Kabobs

[gunslinger]

I was thinking about smoking kabobs. Maybe beef, pork, chicken, jumbo shrimp, bell pepper, onion, and mushrooms.
Would this be good smoked with hickory? and maybe some apple?
Anyone ever done this?
If you have, what variations have you tried?

 

[Dutch]

'slinger, this is one of my favorite ways of doing kabobs. The upside to smoking kabobs is that the veggies don't get burnt beyond recognition like they do when they're grilled. I like to use one part hickory to 2-3 parts fruitwood usually an apple/cherry mix.

The downside is that it takes longer to get supper on the table and there is never enough for leftovers :(

 

[gunslinger]

Hey Earl,
What do you think about a marinade? Maybe soak the whole combination for a couple hours or over night? Or would you just sprinkle with seasoning?
Next weekend I'm going to smoke 10 chickens for our gospel meeting at Church. Maybe I'll throw some kabobs on there too and sneak a bite here and there while I'm doing the chickens.
How long do you smoke your kabobs?

 

[Dutch]

'slinger, for chicken kabobs I like to use an Italian salad dressing. For beef I like to use a low sodium soy sauce with some minced ginger , minced garlic and black pepper (1 cup soy sauce, 1/2 tablespoon each minced ginger and garlic and pepper to taste).

With Italian dressing and chicken, I'll let thing marinade for and hour or so-any longer and the acids in the dressing will begin to cook the chicken. With the soy mixture and beef, I'll let it marinade for unto 4 hours. Cook or smoke the chicken to an internal temp of 180* and beef above 140* depending on how done you like your beef.

 

[monty]

You guys have inspired me to make a suggestion for a new section. Dutch, 'Slinger, what about a section on Kabobs under the grilling section. It can also double as a smoke thingy, too! And it can expand to serving suggestions, presentation, etc.

One of my favorite ways to serve kabobs is on a bed of fried rice which I have whipped up in front of my guests. People are so fascinated by a wok and if only they took a moment to learn.

Anyway, the kabob is a staple item in grilling and can be a popular thingy in smoking. And there are SOOOO many ways to build a great kabob! So......how about a Kabob section?

CHeers!

 

[gunslinger]

Wait a second! Hold the phone! I know this is a smoking forum, but I have to know how you keep your rice from sticking to the wok. I rinse my long grain rice, steam it, rinse it again then cool it over night. Still it sticks like glue to my wok.
I love to cook chinese food, and you are right, people are amazed when they see you flipping garden fresh vegies and meat from a wok. But the damn rice! I have tried everything, and it just won't cooperate. Help me, please.
One of my old buddies has a huge wok and he uses a propane burner from a turkey deep fryer for a heat source. He has suggested that maybe I'm not getting my wok hot enough. What do you think?

 

[monty]

Hiya, Tom!

Yup, yer friend is half right. High heat is necessary to stir fry rice. The second "half" Your wok MUST be seasoned to perfection. I mean like onyx black and shiny so you can see yourself! This takes time and high heat cooking. And NEVER allow anything to touch the surface other than food, spices and water. Clean while hot with hot water only and always leave a coat of oil on it.

Now, to cook your rice. I never rinse my rice. I use a Cuisinart rice steamer and undercook the rice a bit. It will finish in the pan. Your cold rice should appear to be somewhat separate and should not stick together. A clump of rice should break easily into separate grains.

Get your wok HOT. Drizzle a bit of peanut oil around the upper edge of the wok and make a very small puddle in the bottom. Drop all your veggies and spices into the bottom and get them moving. When half done drizzle a small amount of peaniut oil around the top edge of the wok again and carefull and quickly use your hand to spread a layer of rice all around the wok.

Wait about forty five seconds for heat recovery and then make it all move. Once well mixed return the rice to the walls of the wok and wait a bit. Make it move again and repeat till desired doness. The second time you place the rice high drizzlw a bit of soy sauce on it. Not a lot.

Always use peanut oil. It will stand up to the temps your need. Initially undercook the rice. Do not overpower with too many veggies. They will get your rice soggy and sticky.

Also, never crowd your wok. It robs heat from the food.

Hope this helps! If I think of any other tips I will post them

Cheers!

 

[joed617]

Monty, Yer 1000% correct, When we stir fry rice we usually make the rice a day or 2 in advance and leave it in the fridge, we also use a rice steamer. But at times we usually forget to make the rice in advance or we've been too busy to think about dinner so we use chinese noodles instead .. Our wok is also coal black and shinney and we never use soaps on it, after cooking we usually coat again with peanut oil .. I been eating so much BBQ lately I think a stir fry is in order.

