For a party or during a barbecue with friends, tasty and delicious dishes such as meat skewers cannot be missing. Easy to cook, you will delight in preparing them by alternating on a skewer many mixed pieces of meat with colored pieces of seasonal vegetables, to be flavored with sauces or aromas and to be cooked on the grill, in the oven or in a pan. To make these morsels even softer and more succulent, we will show you how to marinate them before cooking. Discover our recipes and various cooking methods to make excellent and inviting meat skewers! You are ready?
The marinade
Before cooking the meat and putting it on the skewers, it is good practice to marinate it for at least 1 hour, if not more, in a specially prepared emulsion. This procedure is used to make the pieces of meat softer and to enhance their taste and flavors. The marinade usually consists of a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, salt, black peppercorns and aromatic herbs such as rosemary, thyme, parsley, and bay or sage leaves. Depending on the recipe, the marinade can also be made with lemon juice and oil or with some sauce or alcoholic drink, such as beer and wine.
The marinade is perfect on all types of meat, from red to pork to white meats such as chicken breast or turkey breast. Making it is quite easy, just follow our advice. First of all, the marinade takes some time so it is good to prepare it in advance. In fact, the longer the meat remains marinating, the more the emulsion will make it even more tender.
To marinate, use a bowl (preferably made of glass, pyrex or porcelain), which is large enough to hold the pieces of meat inside the liquid. Put the container in the refrigerator with a lid and remove it at least a quarter of an hour before cooking. For the marinating time you have to adjust according to the hardness of the meat and the emulsion used. So, if the latter had alcohol or spicy spices as ingredients, it would be good not to let the meat rest for too long. In the case of small pieces of meat, just half an hour of marinating, if not less. On the contrary, for thicker pieces of meat, the rest time is from 6 to 12 hours.
As for the various types of marinade, we recommend you try a beer-based emulsion composed, indicatively, of 500 ml of dark beer, 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 2 minced garlic cloves, a pinch of coarse salt and a pinch of ground pepper. Alternatively, for a spicy marinade, you can use 1 small onion and 1 hot pepper, infused in 4 tablespoons of oil and as many of white wine vinegar, flavored with a pinch of salt, a pinch of black pepper and another of grated nutmeg.
How to cook meat skewers in a pan
The meat to be used for this delicious dish, perfect to be served with second courses of meat , can be of various types, for example chicken, beef, pork and turkey. The important thing is that it is cut into chunks, possibly of the same size to have a more homogeneous cooking. Also with regard to the other ingredients that you will insert on the skewer, such as vegetables, bread or fruit, it is preferable that they have the same dimensions as the pieces of meat. This also applies when you decide to prepare meatball skewers, the size of which should not exceed that of the vegetables selected for the recipe.
To give the kebabs that touch of irresistible crispness, especially with cooking in a pan, we recommend coating the pieces of meat with a layer of breadcrumbs, consisting of breadcrumbs and flour. Then arrange them in a large pan so that they all come in length and brown them well in a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil flavored with 1 crushed garlic clove and 1 sprig of rosemary. Deglaze with a little white wine, cover with a lid and cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Remove the lid, season with salt and pepper and continue cooking until the skewers are ready, but be careful that they do not stick to the pan.
To be done in a pan. To make 6 portions you will need: 1 sausage; 150 g of chicken breast; 100 g pork loin; 50 g of bacon; ½ yellow pepper; ½ red pepper; ½ onion; 3 cherry tomatoes; 1 sprig of rosemary; 2 spoons of flour; 4 spoons of breadcrumbs; 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil; 1 lemon; 1 glass of white wine; 1 pinch of salt; 1 pinch of pepper; flour to taste
Start cutting the meat and bacon into regular pieces and then put them to marinate for 30 minutes in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of oil, lemon juice, rosemary, salt and pepper. In the meantime, wash all the vegetables and cut the peppers into small pieces, the tomatoes in half, and the onion into wedges. After the marinating time, pass the pieces of meat on the flour and, with your hands, put them on the wooden skewers alternating them with the pieces of vegetables. Do not throw away the marinade liquid as it will be used to sprinkle the skewers during cooking.
At this point, take one skewer at a time and bread it with the breadcrumbs. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large pan and lay the skewers on it. Brown them from all sides, blend them with wine and sprinkle them every now and then with the marinade dressing. Finally cook for 15 minutes and serve immediately with side dishes as desired. For a perfect match, we suggest a bean salad, asparagus with butter or sliced tomato flavored and flavored with basil leaves.
How to cook grilled meat skewers
Grilled meat skewers are typical of summer barbecues with friends and during weekend dinners. Another occasion to enjoy them is also the Sunday lunch with the family: even the children * will not be able to resist, especially if you will create imaginative mini skewers to compose using simple toothpicks in which to insert a piece of meat between two tasty squares of vegetables.
For grilling, the skewers of meat must be marinated at least 10 minutes before cooking. In the meantime, heat the grill on the stove or on the barbecue grill. When it reaches temperature, take the skewers from the marinade, drain them and transfer them to the grill. Cook them on both sides, brushing them occasionally with the marinade and, when cooked, place the skewers on a tray and serve them on the table with a good side dish.
