BBQ marinated beef kabobs
- Preparation 30 min
- Refrigeration 3 h
- Cooking 10 min
- Servings 4 to 6
- Freezing I do not suggest
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🥩 BBQ marinated beef kabobs, seared outside and pink inside
The marinade does the heavy lifting here, and mine is plain: olive oil, soy sauce, garlic, green onions, a splash of red wine, Worcestershire sauce and Italian herbs. No sugar, no harsh vinegar. That’s exactly why the beef can sit in it for three hours without the texture going soft on you. One hour if you’re rushed, three hours is perfect. The rest happens on the grill: big cubes, red onion, red pepper, the lid down, and half the marinade set aside clean for basting. Nothing complicated, which is the whole point.
🔱 Two metal skewers side by side, my favourite move
I build my kabobs on two parallel metal skewers. Each cube goes onto both rods at once. When you turn the kabob, the meat turns with it instead of spinning around and showing you the same seared face twice. It sounds like nothing. It’s the difference between a cook you control and a cook you put up with.
Wooden skewers work the same way, but soak them in water for a good half hour first. Otherwise they burn before the beef does.
🔥 Striploin first, top sirloin second
My number one is striploin. The marbling is right, the meat holds up over the fire, and the flavour is legendary. Thick-cut top sirloin does the job too, and costs less. Ribeye works, though to my taste it’s a bit fatty for a kabob. What I never buy: the pre-packed “kabob cubes” at the supermarket, usually trim, bland no matter what you soak them in. Ask your butcher for 1 to 1.5 inch (2.5 to 4 cm) cubes, or grab a thick piece and cut it yourself. Serve it all with an orzo salad with bocconcini and pesto and some grilled barbecue potatoes with lemon garlic butter, and you look like the grill master without having tried that hard.
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🥩 Striploin first, top sirloin second
The pre-cut “kabob cubes” at the supermarket are usually trim swept up at the end of the day. They taste bland and no marinade is going to rescue that. Go with striploin, my favourite: the marbling is right and the meat holds together over the fire. Thick-cut top sirloin does the job too. Ribeye is good, just a touch fatty for a kabob to my taste. Ask the butcher to cube it for you, or buy a thick piece and do it yourself. That’s where the difference is made, nowhere else.
📏 Big cubes, 1 to 1.5 inches
A small cube dries out before it ever browns. Aim for 1 to 1.5 inches (2.5 to 4 cm). Outside sears, centre stays pink.
⏱️ One hour minimum, three hours is perfect
My marinade has no citrus juice and no strong vinegar in it. It’s olive oil, soy sauce, garlic, green onions, a little red wine, Worcestershire sauce and Italian herbs. Nothing in there attacks the muscle fibres, so you don’t have to watch the clock to the minute. One hour when you’re in a hurry, three when you have the time. Very acidic marinades are a different story: leave beef sitting in one too long and it turns mushy.
🔱 Two metal skewers in parallel, the trick that changes everything
This is my favourite part of the whole recipe. Use two metal rods instead of one and thread every cube onto both at the same time. When you turn the kabob, everything on it turns too: not a single piece spins around to show you the face you already cooked. You actually grill all four sides instead of the same two twice.
Same idea with wood, except the rods need at least 30 minutes soaking in water before you build anything. A dry skewer catches fire on a hot grill.
🌶️ Red onion and red pepper, that’s it
One big red onion broken into pieces, a pepper and a half in large chunks. I thread them right onto the same skewer as the meat. Yes, the vegetables and the beef cook at slightly different rates, and no, it doesn’t bother me one bit: that’s the fun of a kabob. The vegetables pick up the meat juices while they cook, and everything tastes better for it.
🧂 Split the marinade in two before the meat ever touches it
The mistake everybody makes is basting with the marinade that soaked raw beef. Do it backwards: mix the whole batch, pour half of it over the meat, and send the other half to the fridge in a clean bowl. That clean half is what you brush on at the grill and what goes on the table.
You can even split it three ways if you want to pour marinade that never saw heat over the kabobs right before serving. Try it once. The reserved half keeps a week in the fridge in a sealed jar, so hang onto it for your vegetables later in the week.
🔥 Lid closed, medium heat
Preheat on high, bring it back down to medium, oil the grates, then shut the lid. Grilling with the lid up is like baking a cake with the oven door wide open: the heat leaves and the cook is nothing like what you planned. With beef this good I never go past medium. Past that you’re wasting the meat, plain and simple. A thermometer can help, but we’re dealing with cubes and they’re awkward to probe properly: me, I pull one off, cut it open and look.
