Years ago, my family would attend these huge picnics where hundreds of Greek families would gather at a park somewhere north of Toronto. Anyone remember Green River? 101 International Park? Each family would pack coolers with provisions for the day: soft drinks, water, beer and wine, salads, rice, Spanakopitas, Tyropitas, bread, cheeses and lots of fruit like watermelon, canteloupe and grapes.
The car trunk filled up pretty quickly and one could never forget the stand-up round grill or smaller hibachi, charcoal, lighter fluid and the protein of choice for the day. The centerpiece of the day’s feast was the BBQ. I remember my dad in shorts, no shirt and getting dirty from handling the charcoal and lighting the BBQ. Newspaper, lighter fluid and matches. A vigorous wave over the smoking coals would give way to a plea for the man’s arms to rest and for the the charcoal to morph into glowing embers.
Once the BBQ situation was under control, it was grilling time. Beef shish kebab it was, usually. I remember these big cubes of beef that my mom would marinade overnight in a concoction that surely contained one of my uncle’s rough n’ ready red wine. There was garlic, there was onions, seasoning and likely the will of the Greek cook who finds nothing wrong with throwing oregano into everything!
I’ve longed for this beef shish kebab for awhile and the time is here. Allow me to share and recommend trying this recipe the next time you light up your grill. The marinade is easy, you get to use some more economical cuts of beef as the marinade will do some of the work for you and some simple skewering of vegetables and beef on metal or wooden skewers is all that’s needed.
A beef shish kebab benefits the most by not overdoing it. The marinade consists of few ingredients – ones that complement beef’s flavour. You have grated onions, minced garlic, a touch of honey, black pepper, oregano, red wine, veg oil and for umami, some soy sauce. Combine all these ingredients together, add just enough salt to adjust taste and reserve about a 1/4 of the marinade for brushing on your kabobs at the end.
What you end up with are tender but still toothsome pieces of beer with a hint of flavour from the vegetables that are sandwiched in between each cube of beef. You can still taste the wine, a bit of garlic, some onion, some pepper, that fresh Greek oregano and the hint of smoky goodness that only a grill can give. The beef shish kebabs are cooked over high heat (the beef can take it) and the vegetables will cook in the same time that it takes you to grill all the sides of the kebabs.
I served the shish kebabs on a bed of rice baked with mushrooms. For four persons, you need one cup of long-grain rice, a cup of sliced mushrooms, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 1/2 cups of low sodium stock, pinch of black pepper and place in a pre-heated oven for about 40 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed. Fluff the rice with a fork, reserve and keep warm. I served this beef shish kekab with a Tsantali Metoxi red.
Beef Shish Kebab
(serves 4)
approx. 1kg. of beef tenderloin, ribeye or sirloin steak, trimmed of any fat and cut into 1-inch cubes
pieces of red, green peppers and onions, cut to the same diameter as the cubes of beef
metal or wooden skewers (soak the wooden skewers overnight in water)
coarse sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Marinade
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. of honey
1 medium onion, grated
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 bay leaves
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 cup red wine
1 Tbsp. sweet paprika
1 1/2 tsp. of black pepper
sea salt to taste
- Lay your cubed beef on your work surface and season all sides with salt and pepper. In a large zip-lock bag, add all of the marinade ingredients and stir to blend. Adjust seasoning, ingredients to taste and reserve 1/4 of the marinade for basting on your shish kebabs later.
- Place your cubes of beef in the marinade and seal. Ensure all the beef is covered with the marinade and place in the fridge for at least 6 hours to overnight. Remove from the fridge an hour before grilling so as to allow the beef to return to room temperature.
- Prepare your red and green peppers and onions for skewering. Cut the vegetable into the same size and dimension as the cubes of beef. Skewer a cube of beef then alternate with a different vegetable between each cube of beef. Repeat until all your kebabs and pieces of vegetable have been skewered. Discard the marinade in the bag.
- Pre-heat your gas or charcoal grill. We’re looking for a high heat (count to three when placing your hand over the grill). Brush the grill surface well and wipe the grill surface with a vegetable oil-treated towel just before grilling.
- Lightly season your kebabs with salt and some fresh ground pepper. Place on your hot grill and cook for 4 minutes/side or until all sides are seared with some good grill marks. Brush some of the reserved 1/4 marinade on your shish kebabs and plate on a bed of rice pilaf with mushrooms.
