maleficent

Shish Kebabs

The basic recipe consists of equal parts chicken, meat, and/or seafood and vegetables and/or fruits. For vegetarian kebabs, just omit the meat and increase the vegetables.

Cut the meat a little larger than the veggies so it won't dry out.

Metal Skewers are best for kebobbing- soaking skewers is a paini the arse.

2 pounds boneless chicken, meat, and/or seafood, cut (except shrimp) into about 1 1/2-inch pieces

Chicken/Meat/Seafood Options:
Boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Pork tenderloin
Beef tenderloin or rib-eye steak
Lamb, boneless leg of lamb
Swordfish
Halibut
Tuna
Extra-large shrimp (21-25 count), peeled
Italian sausage (sweet or hot), steamed until fully cooked but not browned
Kielbasa
(any beef you choose, you want to make sure that you ARE NOt using stew meat, it's the right size, but will never get tender on the grill, and you'll end up with shoe leather)

2 pounds veggies and/or fruits, cut (except mushrooms) into about 1-inch chunks

Vegetable and Fruit Options:

White mushrooms, halved if large, left whole if small
Zucchini
Yellow squash
Eggplant
peppers (red, yellow, and/or green)
Avocado (slightly unripened otherwise it slides off the skewers)
Pineapples, pitted and cored (AWESOME with shrimp)
Peaches
Watermelon

Salt and pepper to taste

Choice of Sauces...

Thread (or let guests thread) ingredients on skewers, alternating a piece of chicken/meat/seafood with every 2 vegetable/fruit pieces making sure not to thread too tightly.

Grill til meat is cooked, basting with the one of the sauces below (the eggplant is the toughest too cook, so you might want to skewer that iwth slower cooking beef or chicken... everything else cooks fast so that's good with fishies)


Orange-Rosemary Paste
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs minced fresh rosemary
1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
2 teaspoons light or dark brown sugar

Jamaican Jerk-Style Paste
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs fresh thyme leaves
1 tbs dried oregano
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground allspice
3 tbs Dijon mustard
2 tsp thai chili sauce
1/2 cup frozen limeade concentrate, thawed

Asian-style Paste
2 tbs toasted sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
2 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp hot red pepper flakes
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup frozen pineapple juice concentrate, thawed

Moroccan-style Paste
2 tbs Olive oil
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 clove garlic, smashed and minced
1 tbs grated ginger
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup frozen limeade concentrate, thawed

To make flavoring pastes:
Heat oil and herbs and/or spices in a small (8-inch) skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat until herbs/spices start to sizzle.
Add remaining ingredients, bring to a simmer,
simmer until mixture reduces to a thick paste about 5 minutes.
Allow to cool

Brush the sauce onto the kabobs while cooking

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