🍳 No BBQ? The oven is a way out
I’ve never tested it myself, so I’m not going to invent a temperature and a timing for you. But it works, no question. What I would do: run them under the broiler, sitting on a rack so the air moves underneath, turning them halfway and watching the colour closely.
⏲️ Rest 4 to 5 minutes in foil, never on the plate
Pull the kabobs off the grill and wrap them tightly in aluminum foil for 4 to 5 minutes. No longer: a kabob goes cold fast. That short rest gives the juices time to settle back into the meat. Rest them straight on the plates instead and you end up with a puddle under every skewer and a ruined presentation. Wrap, wait, then set them down on a dry board. Leftovers keep 2 to 3 days in the fridge.
🧀 The halloumi version
Slide big blocks of halloumi between the beef cubes. The cheese grills without melting away, builds a golden crust, and the contrast with the juicy meat lands every time.
✅ What to serve with my BBQ marinated beef kabobs?
I stay classic: a cold orzo salad with bocconcini and pesto, some grilled barbecue potatoes with lemon garlic butter cooking on the other half of the grill, and my BBQ grilled veggies with Asian marinade when there’s a crowd. Fragrant basmati rice does the trick on nights you don’t want another pan to wash. Put it all on a board in the middle of the table and you’re in business.
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Beef kebabs marinade
- 550 g (1.2 lb) striploin beef (or thick-cut top sirloin), cut into large 1 to 1.5 inch (2.5 to 4 cm) cubes
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) soy sauce
- 3 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) red wine
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) Italian spices
- 1 large red onion, cut into pieces and broken up
- 1 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into large chunks
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
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Preparation
- Place the beef cubes in a large airtight bag and set aside.
- In a large bowl, except for the onion and bell pepper, add the remaining ingredients, season generously with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Pour half the marinade over the meat and close the bag, removing as much air as possible. Refrigerate and marinate for 1 hour minimum, 3 hours is perfect. Stir from time to time. Reserve the rest of the fresh marinade in the fridge.
- Assemble your kabobs! Thread on a beef cube followed by a piece of onion and bell pepper. Repeat with the rest of the ingredients.
- Preheat the BBQ to high, then reduce to medium heat. Oil the grates.
- Place the kabobs on the grill, close the lid and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side or until the meat is cooked to your liking. Baste generously with the fresh marinade.
- Take the kabobs off the grill, wrap them tightly in aluminum foil and let rest 4 to 5 minutes. Serve with rice or grilled vegetables!
My top pick: striploin. Perfect marbling, holds up on the grill, legendary flavour. Top sirloin cut thick works great too and costs less. Ribeye is good but a bit fattier to my taste. What I skip: the pre-packed “kabob cubes” at the supermarket, usually trim, bland no matter what marinade you use. Ask your butcher to cube it for you, or buy a thick piece and cut it yourself into 1 to 1.5 inch (2.5 to 4 cm) pieces.
Tenderness comes from three places, and the marinade is only the third one. First the cut: striploin or thick top sirloin stay tender, a lean sinewy piece never will. Then the size of the cube: big, 1 to 1.5 inches, so the outside sears while the centre stays pink. Then the cook: 3 to 4 minutes per side over medium heat, lid closed, and never past medium. Add the 4 to 5 minute rest wrapped in foil. That’s the whole list. My marinade brings flavour, but it isn’t what tenderizes: it has no citrus and no strong vinegar in it, precisely so it doesn’t break the fibres down.
One hour minimum if you’re rushed, and 3 hours is perfect. Since the marinade has no citrus juice and no strong vinegar, nothing is chewing away at the texture while it sits in the fridge. Give the bag a shake now and then so every cube gets its share. With a very acidic marinade the logic flips: there you do have to watch it, because the acid ends up “cooking” the surface of the meat and turning it pasty.
It works, no question. I’ll be straight with you: I’ve never tested it myself, so I’m not going to invent a temperature and a timing. What I would do: put them under the broiler, on a rack so the air can move underneath, turning them halfway and watching the colour closely. The principle is the same as the BBQ, you want a browned crust and a pink centre. Trust your eyes and cut one cube open to check.
Yes, as long as you plan for it. Split the marinade in two from the start: half for the raw meat, half staying clean in a bowl in the fridge. The clean half is what you brush on at the grill and what you serve at the table. It keeps a week in the fridge in a sealed container. The marinade that soaked raw beef never gets reused as is: if you want it, it has to be boiled first. That’s food safety 101.
The classics that always work: an orzo salad with bocconcini and pesto, some grilled barbecue potatoes with lemon garlic butter taking up the other half of the grill, or my BBQ grilled veggies when I have people over. Fragrant basmati rice covers a weeknight just fine. And if you feel like playing, grilled halloumi in big blocks on the side. A board in the middle of the table, friends around it. You’re in business.
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