The Best Grilled Kebabs Start With Remembering This Tip

When humans harnessed the power to start fires almost half a million years ago, we bet the first thing we did was put meat on sticks and try to cook it. In actuality, we only have proof of skewered meat cooked over flames dating back to the ancient Greeks. We've learned a lot since the 17th century BCE, however, and today, we have the internet to share tips regarding what to know about grilling kebabs ... such as the fact that some foods just aren't equally suited to the job.

Just because you can physically thread something on a skewer, that doesn't mean that it will hold up well to the kebab treatment. Some meats, for instance, will always get tough when cooked fast over fire, no matter how you cut or marinate them. Veggies, too, might be just too delicate — or, on the other hand, too fibrous — to get a good cook on your grill. If you've read up on what to know before grilling frozen veggies, you understand that it's not that easy. If there's one tip to remember when concocting the best kebabs you've ever had, it's that choosing your components sets the tone for your success right out of the proverbial gate.

Right off the bat, you should know that some meats are simply too dry for cooking fast and hot over flame. Balancing flavorful meat with meat that's tender enough to have moisture and juiciness when cooked can be a challenge, especially when it comes to beef. Some have said that sirloin strikes the right balance between cost, taste, and succulence. Chicken, too, can be a pitfall. Many backyard grillmasters have a tendency to default to oh-so-popular chicken breasts, when thighs are much less likely to dry out. Flaky white fish, while delicious in other preparations, is pretty much never going to stand up to grilling. On the other hand, shrimp is a kebab star. Consider the moisture level, denseness, and innate flavor of your animal proteins.

This is not to say that you shouldn't be careful about non-meat kebab ingredients, however. When grilling tofu, you may want to spring for extra-firm varieties to make sure that the body of the protein holds together on your skewer. This same consideration goes when grilling cheeses, like halloumi (here are other big mistakes to avoid) – make sure that your queso is literally tough enough to handle the flames. On a similar note, some veggies may be either too delicate or too sturdy to contribute meaningfully to your kebabs. Soft, mushy fruits like overripe peaches might be a problem, along with soft and squishy strawberries. Brussels sprouts, on the other side of the coin, are unlikely to cook through before they char. You don't need to avoid them completely, but you may need to par-boil them first.