin Steak
• Fresh veggies – mushrooms, bell pepper, red onion, and garlic
• Garlic powder

How to Make Steak Kebabs

• Make the marinade: in a mixing bowl whisk together olive oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire, honey, dijon, garlic and pepper.

• Add marinade to steak: place steak into a gallon size resealable bag, pour marinade over steak then seal bag while pressing out excess air and message marinade over steak.
• Rest in refrigerator: transfer to refrigerator and allow to marinate 3 – 6 hours.

• Preheat a grill over medium-high heat to about 425 degrees (partway through preheating clean grill grates if they aren’t already clean).
• Toss veggies with oil and seasoning: with veggies on cutting board, drizzle with oil and lightly toss to coat.
• Sprinkle veggies evenly with garlic powder and season with salt and pepper.

• To assemble kebabs: layer steak and veggies onto kebabs in desired order, work to fit 4 steak pieces onto each kebab.
• Cook kebabs on lightly oiled grill grates: brush grill grates lightly with oil.
• Place kebabs on grill and grill until center of steak registers about 140 – 145 degrees for medium doneness, turning kebabs occasionally, about 8 – 9 minutes.
• Serve warm.

Can I Use a Different Cut of Steak?

I recommend sticking with top sirlion or New York Strip since it’s more lean than some other steaks leaving you with nice uniform cubes and not a lot of excess fat. It has great flavor and comes out tender when marinated and properly cooked.

Don’t use petite sirloin steaks as they’re too thin and will cook too quickly.

Can I Cook these in the Oven?

Grilling will give you the best flavor but if you don’t happen to have a grill or weather wont permit, you can bake these on a foil lined baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray (or parchment paper) in a 425 degree oven. It should take about 10 – 13 minutes (safe internal steak temp is 145 degrees about a medium doneness).

Tips for the Best Steak Kebabs

• Note that your grill time may vary based on different factors including grill model, weather, distance from flames so just keep a close eye on them, steak is one of those things you definitely don’t want to overcook.
• Cut steak cubes as uniform in size as possible so they all cook even.
• Marinate steak at least 3 hours to allow flavors to soak into the beef a bit and don’t marinate steak more than 6 hours you don’t want mushy meat as the acidity in the marinade can start to break it down.
• If using wooden skewers be sure to soak in water which will prevent them from burning up. I recommend just throwing them in water when you put the beef in the fridge to marinate.
• Use up other veggies you might already have. Squash, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, or parboiled potatoes are good choices.
• Space the peppers apart a little if you don’t want them very crisp. This will allow more heat to circulate around them and they’ll cook faster.

Marinated Beef Kabobs

Colourful and juicy, these Beef Kabobs are made using marinated steak pieces to infuse with extra flavour and tenderise. I’ve used capsicum/peppers, red onion and mushroom here, but there’s a plethora of other vegetables that could be used!

I don’t know if it’s “normal” to marinate beef for kebabs, but the reason why I do it is because I reserve premium beef cuts for cooking as steaks or roasting to medium rare for special occasions. So I use better value beef cuts for kebabs and as a consequence, I’ve always marinated them to tenderise, add juiciness and a hint of flavour.

I don’t mean to talk down Beef Kabobs, because they are fabulously moorish, and if your budget stretches to using $50/kg beef fillet to make kebabs for a backyard barbie, I want your life!

THE BEEF KABOB MARINADE

The marinade I use for these Beef Kabobs is my everyday Steak Marinade. It’s savoury with a hint of sweet, and made with pantry essentials – soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, pepper and oil.

And yes, you read that right – soy sauce is in the marinade. No, it doesn’t make it taste Asian-y in the slightest! It’s basically the brine for the marinade, making it ultra juicy.

THE ART OF KABOB THREADING

Just kidding – it’s not an art at all!

There’s no science behind the order in which I thread the beef and vegetables onto the skewers. I always start it with every intention of making them look the same, but I lose focus very quickly. So as you can see below, my skewers are a hodgepodge of random order.

Having said that though, I do follow these Kabob-Threading-Rules:

1. Don’t smush everything together tightly. Thread pretty loosely so some heat can get in between – this helps cook the vegetables more evenly (rather than charred edges and crunchy raw in the middle);

2. Cut your veggies so they are the same size as the meat to encourage even cooking (sometimes I even trim the veggies after threading); and

3. Two pieces of veggies between each piece of beef – it just makes the beef go further so you get 8 big kabobs from 750g/1.5lb of beef, and a nice hit of veggies per serving.