Among the recipes and the different variations of this second dish to be grilled, we offer veal skewers with mushrooms and grilled courgettes. The following doses are indicative for 6 people.
Start immediately from the marinade and therefore equip yourself with 1 sprig of parsley to be chopped, 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt. Reduce 800 g of veal nut into regular pieces, dip them in a bowl with the prepared emulsion and let them flavor for 20 minutes.
Wash and peel 2 courgettes, 10 champignon mushrooms, 10 cherry tomatoes and some sage leaves. Then cut the vegetables and, after the marinating time of the meat, begin to compose the skewers, alternating the various ingredients and also alternating them with some sage leaves. When you are done put the skewers on the grill for 15 minutes, brush them with the marinating oil and turn them every so often to cook them evenly. Almost at the end of cooking, salt them, pepper them and remove them from the grill. Accompany your hot skewers with the worcester sauce and a pan of light baked potatoes and grilled peppers or grilled artichokes, depending on the season.
There are many ways to make meat skewers. For a buffet or a dinner with friends, you can indulge yourself in preparing various tastes, adding, for example, pieces of fruit, such as apples or pears, between a nut of meat and the other. Pieces of cheese such as scamorza or soft pecorino cheese and dried fruit, in particular plums or dates, are also perfect for skewering.
How to cook meat skewers in the oven
A simple and easy way to make skewers crispy is to cook them in the oven. For a good cooking, once placed on a well-oiled pan, first of all place them well apart and season them with salt, pepper and aromatic herbs to taste. Then you just have to cover them with aluminum foil and bake them for 25-30 minutes at a temperature of 180 °. Halfway through cooking, however, remember to turn them on the other side and wet them with an emulsion if you see that they are drying too much. Finally, a few minutes before turning off the oven, remove the aluminum foil.
With this method of cooking, it is possible to prepare delicate skewers of lamb, almonds and basil baked. Here is the procedure: with a mixer prepare a pesto with 250 g of peeled almonds, 1 clove of garlic, 8 basil leaves and 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and put the mixture in the refrigerator for half an hour.
At this point, take 500 g of lamb and divide the soft meat into many pieces to be marinated in a bowl with lemon juice, 3 tablespoons of oil and 5 juniper berries. Stir with your hands, cover and marinate for 1 hour in the refrigerator. Then take the pieces of lamb, drain them and put them in the long wooden sticks, interspersing them with cubes of stale bread. Arrange the skewers on an oiled baking tray, spread the almond pesto on top, then cover them with aluminum foil and bake at 180 degrees for 20 minutes. Arrived almost at the end of cooking, remove the wrapping and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, transfer them to a serving dish and accompany them on the table with small white rice bowls.
How to cook mixed meat skewers
Let’s now continue with a lively and colorful recipe of mixed skewers of meat and vegetables. To make them we chose both pork and chicken, to flavor and soften with a beer and paprika marinade. Here are the doses and ingredients for the emulsion: 300 ml of red beer; 1 tablespoon of tomato paste; 2 spoons of extra virgin olive oil; a pinch of brown sugar; 1 onion peeled and cut into wedges; a pinch of salt; the juice of 1 lemon.
And now let’s move on to the meat: then divide 2 sausages into eight pieces, cut 300 g of chicken breast into chunks and do the same with 500 g of pork and 200 g of bacon. Put all the pieces of meat, except the sausages, in the marinade bowl for 1 hour and sprinkle them with 1 tablespoon of smoked paprika. As for the vegetables, you will have to wash, dry and remove the seeds with 2 peppers (1 red and 1 yellow) and cut them first in layers and then in squares.
After the marinating time, take some wooden sticks and insert a piece of pork, a square of yellow pepper, a piece of chicken, a square of red pepper, a piece of sausage, a square of yellow pepper, a morsel of bacon and a square of red pepper. Place these tasty skewers on a hot grill and cook them for 20 minutes, sprinkling them during cooking with the marinade. Enjoy your meal!
How to cook soft meat skewers
There are simple tricks to make sure that the skewers of meat are not stringy or hard and that they are soft and delicate on the palate. The first tip is to prepare them yourself at home, preferring tender and quality meats, as well as choosing the right doses and ingredients for the marinade, such as those we recommended in the previous paragraphs. Another trick is to replace the wooden stick, which tends to burn during cooking, with the metal stick, specially designed for this type of preparation and available in any household shop. In addition, the cooking time must never be excessively long. But let’s move on to the facts, suggesting a few recipes of soft meat morsels.
Easy, fast and above all tender, they are the chicken skewers with curry and yogurt. To make them you will need: 800 g of chicken breast; 180 g of Greek yogurt; 1 spoonful of curry; 1 shallot; 1 clove of garlic; 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil; Salt and Pepper To Taste
First reduce the chicken breast into cubes and prepare a marinade with yogurt, garlic, finely sliced shallots, curry, a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper. Mix the ingredients well and immerse the pieces of chicken, then cover the bowl with cling film and leave to flavor for 2 hours. At this point, take out the pieces of chicken and place them in wooden or even better metal sticks. Transfer the skewers to a pan lined with parchment paper, brush them with a little marinade and cook them in a preheated oven at 200 ° for about 15 minutes. Done!
You may also like https://hippicks.co.uk/
