Summer is officially here and I don’t know about you, but I plan to attend as many backyard BBQ’s as possible. While I love hosting, I also like being invited to those my friends host and bringing a little something. It is for those invites that I tend to go for my quick & easy BBQ fixin’s.
For me that generally involves something on a skewer. Depending on the occasion or who’s house I’ve been invited to – my skewers can consist of only veggies, only shrimp, or your traditional skewer – with a combo of a meat (chicken, sausage, beef) with a variety of vegetables.
Regardless of which way you choose to go, you must remember to prep and marinade everything at least a couple of hours before the items need to be grilled.
Skewers:
If you plan on using wooden skewers, please remember to soak them in water for at least 10 minutes before skewering your fixin’s. This will prevent them from burning, which your fellow BBQ goers will appreciate. 😉
Fixin’s:
That’s the wonderful thing about the skewer. You can put almost any veggie, fruit or cut of meat, that won’t break up when cut into bite-sized chunks (usually 1 inch in diameter), on a skewer.
My meats of choice are generally country style beef ribs, chicken thigh or breast, sausage and shrimp. My go to veggies tend to be bell pepper, onions, mushrooms, and tomatoes, but you can choose whatever your heart desires.
Prep:
Once you’ve cut your ingredients into bite sized pieces, you can start layering them onto your skewers, alternating between your meet and veggies, in whatever order looks most appetizing to you. Repeat this process until you have loaded all the skewers you plan to cook. Now, place the skewers in a large freezer bag and drizzle your marinade over each, making sure they’re coated all the way around.
Marinade:
My go to marinade for all my skewer fixin’s has the same basic flavoring:
enough extra virgin olive oil to coat each piece
the juice from one lemon
salt and pepper to taste
Then depending on my mood, I may add in a couple of crushed garlic cloves, some red pepper flakes or some other dry BBQ seasoning or rub I picked up.
You can do the same. You can even use your favorite salad dressing to serve as the marinade. Experiment and see what works best for you and your guests and store your marinaded goods in the fridge until they’re ready to hit the grill.
Grilling:
Once they’re ready to be grilled, make sure you don’t place them in direct heat, but rather place them off to the side so that they don’t burn.
Cook everything until the veggies soften, which can be anywhere between 5-10 minutes, and your fixin’s are ready to be enjoyed on or off the skewer.
What are your favorite quick and easy BBQ fixin’s?
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