Shish Kabob with the best shish kabob marinade. This Middle Eastern kebab recipe has been in the family for so long, I've made it several times and I never failed to impress.
Next time try this kofta kebab recipe.
Shish Kabob or Kebab, skewers of beef and vegetables, are the most interesting grilled meat recipe for my family, and many others. Although it is easy to make, it needs to be done just right. Here is a foolproof recipe with tips and step-by-step tutorial to get perfectly cooked vegetables and meat every time.
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❤️ Why You'll Love It
- An easy meal that takes about 5 minutes to prep.
- Food on skewers has its own charm making everybody rush to the dinner table.
- Great for cookout, potluck, weekend or weeknight dinners.
- No grill?, no problem, I will give you oven instructions as well.
Shish kabob/kebab has been in the Middle East since ages, chunks of beef and veggie skewers that are usually cooked over a charcoal grill and served over a bed of rice or with pita bread, so delicious and eye catching.
📝 Ingredients
- Beef steak cut into 1 inch cubes, I like using sirloin but other cuts can be used too. Check out the FAQ section below for more on that.
- Lemon juice, vinegar, yellow mustard and yogurt. This mix is used to tenderize the meat especially if you are using economical beef cuts.
- Soy and Worcestershire sauces brings the savoriness and really enhances the beefy flavor regardless of the beef cut you are using.
- Oil helps the marinade flavor to penetrate the meat.
- Garlic, black pepper, cardamom and cinnamon are all a must in Middle Eastern kitchen.
🥄 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.
- In a large bowl or a zip lock bag, add the marinade ingredients and mix well. Take some of the marinade and put in a container, refrigerate.
- Add cubed meat to the container and mix everything well together.
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 12 hour.
- Take out the container that we reserved earlier, and pour it in another zip lock bag, mix in the veggies and marinate for 30 minutes to one hour.
- When ready to grill, thread meat in skewers then grill as directed below.
💡 Expert Tips
- Do use fresh garlic in this recipe: it really makes a huge difference and I would not recommend garlic powder.
- This is a yogurt based marinade as many of the Middle Eastern marinade, so do not be afraid of using yogurt and let it marinate all this time, it is really very good.
- Use a good olive oil if possible: I've tried it before with vegetable oil and I could taste a big difference. Oil is used as a flavor facilitator as the herbs used release their flavors best in oil.
- Give it enough time, let the beef marinate overnight when possible, sometimes I can get away with 4-5 hours depending on the beef cut.
- This recipe calls for a good amount of soy sauce, so really no need for salt. Use soy sauce as a flavor enhancer for more complex flavor.
- Marinate veggies separately and thread them on different skewers as cooking time is drastically different between veggies and meat, even between different kinds of veggies.
Shish Kabob In The Oven
- place two oven racks one in the middle and one near the top turn your broiler on high and broil meat skewers 3 minutes on each side. Please use metal skewers as bamboo might catch fire.
- Turn oven on 400F, Place the skewers on the middle of the oven and cook to desired doneness.
- With my oven I have noticed the following times :
- 8 minutes for medium rare, 13 for medium, 18 minutes for medium well and 28-35 minutes for well done. Make sure to re-arrange the skewers once in the middle of cooking so all the skewers be cooked the same.
🍽️ Serve With
Shish kabob side dishes
Kabobs are usually served with a plethora of dips and spreads along with Basmati rice, and sometime yellow rice. Tahini, baba ganoush and hummus are great choices and the most common to serve with kebabs in Egypt. Serve with a green salad or make this amazing Egyptian salad to go with any kabob you make. You might also try these Mediterranean roasted ( or grilled) vegetables.
❓Frequently Asked Questions
I used to be a fan of the beef tenderloin. It works great but the price is high, so if there is no deal on them, I leave it there. Now I mostly use sirloin, it is not as pricey as the tenderloin, more beefy and I can find it already cut.
Usually shish kabob is grilled on an outdoor grill. for oven, it is suggested that you broil the skewers for 4-5 minutes on high turning them once to the other side. For oven instructions please see the recipe below.
I highly advice you to do so. Two hours in the marinade is sufficient to achieve some flavor. But good 8 hours are best for the marinade to sink in. Marinating for 12 hour is even better.
🥣 Equipment
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- I like using metal skewers for my shish kabob they hold the chunks of meat better.
