Six great kebab tips to keep you from getting skewered

Grilling food is obviously one of my favorite activities in the Food Shack. I think it just tastes better, but there is also an element of fun. And I can’t think of anything more fun than classic backyard kebabs.

Kebabs are like the slot machines of cooking, where various food items can be mixed and matched on a variety of skewers. Of course there’s the meat, cut into about 1-inch bite-sized portions, and the vegetables that give them fun coloring, texture and crunch. Hearty fruit such as pineapples and bananas are fine options that can deliver incredible flavors after being exposed to the grill’s high heat.

“The infinite options allow the stylist to make them any way they want to, and that adds that element of fun to it,” said Brian West, a veteran San Antonio chef and restaurant consultant.

Here are six tips to make kebabs the best way you can:

Skewers: The big question is whether to go with the wood or metal varieties, and there are positives to both. I prefer wood skewers because they hold the ingredients better and keep your food from spinning so much. But the metal ones generate a little more heat and can obviously be used more than once.

Wood skewers come in varying sizes from thin bamboo sticks to thicker options that could double as weapons. A good kebab hack is to use a pair of chopsticks; they are easy to find and inexpensive. The rule of thumb is to select the size of the skewer based on its proportion to what you plan to put on it.

When using wood skewers, it’s often recommended that you soak them in water in advance. This is sheer and utter nonsense that West calls a true sign of a rookie.

“The water that is in them will evaporate in seconds so, at best, it might give you an extra 10 seconds of protection,” he said.

There is a more practical way to protect wood skewers: Place a layer of aluminum foil on the grill that’s large enough for the skewer ends to hover over it for fire protection while the ingredients on them cook over the hot coals.

Veggie ingredients: They’re all on the table, but some standouts are in the top tier of kebab creation. Heartier vegetables such as mushrooms, small slices of corn on the cob, bell peppers, zucchini or other squash and chunks of tomato all work well.

But we need to talk a little bit about the onions. They are absolutely amazing on the grill but don’t play well with others on mixed kebabs because they require a longer cook time. Onions need from 15 to 20 minutes to properly soften up and everything else will be done in 10. So it’s better to skewer up the onions on their own and get them grilling ahead of the rest.

The meats: Steak is probably the most popular kebab ingredient, but this is a situation where leaner is better because the meat is cut into smaller cubes. Sirloin holds much better to the sticks than fattier ribeye or other higher-end cuts of beef.

For seafood — a highly underrated kebab ingredient — shrimp and large scallops are naturals. Heartier fish cuts like swordfish, salmon and tuna steaks work great. You just want to avoid the flakier fishes because they will fall off your skewer.

Pretty much all the major pork cuts are kebab players. For chicken, thigh meat works better than breast meat because it won’t get as dry under high heat.

But — and this is a big one — pork and chicken can cause problems because of possible contamination when not cooked to proper temperatures. You either need to place these meats on their own on skewers (the safest option), or pre-cook them enough that they hit the proper temperature with the rest of ingredients of the kebabs.

Assembly: Unless it’s seafood, each kebab should stick to one protein. You want to mix and match ingredients that have similar cook times. For example, you don’t want to put seafood that will be done in two minutes with a potato that needs 20. That’s about the only rule, because assembly is the fun part. Make them colorful, make them wonderful, and give them space so they don’t smash one another.

But here’s an added tip: kebabs will need to be flipped at least once while grilling, and sometimes those ingredients can roll on the single skewer like a carnival ride. When you can, piercing the ingredients with two skewers will prevent spinning and reduce the chances your tasty morsels can fall off.

It also helps to put anchoring ingredients that have more heft to them at the base and the top of your skewers. West likes to cap his off with a big, thick mushroom, and I’m a big fan of using slices of corn on the cob with the skewers pierced through the cob.

The grill setup: Whether charcoal or gas, go with an indirect setup with high heat on

one side and a cool side on the other and spray down the grates with a nonstick spray. Lay foil on the cool side to protect those skewers. Most kebabs need only about three minutes per side with the lid closed (my preferred method). But if you want to watch your creation transform in front of you, add a few more minutes.

Once you put the skewers on the grill, give them a good baste

with a quality liquid marinade, then reapply when it’s time to flip them. One of my favorites is called Dale’s Steak Seasoning, which works well with everything and can be found at H-E-B.

Again, the possibilities are endless, so get those sticks and and get cookin’.

Billy Calzada / Staff photographer Kebabs are ready to be removed from the grill. The aluminum sheet keeps the end of the skewer from getting too hot to handle.

Billy Calzada / Staff photographer Kebab skewers come in wood and metal, and various shapes and sizes.