Recipe - Steak and Vegi Kabobs

We had a big crowd for the 4th this year, which was a perfect opportunity to test out our new, extra-large grill by filling it up with Steak and Veggie Kabobs.  This is a favorite summer meal which can be easily adapted to each person's individual preferences.  It was a little early for our garden squash (so I had to buy it) and I totally forgot to skewer on the fresh pineapple and had to grill it separately (as you can see in the photo), but all in all the kabobs tasted so delicious served up with a huge pot of Dutch Oven Potatoes and Cheesy Garlic Bread.  For those who prefer chicken or turkey to beef on their kabobs (or if you'd like to do both), I have included my favorite marinade recipe for turkey/chicken at the end of the post.  This meal takes some planning and preparation, but I don't think you could serve anything this summer that your family, or guests, will appreciate more. 

Steak and Veggie Kabobs

Note:  Enlarge the recipe as much as needed for the number of people you are serving.  I had to increase the basic recipe by 4 times to make enough for my guests, so the ingredients will look like more than you will need.

2 pounds boneless Sirloin Steak or  London Broil (or most any other boneless cut of beef)

½ cup Soy Sauce
¼ cup Vinegar
3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1/4 cup shredded Onion
1 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
3 minced Garlic Cloves
Scant ½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup ketchup

-Get out everything you need to make the marinade.

-Peel and mince garlic and shred onion. 

-Measure the ingredients and whisk everything together well. 

-Cut steak into evenly sized square chunks.

-Pour over the meat, lifting the pieces so it goes underneath and surrounds and covers all the pieces well.

-Place in fridge in a tightly covered container overnight or from morning until evening--let marinate no more than 24 hours.

Note:  Sometimes I do the veggies on the same skewers as the meat, alternating the meat with mushrooms, onions, peppers, zucchini, yellow squash (if it’s summer), and fresh pineapple, and sometimes I separate everything onto different skewers for more even cooking.  Either way works fine, but the person at the grill has to be on their toes to get everything done at the same time.  The marinated chunks of meat cook quite quickly, so unless the grill is really full, the whole process doesn’t take very long.  I either use my metal skewers, or if I use wooden ones, I soak them for several hours before so the wood doesn’t burn on the grill.  Sometimes I steam the veggies very briefly before skewering them to give them a head start (and to keep them from cracking when I skewer them), then brush with an Italian-type salad dressing and any desired seasonings while cooking.

A second method, shown below, is to place the prepared vegetables in a large bowl and pour a homemade marinade over, and in that case I don't steam them ahead of time.  

-Prepare the vegetables by washing and cutting into generous sized chunks, but no so big they won't get done. 

Mix up the marinade for the veggies (see recipe below). 

Whisk up the marinade, pour it over the vegetables, and refrigerate--no more than a few hours.

About a half-hour before you are ready to grill, remove the meat from the fridge and drain off the marinade.  Discard it (the marinade I mean).

On either metal or wood skewers (if wood, soak in water 2 hours before), alternate the meat and vegetables OR do them separately if desired.

I forgot to add my pineapple to the skewers, but if you use pineapple, do not marinate them with the vegetables.  Either put them on plain, or press on some brown sugar first, which gives them a sweet, caramelized flavor (especially if you are grilling them on separate skewers, as I did). This is not shown in the photo, but you can read more about it HERE.

Place any leftover meat or vegetables onto additional skewers.  Turn frequently while cooking.

Marinade for Veggie Kabobs

2/3 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried or 1 Tablespoon Fresh Basil
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper

 

Mix together and pour over cleaned, cut vegetables.  The vegetables should be in quite large chunks as shown in the photo. 

Marinade for Chicken or Turkey Breast

½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup soy sauce
½ cup Worcestershire sauce

½ cup chicken broth
2 to 3 clove minced garlic cloves
2 cups just opened 7 up (not diet, no substitutes)

Mix up all ingredients well except the 7-up—use a whisk.  Add the 7-up last and stir into it—you don’t want to kill the carbonation.  Pour over chicken or turkey (2 pounds).

Marinate overnight or no more than 24 hours.