With the right marinade and some time on a hot griddle, a skewer can make for a simple and delicious meal. A tasty kebab is the cornerstone of many backyard cookouts, but chefs enrolled in an accredited online culinary academy can see the opportunities to prepare delicious ingredients that truly stand out. Here’s some inspiration to show why you should make a point of including skewers in your repertoire:
Skewer varieties
Tasty foods cooked on a piece of wood or metal have proven irresistible in a wide range of cultures. The most familiar skewered dish for many diners is shish kebab. Eater explained that this item, traditionally made with cubes of lamb, originated in the Mediterranean. As it migrated, it came to feature beef, veal or chicken as well as vegetables.
The Japanese dish yakitori evolved from the shish kebab and has since become popular across the U.S. Students in Texas culinary schools should stop by Skewers Shop in Dallas. There, you can enjoy chicken, pork, steak and tofu creations that are prepared sous vide before being seared on the grill. Diners can choose between flavors like a glaze of sweet soy sauce and sake, sea salt, a sun-dried chili and peppercorn rub, or curry.
Choose a cut of meat that stands up to heat for your skewer.Great meals on a stick
An exceptional skewer takes more than throwing some meat on a stick and putting it over a fire. With the right technique you can avoid drying the meat out over a high heat, and a little creativity will capture diners’ interest.
Bon Appetit offered some advice to ensure more flavorful results. When selecting a meat, opt for boneless cuts suited to braising such as pork or lamb shoulder, chicken thighs or beef short ribs. Consider cutting the meat into shapes other than cubes. For instance, you can cut beef into ribbons and create folds that hold in the marinade.
The choices of marinade and sauce make a huge difference as well. Eating Well provided a recipe for beef shish kebab that involves marinating steak in lemon juice, garlic, canola oil, allspice, cinnamon, salt and pepper. When the meat is done grilling, top it off with tahini sauce and serve it along with skewers of grilled vegetables.
For an adventurous take, Serious Eats gave directions for lemon-garlic chicken kebab with tomato and a basil chimichurri. The marinade consists of extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and zest, maple syrup, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. The chimichurri includes red wine vinegar, olive oil, basil, parsley, garlic, salt and black pepper.
Skewers make a fun and satisfying dinner. Use your online culinary arts certificate training to put a personal spin on this cookout favorite.
