Beef & Vegetable Kabobs

Its getting to be that time year around most of the country, grilling time! Out here in good ole sunny San Diego we are lucky, if it isnt raining its almost always good enough to grill something up. There really is nothing better then going outside and dusting off the grill and firing it up, or if you prefer, lighting up some charcoal. In my opinion almost anything tastes better if it has been placed on the grates of a grill. Vegetables are especially taken to new heights when grilled thanks to the lovely char you can achieve. What is shown here is really nothing special and most of you have probably done something just like this and maybe even a little more complicated. This post is really to just ring in the grilling season and share a little tip with you that I like to use when I grill meat and vegetable kabobs. When it comes to grilling meats I like to keep it simple and use a minimal amount of spices, usually its just the old standard, salt and pepper. From time to time, as is the case with the kabobs you see here, I will add a little dusting of garlic powder. Now for the introduction of the little trick I like to use to impart subtle flavors when making beef and vegetable kabobs. If you have read some of my other posts you may have picked up on how much I love the herb Rosemary. So what I like to do when making kabobs is fill a bowl with about 1/3 of a cup of Olive Oil, then clip off a nice long twig (maybe around 8-9 inches in length) of Rosemary from our bush. What I do next is remove about a third of the leaves from the cut end of the twig and mince it up and place it in the oil. The I wrap a paper towel around the  end with no leaves and secure it with a little rubber band. What you are left with is a little rosemary twig paint brush of sorts, paint brush of flavor that is.

Here is what you should have

Now what I do with this is while the meat and vegetables are grilling I use the rosemary brush to slather the oil over the meat while it cooks. This not only imparts a subtle rosemary flavor but it also makes for a nice flare up that licks the meat and vegetables to get a nice char on them. When cooked to a nice medium rare the meat is so juicy and tender that you will be using this brush o' flavor on everything.

Ingredients (serves 4)
2 lbs. Tri-Tip or Flank steak (or your favorite cut that is easy to make strips)
Vegetables of your choice (I like to use red onion, zuchinni, mushrooms, and mutiple colors of bell pepper)
1/3 Cup Olive Oil
1 Rosemary twig (8-9 inches long)
Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder to taste

Method

1. Start by trimming your meat of any excess fat you do not want on your end product. Cut the meat in strips about a half inch thick across the grain of the meat

2. Take your meat and thread it onto your kabob skewers. I like to average about a 1/2 pound per person

3. Prepare your vegetables trying to make them all about the same size to allow for even cooking. Then add them to kabob skewers alternating them however you like

4. Season both the meat and vegetable kabobs with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cover and let sit in the fridge for about a half hour while you get everything else together and get your grill nice and hot

5. Prepare your flavor brush leaving the tip in the oil to impart even more flavor

6. Once your grill is nice and hot cook the meat and the vegetables together slathering them both with the rosemary brush, be careful of the flare ups!

7. I usually cook my kabobs for 8-10 minutes turning every 2-3 minutes. After every turn brushing on more olive oil

8. When your desired doneness is reached remove from the grill and cover the kabobs and let sit for a few minutes

9. Serve with your desired side dish (my wife and I usually go for brown rice) and ENJOY!