Summertime is made for outdoor gatherings and firing up the grill on a weekend afternoon. One of the easiest and most delicious meals to prepare at short notice are BBQ kebabs. There are often perfect for these occasions as they go down well with adults and children alike. Below is our simple guide to making sensational BBQ kebabs for your summer grilling.

BBQ kebabs are one of those foods that you simply can’t cook, at least to the same level, without using an open fire method. Kebabs personify much of what makes summer BBQs great – charred and tender meat, cooking in the garden, and food that you can pick up and eat with your hands. What’s more, cooking kebabs on a BBQ grill is extremely straightforward with minimal preparation needed.

If you want to make your own kebabs, it’s always best to source quality BBQ meat cuts in advance. Whether it’s chicken, lamb, beef, or pork kebabs, The Village Butchers range has you covered. We also stock a range of pre-prepared BBQ kebabs perfect for the summer months.

It’s not exactly rocket science to grill a kebab on a BBQ. However, there are few top tips to make sure you achieve a delicious char without allowing the meat on the skewer to dry out. This is especially important if you aren’t used to cooking over open coals. Our tips include:

• Uniform Size: ensuring all pieces of meat are cut to equal sizes helps make sure the entire skewer cooks evenly.
• High-Quality Ingredients: using fresh, high-quality meat is essential for delivering the best flavour.
• Marinade: while this might seem like an optional step, marinading is highly recommended to both tenderise the meat and help seal in its juices during cooking.
• Preheat your grill: the main appeal about kebab BBQ skewers is a wonderful char on the outside of the meat. However, this can only be achieved if the grill is set to the right temperature before cooking. If not, the skewers will take much longer to cook and it’s likely the meat will dry out. This is especially true for lean meats such as lamb kebabs.
• Soak the skewers: if you want ideal presentation, soaking you’re the exposed wood of the skewers before grilling will help prevent it from burning.
• Pre-Cook Hard Vegetables: if you decide to use root vegetables like potatoes or carrots, consider boiling them in water for around 5 minutes before skewering. This will help prevent the vegetables from being hard when the meat has finished cooking.

First make a marinade from yogurt, lemon juice, and any spices you like. Place your BBQ meat in the marinade, cover, and leave for at least 30 minutes to an hour. Now you’re ready to start cooking.

1. Cut your marinaded meat into uniform pieces and skewer. Or if using ready-made skewers, simply remove from the packaging and make sure it comes up to room temperature. You can also skewer any vegetables you like at this stage.
2. Check your grill has preheated to around 240°
3. Place the skewers on the hot grill, turning every 3-4 minutes to make sure they cook evenly and get colour all over.
4. Serve with whatever accompaniments you prefer. We recommend potato salad, couscous, and jacket potatoes.

For an Asian twist on this basic kebab recipe, try our ‘Hoisin Grilled Pork Kebabs’.

Buy BBQ meats for the summer online

Hopefully the information here will help you to easily prepare and enjoy BBQ kebabs with the people you care about. The Village Butchers are committed to providing the best quality meat produce without causing you to break the bank. We also deliver direct, meaning you can arrange a summer gathering as soon as the weather changes, being confident the meat you need will arrive on time. Contact us if you have any questions.