Steak Kabobs

An easy grilled steak kabob recipe that’s simply marinated in garlic, cumin, allspice, nutmeg, and pepper flakes for that bold flavor with extra heat. It is then skewered and grilled, evenly cooked to perfection. Savor!

It’s just SMOK’N HOT! Well, because obviously, I like it when I can personalize the flavor and add a punch of heat to my food. A spicy meat skewer like this grilled steak kabob is my expertise.😎 You know it gives me nostalgia every time I do this grilling just by smelling the smoke, oh man! I’m referring to an infamous local dish in Cameroon, which is called Suya (sharing this recipe with you as well because I care). It’s sort of the same but a tad different.

Do you know what I mean?… The aroma and bold taste of spices and herbs marrying flavors with meat and vegetables on the grill are heavenly! Can you smell it too?!

I will never get tired of this, so here we are with another great-tasting recipe using the simplest ingredients yet giving more flavorings for the best steak for kabobs. I bet this dish will be the highlight of your family-backyard BBQ.

Steak Kabobs

Kebab, in culinary terms, refers to any type of small chunks of meat cooked on a skewer. It is mainly associated with a diversity of meat dishes that originated in the medieval kitchens of Persia and Anatolia, which is in the Middle East. It is better known as gyros in North America.

What Steak Is Best For Kabobs?

• Check at the butchery – Talk with your friendly butcher about a recommended meat for kabobs. Don’t forget to relay the flavor profile you like, and be sure also to mention your preferred texture.
• Steak Marbling – Look for steaks that have a great deal of marbling and avoid any steaks that have large chunks of fat that cannot easily be trimmed away.
• Sirloin – The top sirloin is a cut from the loin that offers good flavor in a thick cut ideal for grilling, broiling, sautéeing, or pan-frying. Although it doesn’t have as much marbling as a ribeye or New York strip, it certainly has enough to provide good flavor for a steak. It’s also cheaper than other cuts of meat.
• Ribeye is a good choice as well. This variety is often used in marinating to make it tender. I also marinate meat to let it absorb more flavor.
• Filet mignon is usually presented as a round cut taken from the thinner end of a piece of tenderloin. It is often the most tender and lean cut. Due to the small amount of filet mignon able to be butchered from each animal, it is generally the most expensive cut of meat.

Recipe Ingredients

• Beef – Meat becomes more savory when it undergoes heat which is because of the Maillard reaction. See “Tips and Tricks” for more info below. 
• Onion – when it is grilled, you will get a mellow onion flavor. Its interior texture goes jammy instead of mushy, like white and yellow onions tend to do.
• Bell Peppers – they have a lightly sweet, charred flavor that’s a delicious addition to the grilled recipes.
• Garlic – tastes savory and has a powerful pungent flavor. Learn how to mince garlic here.
• Cumin – has a warm, earthy flavor and aroma with a bit of both sweetness and bitterness.
• Thyme – has a sharp, almost minty flavor. It is earthy with floral hints and is a little bit sweet and a little bit peppery. Learn more about it here.
• Oregano – is a bit more pungent, but both share an herby, peppery flavor and aroma.
• Nutmeg – is known for its warm, nutty flavor, making it the perfect addition to comforting sweet and savory dishes. Find out more about it Here.
• Allspice – tastes like a combination of clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
• Black Pepper – has a unique pungent taste and is both biting and hot to average and refined palettes alike. Know more about this spice here.
• Pepper Flakes – toasting the pepper flakes before using them will enhance the spice and amplify the heat.
• Soy Sauce – its taste is predominated by saltiness, followed by moderate umami, sweet taste, and slight bitterness.
• Extra-virgin olive oil – is more stable than canola, grapeseed, coconut, avocado, peanut, rice bran, sunflower, and refined olive oil.

