I’m all about appropriate technique when it comes to grilling and smoking. But there’s one thing that has been aggrevating me lately. It’s the idea of how to grill kabobs. Many people, including some TV celebreties, preach that you have to have one skewer full of veggies and one skewer full of the meat. The veggies would be cooked at a lower heat and the meat would be seared at a higher heat. Ok that makes sense. Sort of. However, it’s totally no fun. It defeats the entire purpose of the kabob. The kabob is all about the alternating meat and veggie. That’s part of the fun!
If I wanted a perfect steak with a side dish of grilled veggies, I would grill an entire steak and then have an indirect area of the grill for grilled veggies.
The history of the kabob dates back to the battle fields where swords were in every man’s hand. The meat was stacked up on the sword and roasted over a fire. That’s pretty cool. However, I’m sure I can grill a flat steak on a charcoal grill better than you can roast chunks of meat on a sword over a fire. That said, when you ask me about kabobs, I think about an alternating assortment of meats and veggies. The veggies tend to be a bit crisp as they are exposed to the high heat required to grill the meat. That’s ok. That’s the point of the modern kabob! It’s part of the experience.
So if you ask me how to appropriately grill a kabob, I’m going to say go ahead and alternate your veggies and your meat on a single skewer. Grill it all over medium high heat. Grill until the meat is at the appropriate temperature and then pull it off the grill. Who cares if the veggies are a bit crisp. That’s part of the fun!
