Shrimp and steak Kabob on the grill from our Guest blogger

Author Bio

Abigail Murphy is a Community Outreach at Lobster Anywhere, a mail-order seafood company based in New England.

Summer is fast approaching, and that means it’s time to dust off the grill and prepare it for delicious meals that can only be cooked and enjoyed outdoors. Long story short, grilling shrimp & steak kabobs are a great appetizer worth learning how to prepare and serve at this year’s summer parties—and even serve as the main dish, because who doesn’t want to have shrimp & steak kabobs during summer?

For one, kabobs are a versatile meal. Sure, you can get chicken, cherry tomatoes, and nothing else and call it a kabob, but you can add fruit, meat, and veggies to your liking. We’ll go with a fresh Maine shrimp and steak for our recipe because it’s a hearty combination of protein.

Yep, Maine shrimp is a fantastic summer seafood option. They come with a firm texture and sweet flavor and are very low in cholesterol and fat. You can sauté them with garlic and olive oil or use them in salads, soups, and casseroles.

Step 1 for Shrimp & Steak Kabobs: Prep the Steak

Timing is everything, so start prepping your items in advance. Cut the steak into 1-inch cubes and marinate in a ziplock bag or bowl with two tablespoons of olive oil, two tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, one tablespoon of lemon juice, and pepper, and one teaspoon of garlic powder and dried oregano. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper. Let it sit for an hour.

Use any cut you prefer, as most people like to use sirloin steak because it has a less fat content and is usually a little cheaper. You can also use cilantro in this recipe because it goes well with seafood, but parsley would be a good substitute if you don’t like cilantro. You could also add other veggies like cherry tomatoes or red onion to the skewers if you want them.

Step 2: Move on to the Shrimp

While the steak is marinating, you can prepare the shrimp. After washing them thoroughly under running water, remove their heads and shells by pulling on the head until it pops off. Then peel away the shell from top to bottom. Rinse again to remove any additional covers and pat dry before cutting a small slit down the center vein on the backside of each shrimp. This will help keep them from curling up when they go onto the skewers.

The key to grilling shrimp is making sure they don’t stick to the grill grates and overcook them. We recommend adding just enough olive oil, so the shrimp are lightly coated without being saturated. Rub seasonings into the shrimp until they stick. This helps prevent the spices from falling off.

The shrimp in this meal can be used fresh or thawed from frozen, but either way should have the heads removed. Fresh shrimp is a little messier and will take more time to peel, but you should be able to find it prepared at most seafood markets.

What Type of Skewers Should I Use for Your Shrimp & Steak Kabobs?

When it comes to skewers, cooks typically use bamboo skewers. The only problem with bamboo skewers is that they need to be soaked in water before using, or they will burn. If you don’t want to deal with soaking them ahead of time, use metal skewers instead.

Step 3: Cooking Time

Next, cook the steak long enough to brown it on high heat. Then reduce the heat to low, simmer the steak, and add the shrimps later because they need less cooking time, and trust us, you don’t want to overcook shrimp.

You can assemble the Kabobs when the meat is “rare.” Alternate the items on skewers and grill or broil—brush kabobs with lemon basting sauce. Serve rice, or you can cook some corn on the cob.

Final Thoughts

And there you have it! If you’re looking for a fresh, fun meal to make on the grill, you can’t go wrong with these kabobs. The shrimp is spicy, while the steak is wonderfully juicy and flavorful. The great thing about this recipe is that it’s super simple and tastes fantastic. Plus, when grilling season starts in earnest, having recipes like this on hand will come in handy. Enjoy delicious shrimp & steak kabobs!

Having the experience of viewing her dad, our youngest staff member tried her hand at grilling for the first time! Look how great these Kabobs look!

MY FIRST EXPERIENCE AT THE CHARCOAL GRILL (by the intern)

I’ve had a lot of experience over the years watching my Dad at our homemade barbecue pit. I’ve never had the experience of doing the actual prep and cooking until now.

I’m taking on the grill and preparing some kabobs using charcoal and wood. This is my first attempt at cooking on the charcoal grill without any help. Learn what worked and didn’t work for me, a 20 year old who tackles the fire!

Selecting My Menu

In deciding on a menu and given that it is the hot summer in the East, I went with kabobs. Shrimp and chicken were selected as proteins and an assortment of vegetables plus pineapple for sweet.

