Steak, Mushroom and Potato Kebabs

Now that spring is here and summer will be here before we know it, I have lots of grilling recipes to share. To be honest, we grill a lot more in the winter than we do during the summer, but that’s the beauty of living in Florida – gorgeous, sunny weather most of the year. Yes, we love it!

I always feel really bad posting tantalizing pictures of grilled chicken, all sorts of kebabs or grilled vegetables in the middle of winter, when I know many of you are shoveling snow and bundling up in below zero weather. Now I can finally happily share some of the new recipes that we’ve been enjoying throughout the winter months.

Kebabs are probably what we grill most often. There are endless variations of kebab recipes and I will enjoy trying out many of them. It’s usually a challenge to cook meat and vegetables on the same skewer, since most vegetables take a longer time to cook than any kind of meat, poultry or fish. I usually just prepare the meat and vegetables on separate skewers and just cook the vegetables longer. This time, I knew that everything would cook through at the same time, so it was extra fun to pair them all on the same skewers. It looks so much prettier that way, doesn’t it?

You will love these kebabs, I’m sure. What could be more wonderful than steak, mushrooms and potatoes together? The steak has a really great marinade, with soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, red wine and garlic. Since I cut the pieces really big, they stay nice and tender. Mushrooms take no time at all to cook, and they get really roasted, and are really juicy on the inside. I precooked the potatoes and tossed them with garlic and lots of herbs, so all they need is some charring on the outside. Everything comes together in a really indulgent dinner. Make a quick salad, and you have an entire meal that looks elegant and tastes like a steakhouse special. 

Ingredients:

Steak:

1 – 1 1/2 lbs steak (ribeye, strip, sirloin), cut into 1 1/2″- 2″ pieces

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 Tablespoon red wine

1/2 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tablespoons olive oil

salt, ground black pepper, to taste

Potatoes:

1 1/4 – 1 1/2 lbs baby potatoes

2-3 Tablespoons olive oil

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 Tablespoon fresh thyme, minced

1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, minced

1/2 Tablespoons dry herbs, optional

salt, ground black pepper, to taste

Mushrooms:

10 oz. fresh mushrooms (I used baby bella mushrooms)

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1/2 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced

salt, ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

(The ingredient list might look long, but it really isn’t. I simply divided the meat, potatoes and mushrooms into separate categories, so it’s less confusing, but you’ll be using a lot of the same ingredients for everything.)

Start by marinating the steak. You can use ribeye, strip or sirloin steak for this recipe. I used sirloin this time, but any of them will work. Choose steaks that are very thick. The thicker the steak the more juicy it will be. Cut the steak into 1 1/2″ – 2″ pieces.

Add the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, red wine, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, olive oil and salt and ground black pepper to taste. Mix everything to combine. You can grill the kebabs right away, letting the meat marinate while you prep the rest of the ingredients, but you can also marinate it a day in advance, just keep it refrigerated and then bring it to room temperature for 30 minutes before grilling it.

Meanwhile, place the potatoes into a medium pot and add just enough water to cover the potatoes. Bring the potatoes to a boil and cook for another 5 minutes or so, just so that the potatoes can be pierced with a paring knife, but are still firm and hold their shape. Drain the potatoes.

While the potatoes are cooking, combine the rest of the ingredients, olive oil, garlic, fresh and dry herbs, and salt and ground black pepper in a large mixing bowl.

Add the drained, still hot potatoes to the bowl and mix it all to combine, so that the potatoes are completely coated in the garlic, herb and seasoning mixture. Since the potatoes are still hot, the potatoes will absorb some of the salt and all the other flavors more than if you would mix it all together when the potatoes have cooled. You can make the potatoes in advance as well as the steak. After seasoning the cooked potatoes, cool them completely and store in a covered container in the refrigerator until you are ready to grill the kebabs.

For the mushrooms, I like to keep them whole, so I look for medium sized mushrooms. If the mushrooms are really big, you can cut them in half. Don’t season the mushrooms in advance though. I like to toss them together with the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper right before threading everything onto skewers, that way they are still nice and firm. The longer the mushrooms stand in the marinade, the mushier and soggier they will be.

Thread the steak, potatoes and mushrooms onto your skewers. I ended up getting 6 kebabs with meat, potatoes and mushrooms and 2 kebabs with just potatoes and mushrooms, but that was intentional. I like having extra potatoes and mushrooms:).  If you want to have more meat, use 1 1/2 lbs of steak meat. (I used only 1 lb for the 6 kebabs.)

Preheat the grill for 15 minutes, then clean the grill and brush it several times with a paper towel soaked in oil.

Place the kebabs on the hot grill and cook, covered, for 6-8 minutes per side. If you cook the kebabs for 8 minutes per side, the meat will be well done. We like our steak to be medium, so we cook them for about 6 minutes per side. The time also depends on how thick your meat is cut. If they are 1 1/2″, of course they will cook quicker than if you cut them into 2″ pieces.

I like to garnish the kebabs with more fresh herbs when they are done cooking. Serve with a salad and your entire meal is ready to go.