📣 Try These Kabob Recipes
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Beef Shish Kabob
Ingredients
- 4 lb beef steak cut into 1 inch cubes I use sirloin
For the marinade
- ¾ cup soy sauce
- ⅔ cup oil- preferably olive oil.
- ¼ cup plain yogurt.
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce.
- 2 Tablespoons white vinegar Note1
- ¼ cup lemon juice Note1
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
- 2 teaspoon freshly ground black peppers
- 2 teaspoon ground cardamom.
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
Veggies
- Sweet bell peppers you can also use green pepper or red bell peppers cut into chunks.
- onions I like using red onion but sweet or pearl onions work as well.
- 16 small mushroom caps
- Cherry tomatoes
Instructions
- Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a zip lock bag, take ½ to ¾ cup of the marinade and set aside.
- Add the cubed meat to the bag and coat well. Squeeze out excess air, and seal the bag then marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
- Add the veggies to the other bag with ½ to ¾ of the marinade and set aside for an hour.
- Thread meat pieces into metal or bamboo skewers, grill until cooked. For oven baked see notes section below.
- Thread veggies on separate skewers and grill.
Notes
- Just wanted to mention that one of the readers complained that the marinade was very acidic for them, so I suggest cutting back the lemon and vinegar by half and test the marinade yourself, if you feel it is not tangy enough then add the rest of the lemon and vinegar. I've tested this recipe in several occasions and never got any problem with it.
- Oven instructions:
- place two oven racks one in the middle and one near the top turn your broiler on high and broil meat skewers 3 minutes on each side. Please use metal skewers as bamboo might catch fire.
- Turn oven on 400F, Place the skewers on the middle of the oven and cook to desired doneness.
- With my oven I have noticed the following times :
- 8 minutes for medium rare, 13 for medium, 18 minutes for medium well and 28-35 minutes for well done. Make sure to re-arrange the skewers once in the middle of cooking so all the skewers be cooked the same.
- Please check the nutrition disclaimer policy.
Nutrition
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First published May, 2016 . Last updated Nov 21, 2022 with important tips, clear step by step instructions and readability.
Summer is all about grilling, right? keep burgers and hot dogs in the freezer for now and let's try some beef shish kabobs. We always end up with flavored, well balanced and tender beef skewers. The acidity in the marinade helps tenderize the meat perfectly.
I've prepared this on the grill and sometimes in the oven when it is snowing or raining out there, it is good either ways.
Andrea Ort
I have made this recipe several times and it is a family favorite! Thank you Amira!
Ben
Do you think this marinade could work well with pork, too?
Amira
Ben, I haven't tried that before but people have used this for lamb and it worked great.
Randa Tadros
I am surprised that there is soy sauce in the marinade. It is not a middle eastern ingredient. How did it become an old family recipe?
Amira
It developed through the years Randa, of course this is something that my grandma didn't use for example but my sisters added to the recipe. If you look closely you will find mustard too which is my mom's personal touch to this recipe, she loves mustard 🙂 but definitely something that was not even a thing in my grandmother's kitchen. If you do not like soy sauce feel free to skip and adjust the recipe to your liking dear.
Lynne
I tried this last night, minus the garlic (can't eat it, sad to say) and worstershire sauce (didn't have any). It was fantastic - this will be a standard recipe for me from now on. Oh, I added a good dash of sumac, one of my most favorite additions to my spice cabinet.
Btw, I never buy any beef except whatever is on sale locally. I cut the beef in my desired pieces, needle it with a needle meat tenderizer, and then add about a half teaspoon of baking soda (Chinese chef trick!) per pound. This should marinate at least a half hour.
My $2.50/lb roast made great steak tips!
Amira
What a great tip Lynne, thank you so much for sharing it with us here. I am so glad you liked the flavor.
Regina
How long to roast the veggies for in oven separately?
Amira
I would say about 17 to 20 minutes Regina, that should be enough.
Owen
We used this marinade on some filets and it was delicious! Very versatile marinade and the char of the grill compliments the flavor of the meat nicely. Try it with a tzatziki sauce on the side!
Amira
Thanks Owen, So glad you liked it and thanks for the suggestions.
Christina
Hi can I use beef chuck or butterfly lamb cut into cubes for this recipe ?
Thanks
Amira
Christina, I haven't tried this with lamb yet but some of my readers said you can. For the chuck steak, you need to be very careful not to overcook it beyond medium as it will get tough. I hope this helps.