Joe

 

[monty]

Hey, Joe!

Good to know you are a "Chef du Cuisine Chinois"! But enough BS!

Hey Tom!
One more little but important item I forgot is that the burner your brother uses is a high pressure burner.

I happen to own a double high pressure stove on a leg stand. Each burner is capable of 190K BTU's and they are excellent for wok cooking. That is because of the excellent recovery time. The time between putting cold food into the wok and the wok coming back up to temp is the recovery time. This is also important in deep fryers. A short recovery time means crisp food. An overloaded wok or fryer will turn out soggy food which has picked up too much cooking oil because therre was too much lag time between the food hitting the utensil and the proper cooking temp returning.

The unit I have is available through Cabela's and is called the King Kooker. It is also super for lobster, fish boils and a bunch of other things I do here. Will not bore you with the details.

But properly done fried rice is within your grasp if you sorta take in the pointers here!

OOPS! Another tip. After cooking your rice allow it to come to room temperature before you refrigerate it. Then, refrigerate and do not cover till the rice has cooled. If you cover too soon it will pick up additional moisture will contribute to the sticky problem. Cover only after well cooled!

Cheers!
Monty

 

[gunslinger]

Well, my kabobs didn't turn out so well. Someone that does this, please help me out. How do you do kabobs with different types of meat that require different temps? I made them with bacon wrapped chicken, pork loin, shrimp, bell pepper, onion, and mushrooms. The bell peppers and onions were excellent. The chicken was great. The pork was almost jerky, the mushrooms shrunk to the size of larges peas, and you can just imagine what the shrimp was like.
Thanks for the help.
Also, thanks for the help with the fried rice. I made it last night per your instructions and it was perfect.

 

[monty]

Tom,

Congratulations on your great fried rice! Now, to work on the rest of the situation.

When preparing several different meats for a kabob you have two options, at least in my experience.

1.) Sautee all the meats and veggies separately, except the shrimp or any other fish, and then build the kabob with raw shrimp or other fish and coat the whole sheebag lightly with evoo and give a high heat finish over the coals which will add the blackened edges to the veggies and cook the fish. I like to dust very lightly with a combo of ginger and garlic powders immediately before dropping on the pit.

2.) Build kabobs with like meats. Bear in mind that raw pork and chicken have similar density and cooking time when they are processd into the same size. So bacon wrapped chicken will cook slower than naked pork. Again you will sautee or lightly par boil veggies prior to building the kabob and placing over the coals.

3.) General tips: When making a beef or game meat kabob use metal skewers for heat distribution.

Use wooden skewers for lighter meats for better more even cooking.
When skewering shrimp skewer through the head and tail section but place a veggie or fruit piece, or pieces, in the middle to prevent overcooking.
ALWAYS soak your wooden skewers.

Hope all this helps you, Tom! It seems like a lot of detail but it is the little things that make the difference.

Cheers!

 

[gunslinger]

Monty,
Sounds really good, but I smoked mine.

 

[monty]

Heya, Tom!

Same applies to smoking. IMHOP kabobs can be minimally prepared and seared then smoked to finish both flavor and texture! But to attempt to smoke different meats and seafood with veggies....dunno! If you find the secret please publish it here!

I am sure that there is a way, but it would seem to be a fairly complicated path. My equipment is now laid to rest for the winter while I ensure the public can safely motor through Vermont. But come Spring I will certainly take up the challenge and try to figger out a better solution! And believe me, I will try!

Cheers!

 

[cajunsmoker]

It's probably not the answer any one is looking for, but I just smoke the different types of meat on skewers with the same type meat and the veggies on skewers with same type veggies and then arrange them onto skewers to be served after they are through smoking. Sometimes I leave them a little undercooked and after I put them on the skewer to be served I can grill them and add any type of sauce I want. Works for me.

 

[gunslinger]

Rodger
That's kind of what I was thinking. Or, and this would be pretty rough, but put the chicken, onion, and peppers on the skewer first, smoke till maybe 150, then the pork, smoke till 140, then the mushroom and shrimp. I don't know if that would be worth the trouble, and you'd have to know your smoker better than your wifes body. I don't know if I want to know my smoker that well. And wood quality would play a role too.
I gotta tell ya though, the onion and bell pepper was fantastic smoked.