This colorful marinated beef kebab recipe makes the most tender and juicy beef using just a handful of ingredients. It's moist, grilled to perfection, and flavorful every time. Marinated and tender, kebabs are the best way to eat steak during the warm weather, and are super hard to mess up.
Turn on the grill!
Cannot wait to light the coals and turn on the grill this summer! I will be making these beef kebobs every single week. Can't wait to start grilling!
There are 2 main elements to making the best kebabs that injects extra flavor without overpowering the natural flavor of beef, and make the meat tender. One is a delicious steak marinade and two is the added flavor of smokiness of the grill.
Marinade: Perfectly tender steak marinated in a yummy beef marinade is what I want on my grill. The marinade matters because that is what transforms regular steak into the full wow experience! Here I used soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and honey to bring a plethora of flavors into one delicious steak marinade!
The grill: When beef is grilled in between the pieces of vegetables, they enhance the flavor along with the smokiness of the grill while cooking. Perfect to pair with any of your favorite BBQ foods or a nice summer salad.
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Choose the right cut of beef
Choose the right cut of beef for kebabs! Anything that's fatty & sinewy is a no-go since your quick grilling won't have time to tenderize the meat. Even a cut like tri-tip can be way too chewy for kebabs.
I like sirloin and sirloin tip the best, followed by filet mignon if money is no object. But if you want to be frugal you can buy beef tenderloin ends for a pretty reasonable price, and they would make excellent kabobs.
Well-marbled rib-eye is delicious, but cheaper types have big layers of fat that need to be cut out (unless you want it dripping), and that can be time consuming and result in odd-shaped pieces on the skewers.
What's in the beef marinade
Worcestershire sauce: Since it already contains vinegar which will allow the steak to tenderize, this is a natural ingredient to our marinade.
Garlic: Minced garlic to both tenderize the steak and create flavor
Honey: I love using honey on ribs, steaks and tenderloins. Not only does it bring sweetness, it also helps bind the marinade together like a glue.
This is absolutely an excellent beef steak marinade that adds juiciness and flavor into kebabs, transforming just OK steaks into tender delicious kebabs.
How long should I marinate
Only 1 or 2 hours! Time matters because the meat will start to self cook and turn brown. But if you marinate over night, try to avoid acid ingredients such as Olive oil (especially if extra virgin), limes, vinegar. It can ruin your meat, and is guaranteed to make it brown.
Ingredients you will need
The typical stuff: onion, mushroom, bell pepper, and steak!
Best tips for grilling beef
If using wood, soak wooden skewers in water at least 30 min before grilling to prevent burning.
Get the metal skewers. They are cheap and durable. As for soaking wooden skewers, my advice is to skip them and rather use metal ones, made specifically for kebabs. Wooden ones are always flimsy and a pain in then butt.
I also recommend using the short skewers. They're easier to fit on a paper plate, with far less food waste.
Use a varieties of vegetables per skewer. I usually do mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, zucchini and cherry tomatoes.
Brush with olive oil and salt and pepper them. Then pull them off the skewers to a serving platter.
Don't crowd things on the skewer. A little space between each piece allows heat to circulate evenly.
Just a simple tip: This works really well with garlic marinade - a generous lemon squeeze after the beef comes off the heat.
What veggies go well with kebabs
My standard is bell pepper, onion, mushrooms, zucchini & pineapple. And tomatoes!
More delicious grill/skewer recipes
More delicious beef recipes
Italian Style Beef Liver with Marsala
Instant Pot Guinness Beef Stew
Homemade Cabbage and Beef Soup
Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage
Slow Cooker Brisket in BBQ Sauce
How to make Beef Kebabs
Equipment
- 8 kebab skewers metal or wood
- knife
Ingredients
Marinade
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup soy sauce low sodium
- 1 lemon juiced
- 3 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tablespoon honey
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper course
Kebabs
- 1 ½ lb beef cut into 1 ¼ cubes
- 2 bell peppers different colors, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 red onion large, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 4 oz baby bella mushrooms or button mushrooms
Instructions
Marinate the beef
- In a large bowl whisk together the olive oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, honey, garlic, and pepper.
- Add in the beef and mix until the beef is coated. Cover with plastic wrap and sit in the fridge for at least1 hour or up to 24 hours.
- Remove from the fridge before preheating your grill. Preheat your grill to high heat. You are aiming for about 425 F in your grill.
- While your grill heats, make the kebabs by placing about 2 pieces of veggies in between each chunk of beef. Reserve the marinade for basting.
- Place the kebabs on the grill and baste with the marinade generously. Close the lid and cook for 2 minutes.
- Flip and baste every 2 minutes, so you cook all the sides of your beef. About 8 minutes in total to get to a medium steak inside.
- Cook longer or shorter depending on how done you want your steak.
- Remove from the grill and let rest for 3-5 minutes before serving.
Paul says
Made these this Easter weekend on the grill. Used cheaper steak but it worked
Olya says
You can also marinate overnight, even though the meat might turn out brown