Dad's Steak Shish Kabobs

Happy Memorial Day friends! I hope it's wonderful so far. Full of lots of friends, celebration, thankfulness, and remembrance.

One of my favorite things about visiting home, aside from spending time with family and hopefully seeing from friends (which sadly didn't happen this time) is cooking together. The internet can teach you recipes, but family will teach you how to cook.

I'm pretty lucking in that both Mom and Dad are good cooks. My sister and I grew up on simple, healthy, and delicious meals that are still some of my favorites as an adult. A special treat frequently  requested for Birthdays and other occasions are these shish kabobs.

We made a ton of shish kabobs. For a normal dinner, you could use about half of the ingredients listed. This recipe made 15. The best thing about serving shish kabobs at a cookout is that you can prepare everything in advance and let everyone make their own according to preference. These instructions are to make them to Dad's tried and tested method.

You will need:

2-3 lbs Top sirloin steaks, trimmed and cubed to 1-1/2" pieces
Extra virgin olive oil, covered enough to coat but not to swim
McCormick Grillmates Montreal Seasoning, Dad has tried many and feels this is definitely the best
3 cubed peppers, green and red
2 large cubed Sweet Vidalia onions
2 lb Whole white mushrooms
1 pt Tomatoes, we used grape this time but Dad prefer's cherry


Marinade the meat with the olive oil and a healthy sprinkling of the Montreal seasoning. This is easiest to do in a dish with a tightly closing lid. Apparently the secret to a good marinade session is being able to shake it and evenly distribute the goods. Dad likes the Tupperware marinade set. Refrigerate in marinade at least 2 hours, flipping or shaking the container at least a few times throughout. Ideally, the marinade would sit a whole day, or even overnight. When you're done marinading don't throw out the leftover oil/seasoning, you're going to need it when grilling!

Lay out all of your cubed veggies and start adding to your skewers. According to both parents, the most important part of building a shish kabob is putting a green pepper in the bottom to keep the rest from moving around.

Dad recommends grilling with charcoal, as many grill aficionados will suggest. He let the coals heat up for a good 30-45 until they were nice and grey. (Dad just got a new grill. It is not for the faint of heart.)

Remember when I said to save the leftover marinade? Now is when we use that. Add a little extra olive oil and Montreal seasoning and brush the mixture over the assembled kabobs. You’ll do the same thing again while the kabobs are on the grill.  

Grill 'em up!

Tend constantly and turn frequently. Cook to desired doneness. Our family prefers medium rare which doesn't take quite as long.



Add some more marinade.

Admire the deliciousness.

Serve with rice and good company.

Well, it's time for me to hit the road back to South Carolina! What is your favorite family tradition meal? Are you a griller? I've never tried but have always wanted to. I'd love to know.

Sheila :)