I purchased fresh, de-veined shrimp to cut down on some prep time. After washing the shrimp, I laid them out on paper towels and pat dry with additional paper towels. To get a good char on the shrimp, I’ve read how important it is to get as much water out of the shrimp.

Something I learned after: I should have sprinkled a little kosher salt to aid the water removal.

For my chicken, I purchased chicken breasts with the skin already removed and cut these into cubes trying to keep all the pieces the same size for even cooking.

Protein Preparation

I wanted a little spice to the menu so I elected to use a Cajun seasoning on my shrimp. I made sure every piece was coated well.

Something I learned after: if I had prepared these even a few hours early, I could have sealed them in a storage bag and let them really infuse the flavor. For my chicken cubes, I marinated in a simple preparation of Italian salad dressing. This protein I did marinate overnight.

Other Preparation

I decided to incorporate more traditional items for my kabobs like tomato, pepper, mushroom and pineapple. I do a simple wash of the vegetables, then cut peppers and pineapple into even pieces big enough to be skewered. Button mushrooms are left whole as are my small tomato rounds. I make sure everything is at the ready to make assembly easy. I think this step in the kabob making was relatively easy to manage.

Kabob Assembly

As you can see, I did a bit of variation to my assembly process for the kabobs. I did mix my vegetables and fruit on a single skewer as well as my two proteins.

Something I learned after: I should have first oiled the skewer to ensure ease in removal of the food items once cooked. I also should have made skewers with the same food item on them so I could control the timing each item takes to cook. So, next time I will have full skewers of mushroom caps, full skewers of pepper, full skewer of shrimp, etc.

Charcoal Barbecue Setup

My barbecue is an open pit style, hearth level, hand built by my Dad. When cooking, we generally use charcoal or charwood with wood chunks and chips for flavor. Today, I went with Sugar Maple chunks (double filet size), for the kabobs. I learned the importance of starting a chimney starter of charcoal first to be sure all the coals are hot before they go into the charcoal area of my pit.

Something I learned after: if your grill is in a safe area, you can start the chimney starter while preparing the food items so by the time you get everything prepped, the coals are hot and ready to go.

Once my embers are burning red and starting to gray over, it’s time to pour them into the chimney brazier. My pit will hold about 6 lbs. of charcoal. Once the charcoal is in, I add my Sugar Maple wood chunks for flavor to the kabobs.

Something I learned after: I should have laid a bed of unlit coals in the charcoal brazier. That way, I could be sure to have enough heat for the entire cooking process and I would have a chance to use the hot embers later for other cooking.

Time to Grill

With my grilling grates in place, it’s time to add the foods. I ended up putting a series of skewers on the grates trying not to crowd the grates. I did cook some of the chicken and shrimp off the skewers to give my guests options for just extra protein.

Something I learned after: I really didn’t give much thought to the cooking time of each item so some things were cooking faster and drying out before others. Shrimp cooks faster than chicken so lesson learned: chicken needs to go on first. Plus, I need to brush with marinade or oil to keep things moist.

Lessons Learned

For my first ever effort at making kabobs on the charcoal pit, I was pleased with the results. Without question the sugar maple chunks from SmokinLicious® added to the great flavor. I was amazed at just how little wood it took to impart that smoky quality to the foods. I learned quite a bit along the way: my sequence of adding items to the grill needs to change. My longer cook items like chicken, peppers and mushroom need to go on first. That’s where having skewers made with just the one ingredient will really come in handy. Pineapple, tomato, and shrimp certainly take less time. I also need to keep a basting brush and cup at the grill so I can coat the food items either with marinade or oil to keep the moisture locked in the food.

Toasting Marshmallow & Peanut Butter Cup S’more

A great way to use the hot embers leftover when your main dish cooking is done is a simple dessert. Nothing shouts summer and fun like a s’more! Graham cracker, peanut butter cups, and marshmallow fired in the hot embers – oh so yummy good!

I hope you enjoyed this first-time griller’s experience at the charcoal grill. Leave a comment and subscribe to us so we can keep bringing you innovative tips, techniques, and recipes on working with wood for cooking, grilling & smoking.

Related reading:

HOW TO TURN YOUR CHARCOAL GRILL INTO A SMOKER

THE WOMAN’S GUIDE TO ‘MAN’-ING THE GRILL

Purchase products:

Wood Chunks- Double Filet

Dr Smoke

our youngest staff member tried her hand at grilling for the first time! Look how great these Kabobs look!