How To Make Steak Kabobs

Prep

• Cube the beef and vegetables. Start by cutting your beef into cubes or chunks about 1 to 1½ inches squared. You do not want to cut them too thin. This might dry out the steak. Repeat this process with the vegetables, you want them to be the same size as the beef. Set aside. (Photos 1-2)
• Spice mix and basting. In a medium bowl, mix garlic, cumin, thyme, oregano, nutmeg, allspice, black pepper, pepper flakes, soy sauce, and olive oil. Reserve about a tablespoon for basting. (Photos 3-4)
• Marinate the beef and vegetables. Add beef to the mixture; thoroughly mix. add parsley to the marinated steak. Do the same for the vegetables. Let it marinate for about 30 minutes or more. It is best when your beef has as much flavor as possible before grilling. (Photos 5-6)

Skewering and Grilling

• Preheat the griller. Heat the grill to medium-high heat. If using a grill pan, lightly spray or oil to prevent the beef from sticking to the pan.
• Skewer beef and vegetables. Thread the steak onto the skewers about 3-4 per skewers, alternating with vegetables, if desired. Make sure the front of the skewer is fully covered with steak. Also, feel free to use two skewers. It helps when turning the beef to grill all sides. (Photos 7-8)
• Check the meat doneness. Cook steak for about 4-5 minutes per side, or until the desired temperature has been reached, basting frequently with reserved marinade. If cooking for a crowd it is best to grill until the center of the steak registers about 140℉ – 145℉ for medium doneness. Serve warm with couscous or a salad.

Alternative Ingredients

• Mushrooms – its umami flavor becomes bolder when it is grilled, and it also has a meaty texture.
• Zucchini – a vitamin-rich vegetable that tastes special with the addition of some smoke and flavor from the grill. Cooked zucchini is particularly high in vitamin A.
• Tomatoes – roasting tomatoes brings out some of the greatest flavors but also actually makes them healthier for you. Here’s how I cut tomatoes.
• Other meat – kabob is not limited to beef. That’s why you can use other kinds of meat like chicken, lamb, and even fish in making it. It’s a flexible dish that I paired with my best-tasting beef kabob marinade.
• Vegetable oil – vegetable fats are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Use this as a substitute oil. Plus, it’s a lot cheaper than extra-virgin olive oil.

Tips and Tricks For The Best Steak Kabobs

• Uniform meat cut. Having uniformly cut steaks will allow evenly flavored meat from marinating and cooks evenly.
• Griller’s heat level. One zone needs to be hotter than the other. This will help you to switch around the kabobs easily from one heat zone to another. It will help cook the meat evenly and slowly.
• Rest it for a while. Allow your steak to rest, even for meats in kabobs. You need to let the steak rest for at least 5 minutes, so the residual heat cooks long enough to impart the most flavors and evenly distribute it in the steak.
• Time is essential. The more time you give into preparing the kabobs and grilling them, the better they will taste. When you give it enough time the flavors of the ingredient will marry well together, bringing you a whole delectable dish.
• Give it SPACE! Keep a little space between the meat pieces on the skewer as well as on the grill, this will help them cook evenly.
• Smother that steak. Baste the kabobs with the marinade as they cook (I set aside some of my marinades for basting). Doing this will infuse more flavor. into kabobs as they get cooked.

How Long Do You Cook Kabobs On The Grill?

• Choice meat. Regarding the choice of meat, I follow as they say a slice of tender meat needs to be cooked quickly in high heat! Because cooking it for a long time will dry up the meat causing it to toughen.
• Temperature check. You can use a food thermometer to check the doneness of meat: 145℉ for medium-cooked steak.
• The thickness of the meat. In this recipe, I cut the meat into 1 to 1½ inches thick cubes, and it took me just about 5 minutes to get the medium doneness that I like.

What Sides Go With Kabobs

It doesn’t only go well with a side dish like this simple Coconut Rice, but it can also be paired with salads such as Couscous Mango Corn Salad, Black Eyed Pea Salad, and this one of my childhood favorite dishes, African Fresh Corn Tamales.

More Meaty Recipes To Try

• Shish Kebob
• Pepper Steak
• Steak Tips
• Beef Trip and Beans