Marinated BBQed Beef & Mushroom Skewers

Today we are going to take a look at a terrific way to make beef kabobs on the BBQ using the relatively inexpensive packs of cubed stewing beef that you will find at most large grocery stores.

We will be making them with a side of BBQed marinated mushrooms.


Stewing beef is often regarded as an inferior beef cut as it tends to be pre-cubed from tougher cuts and to require long cooking times to make it moist and delicious.

But, thanks to the type and length of marinade we will be using, this beef will taste great after just a few minutes of cooking on the grill.

The first step is to take your beef cubes and put them in a large mixing bowl. We used 2 lb. of beef. Season the cubes liberally with pepper and Montreal Steak Spice. Then pour into the bowl enough Balsamic Vinaigrette style salad dressing to cover the cubes.

You can buy a pre-made bottle or make your own by mixing together thoroughly:

1 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste (remember that Montreal Steak Spice is already salty)
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard

These portions should work with 2 lb. of beef, but you can adjust according to the amount you are making.

Cover the marinading beef and let sit in the fridge for at least 4 hours and hopefully for as long as 12 hours.

Meanwhile, take your mushrooms and place them in a large mixing bowl whole. I like to season them with French Fry Seasoning (there are several brands) and black pepper, but you can also just season with salt and pepper.

The mushrooms we are going to marinade in a garlic and herb marinade that also works well with any other number of vegetables such as chopped red onion, chopped peppers, etc.

You can, again, buy a ready made marinade or make your own by mixing together thoroughly:

6-8 cloves of minced garlic
1 cup EVOO
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup vinegar
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Again, cover and let marinade in the fridge for the same amount of time as the beef.

When almost ready to cook, get your charcoal BBQ going as we laid out in a previous post. 

Meanwhile prepare your skewers. If you have metal ones, you are good to go! If using bamboo or wood skewers as we did here, be sure to soak them in water for 30 minutes so that they do not catch fire while on the grill!

While mixed meat and veg skewers are great to look at and can work, in this case we will be doing the mushrooms and beef separately because of different cooking times.

Take out of the marinade and place the beef cubes onto the skewers trying to center as much as possible and leaving a small gap between each cube. Discard the marinade.

Do the same with the mushrooms.

When your coals are nice and hot, put the skewers directly onto the grill with the beef ones over the coals and the mushroom skewers a little more off to the sides.

The beef skewers will be done in as little as 2-3 minutes a side (turning once) for a medium-rare to medium depending on the size of the individual cube.

The mushrooms will take around 5 minutes a side.

These can be served on or off the skewer and should be served with Tzatziki sauce for sipping on the side. They also go great with a Greek Salad.

An easy and fun BBQ treat.

Enjoy!

See also:  BBQed Rainbow Trout with Herbs-de-Provence & Garlic Butter

See also: Beer Can Chicken with "French Fried" Asparagus on the BBQ!