Savory Beef Kabobs – One Night on Houston

The mind is strange; small triggers can recall memories from many years. In this specific case, a memory of myself and a friend having late-night kabobs in a Turkish restaurant on Houston Street. The smell of the smoke and meat, the taste of the bread, and the juiciness of the meat are almost overpowering.

My friend has since started and sold multiple startups, moved to the West Coast, and is now a highly placed person at one of the big tech companies, but I’ll still remember the kabobs.

These memories come flooding back to me as I stand at the meat counter looking at the various cuts of meat, and my wife is wondering if I’ve had a stroke. I think I’ll grab the chunk of sirloin and recreate the meal.

The key to this dish is to use good quality meat, not premium, and a marinade to tenderize, add flavor, and pump up the juiciness.

The marinade I use for these Beef Kabobs is savory with a hint of sweetness and made with pantry essentials – soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, pepper, and oil.

Tri tips and sirloin steak tips are the pointy ends of the rump and sirloin, respectively. They are ideal for kebabs because they have excellent beef flavor, hold up well in a cube shape, are juicy cuts, and are more economical.

I’ll serve this open face on a pita, with a beer on the side, and perhaps, tzatziki as an option.

Wikipedia defines a Kabob, (Kebab) as:

Kebab is roasted meat usually considered to originate from Persia (Iran) or Turkey. Many variants of kebab are popular worldwide, and the term means different things in different countries.

Kebabs consist of cut-up or ground meat, sometimes with vegetables and other accompaniments according to the specific recipe. Although kebabs are typically cooked on a skewer over a fire, some kebab dishes are oven-baked in a pan, or prepared as a stew such as tas kebab. The traditional meat for kebabs is most often lamb meat, but regional recipes may include beef, goat, chicken, and sometimes even fish

Steak on a stick

Juicy morsels of meat, charred veggies, and a glorious smokey taste

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Marinate 8 hours hrs

Course Main Course, Snack

Cuisine Global

Servings 12 Skewers

Calories 261 kcal

Equipment

• 12 Skewers Bambo, wood, Non heat conducting is preferred

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Skewers

• 2 lb Top Sirloin chunked to 1 1/2"
• 2 ea Bell Peppers Stop Light, (green, yellow, red), sliced to 1 1/2" strips
• 1 ea Onion Purple, sliced to 1 1/2": chunks
• 1 Box Mushrooms Small, washed

Marinade

• 1/2 cup Oil Neutral Flavor, veggie
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp Salt Kosher, of course
• 1 tsp Black Pepper fine grind
• 5 Cloves Garlic Peeled, Smashed
• 3 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 3 tbsp Soy Sauce
• 2 tsp Hot Sauce Optional

Instructions

 

• Combine your marinade ingredients in a large glass or plastic bowl (NO METAL) and stir to combine.
• Slice meat into the marinade bowl, stirring well to coat.
• Marinate beef in the refrigerate 4 to 8 hours, stirring a few times while marinating to make sure meat is evenly marinated.
• Soak bamboo or wooden skewers at least 30 min. After the meat is done marinating, slice veggies and skewer them with meat. (See Notes)
• Grill over med/high heat for about 8-10 minutes or until you've reached the desired doneness, rotating every 2-3 minutes for even grilling
• Remove kebobs from grill and let them rest at least 5 minutes before eating.

Notes

On Skewering. 

1. Don’t smush everything together tightly. Thread pretty loosely so some heat can get in between – this helps cook the vegetables more evenly.

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)

3. Add two pieces of veggies between each piece of beef—this makes the meat go further, so you get 12 big kabobs from 2lb of beef and a nice hit of veggies per serving.

On Veggies:

I’ve used peppers, red onion, and mushrooms here, but many other vegetables could be used!   (Thin sliced zucchini, chunks of eggplant, cherry tomatoes, the list is long.)

 

Nutrition

Calories: 261kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 17gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 45mgSodium: 309mgPotassium: 296mgFiber: 0.1gSugar: 0.4gVitamin A: 10IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 22mgIron: 1mg

Keyword Kabob, Shashlik, Skewer, Steak

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!