Grilled Beef Kebabs with Peppers and Red Onion
Inspired by techniques from America's Test Kitchen and Serious Eats.
Succulent beef sirloin, charred peppers and red onion are threaded onto skewers and grilled hot and fast, finished with a squeeze of lemon and warm pitta. A straightforward Mediterranean-style barbecue classic that's ready in well under an hour.
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Method
- 1
Make the marinade. Stir the olive oil, garlic, lemon zest and juice, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper together in a large bowl. Add the beef and toss until every cube is coated, then cover and refrigerate for 1-4 hours. The salt seasons the meat right through, but much beyond 4 hours the lemon juice starts to turn the surface mushy.
- 2
Prepare and thread the vegetables. Toss the pepper squares and onion wedges with the vegetable oil. Thread beef, pepper and onion alternately onto the four skewers, leaving each piece just touching its neighbour rather than squeezed tight. Packed too tightly, the pieces in the centre of each skewer cook more slowly and unevenly than those at the ends.
- 3
Heat the grill. Heat the barbecue or griddle pan over high heat until very hot, roughly 10 minutes. A properly hot surface is what gives the beef and vegetables a good char rather than a grey, stewed look.
- 4
Grill the skewers. Grill the skewers for 8-10 minutes, giving them a quarter turn every 2 minutes so all sides get direct heat. Look for deep browning on the beef and charred edges on the peppers and onion, and check with a probe thermometer that the centre of the thickest beef cube reads 63°C. That dry, high heat sears the surface into a crust while the inside finishes cooking through.
- 5
Rest the beef. Lift the skewers onto a plate and cover loosely with foil for 3 minutes before serving. Resting lets the juices driven to the centre during grilling settle back through the meat, so it stays at temperature and carves more cleanly.
- 6
Warm the pittas and serve. Warm the pittas on the grill for 30 seconds a side, just until they puff slightly and pick up a few light marks. Serve them alongside the beef and vegetable skewers with lemon wedges for squeezing over.
Storage
Cool leftovers quickly and keep in a covered container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat gently in a pan or microwave until piping hot all the way through (74°C) before eating; this dish isn't suitable for freezing once cooked, as the vegetables turn watery and soft. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
Equipment
- barbecue or ridged cast-iron griddle pan
- 4 long metal skewers (or wooden skewers soaked 30 min)
- tongs
- instant-read probe thermometer
- large bowl
- plate and aluminium foil
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 598 kcal |
| Protein | 51.3 g |
| Carbohydrate | 44.6 g |
| of which sugars | 6.4 g |
| of which free sugars | 1 g |
| Fat | 22.8 g |
| of which saturates | 5.1 g |
| Fibre | 4.3 g |
| Salt | 2.55 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
8.6 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