31 Responses
Oh Peter, those are such delicious photos!
Yes, we had lots of shish kabobs…made with all kinds of meat and chicken. (I remember one particularly hideous recipe with chicken marinated in that orange bottled salad dressing.)
Your recipe is perfection. Yes to the red wine, but I’ve never added paprika. Great idea.
Mmm i wish i could have one right now!!
Your memories of family picnics are very similar to mine…Greeks have this knack of gathering together and staritng bbq’s and laying out a spread of goodies!…LOL! That looks like one mean kebab (kabob??) Peter…great tips on marinading too. Enjoy Canada Day!
Mmmhhh, I am drooling! That looks so mouthwatering!
Cheers,
Rosa
Think this just made my menu for the long weekend! Happy Canada Day
I always serve my skewers on a bed of rice too! This all looks fantastic!
Happy Canada Day, Peter!
Same concept, different meat — one of our members submitted a Marinated Greek Lamb Kabob recipe…this one’s marinated in yogurt, though.
http://mantestedrecipes.com/recipe/2761/marinated-greek-lamb-kabobs.aspx
Funny story — my Mom was born in Canada on July 4th…my grandmother mentioned that it was kind of a non-descript date. “Not to the Americans,” said grandpa. They emigrated to the US when she was two, and when she was little, she thought the fireworks were for her!
It sounds like you have wonderful childhood memories centered around family and food. That is one delicious kebab.
Looks Awesome Peter. Truly awe inspiring. It’s making me wan to use my new skewers!
That is quite the kabob you got going on there. Your marinade looks bomb.
As a neighbor from the northern Balkans, I like what I see, even though our preferred animal for kabobs is, of course, the divine pig. Here in SoCal we have a great source of good quality beef, and the only thing lacking is a charcoal grill (which we are not allowed to have – but, being a rebel, I am almost there in convincing my American husband to break the rules and get us a Webber). Summer is only going to get better, right?
Greetings from Cali!
Lana
A beautiful bbq, fit for Canada day!
Sounds like some lovely memories. And I’d like to go back to childhood with those food memories.
Peter~The photo of your creation looks delicious! Your marinade is a must try.
I can see where your love for BBQ comes from. your father, unbeknown to him, did a great job. Love the fact that you can use cheaper cuts for this delicious kebab!!!!
Peter τι νόστιμο που φαίνεται!!
Και η μαρινάδα, απλή αλλά super!!
Να περάσεις πολύ όμορφα την Μέρα του Καναδά!
Φιλιά, καλό μήνα!
oh i can’t wait to start eating meals again. man this looks so good Peter!
Looks wonderful – I love the marinade, especially that bit of honey to bring out the sweetness in the meat.
Speaking of meat…as an American, I always struggle with translating American and British meat recipes with the cuts that are commonly available in the Greek market. Any idea what the name in Greek would be for a suitable economical cut of meat for this recipe? Sirloin, whatever it is called here – and what IS its name? – is probably not “inexpensive”. And boy, would I just love it if someone could tell me what beef “flank steak” is called here in Greece….
Oh these look absolutely divine!
Happy Canada Day!
Peter, your words have me back to simpler, childhood times when my dad would grill outside although your food sounds like it was a whole lot tastier! But family barbecues are wonderful things and the food is always delicious! These kabobs are magnificent!
Oh, Happy Canada Day! We celebrate neither 4th of July nor Bastille Day. Just our sons’ birthdays. :-) But I can’t wait to get to Florida in 2 weeks for a bbq or two.
gorgeous, peter. now why would you want to eat octopus or squid when you could have this? :)
I am always skeptical about beef shish kebabs in Greece because beef is never aged properly and can be tough as hell. Marinating it might be a good way to solve that problem, but in Canada I am sure you can find nice tender meat. Yum!
I have always had a weakness of beef shish kebab, our neighbor, when we grew up in Minnesota was Greek, and her cooking set the bar for me. One dish I always remember is her beef kebabs. This recipe is on the top 10 list to try as soon as possible. It sounds amazing.
Happy Canada Day!
Beautiful presentation of shish kabob but what got me most was your recounting of the Greek picnics. It reminded me of my childhood when my family used to go the Spanish picnics in public parks with other families. There would be sports, music and all the traditional dishes. I miss those outings, but the tradition did not get passed down.
This looks wonderful – and I’m sure, very tasty!
So good. Thanks for the authentic recipe.