Just to be clear, I totally made these rules up myself. In case it wasn’t obvious…

Hands down, the best way to cook Beef Kabobs is on the barbie. But of course, when I went to do just that for the video, I found that I was out of gas. So I had to try to cook them on the stove – but the skewers are too long for my skillets so I could only fit in 2 at a time on the diagonal.

They looked ridiculous.

But they were still just as tasty!!

PS I don’t know for certain if it’s kabobs or kebabs. I’ve seen skewered meats onTurkish/Lebanese restaurants as kebobs and when I think of kebabs, I think of Doner Kebabs. So I’ve gone with Kabob!

Marinated Beef Kabobs

 Prep: 15 mins

 Cook: 8 mins

 Total: 23 mins

 BBQ

Servings8

Tap or hover to scale

Recipe video above. Using a marinade infuses the beef with flavour as well as tenderising so you’ll have juicy steak pieces even if you opt for a more economical cut of beef. Use the reserved marinade to baste the kabobs as they cook for extra flavour! Buy the beef in a block so you can cut them into large cubes. Makes 8 skewers.

Ingredients

• ▢750g / 1.5 lb beef tri tips , sirloin steak tips or other steak cut, (Note 1)
• ▢3 capsicum / bell peppers (red, yellow green)
• ▢1 large red onion
• ▢16 small mushrooms , 3.25cm / 1.3″ wide

MARINADE:

• ▢1 tsp minced garlic (2 large garlic clove)
• ▢1 tsp onion powder (or sub with garlic powder)
• ▢2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce (Note 2)
• ▢2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• ▢2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• ▢1 tbsp vegetable oil (or other neutral flavoured oil)
• ▢1/4 tsp black pepper

COOKING:

• ▢16 flat metal skewers , 25 – 30cm / 10 – 12″ (Note 3)
• ▢Olive oil , for drizzling and cooking
• ▢Finely chopped parsley , garnish (optional)

Instructions

• Cut the beef into 3.25cm / 1.3″ wide cubes.
• Mix Marinade in a bowl. Add beef. Marinate for 1 – 24 hours, minimum 20 minutes.
• Cut capsicum and onion into 3.25cm / 1.3″ wide squares.
• Thread beef (reserve Marinade), vegetables and mushrooms on each skewer. I use 2 pieces of vegetables between each piece of beef. Thread loosely – don’t smush together tightly (helps even cooking).
• Brush kebabs lightly with Reserved Marinade (including vegetables), then drizzle with olive oil.
• Heat BBQ or large skillet over high heat. Add 1 tbsp oil, then when smoking, cook kebabs in batches for 2 minutes on each side until slightly charred (4 sides = 8 minutes in total), basting with Reserved Marinade as you go.
• Transfer to plate, cover loosely with foil and rest for 3 minutes before serving. Garnish with parsley if desired. See note for pictured Pink Dipping Sauce.

Recipe Notes:

1. Tri tips and sirloin steak tips are the pointy ends of rump and sirloin respectively. They are ideal for kebabs because they have great beef flavour, hold up well in a cube shape, are juicy cuts and are more economical than expensive steak cuts that I reserve for cooking as steaks.

In Australia, Tri Tips is part of the Curious Cuts economical range sold at Harris Farms – described as the best part of the rump, and I agree!

Sirloin steak tips are not sold in Australia, except by special order at butchers. The sirloin tips are kept attached for roasts. They are more common in the States – sometimes labelled as “flap meat”.

Alternative cuts: Use any other quick grilling cut of beef EXCEPT those that need to be sliced thinly against the grain to be tender to the bite (eg skirt, flank). Rump, sirloin/porterhouse/New York strip (same thing), economical fillets etc. Buy it in a block so you can cut big cubes. 

2. Don’t worry, it won’t taste Asiany. Soy sauce is a brilliant brine to tenderise meat. Use all purpose or light soy sauce. Do not use dark or sweet soy sauce.

3. If using bamboo skewers and cooking on the grill, soak in water for 30 minutes before using and use 2 skewers per kebab, side by side about 1cm apart, so the meat doesn’t spin when you turn them (which is what happens if you use 1 skewer).

4. Pink Steak Sauce pictured in top photo is kind of like Yum Yum Sauce which is the sauce served at Japanese steakhouses in the States. The Kabobs are so juicy, it really isn’t required, but I know some people are big fans of Sauce! I used: 1/3 cup mayo, about 1 tbsp ketchup, dash of tabasco (or hot sauce) to taste, 2 – 3 tbsp milk (or water), 1/2 garlic clove minced, pinch of sugar. Mix, thin with milk as desired, and set aside for 10 minutes.