There is a science to making a kabob. Who knew, right?! Meat and vegetables on a stick can be so complicated. The usual way to make a kabob with both meat and vegetables on a skewer is standard. Yet there is some degree of difficulty in cooking them that way. Sometimes the meat is undercooked while the vegetables are perfect. Other times the vegetables are scorched in order to get the meat done. What is the best way to accomplish a kabob without these issues? Try separating the two. Meats on one stick and veggies on the other. Yes, I know, I’m a genius but you can just call me Sonia!
Now let’s discuss meats. There are common meats used for a kabob such as steak, shrimp, chicken, pork and lamb. But if you know me by now, you know I just don’t do regular. So today let’s try a lobster kabob. It’s one of the easiest kabobs to cook!
First choose a lobster. If you choose to buy a live lobster that is completely up to you. Please remember that you will have to go the cave man route and kill and clean you own food before cooking. Obviously the other option is frozen. 5-6 frozen lobster tails should do.
Please note: If you have wooden skewers soak them in water for an hour before preparing the marinade. This is done to prevent them from burning.
Marinade:
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 6 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 habanero pepper, seeded and sliced, or 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 5 lobster tails, deveined
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
First, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and habanero pepper or crushed red pepper. Saute until garlic is lightly browned. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature. Stir in the sea salt, lemon juice and parsley. Coat the lobster tails with the mixture, cover, and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
Kabobs:
Once the lobsters are marinated, carefully place them on the skewer lengthwise so that the meat is flat. Save the leftover marinade. Pre-heat grill to medium-high. Place the tails flat on the grill with the meat side down. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Rotate the tails 45 degrees angle and cook for 3 more minutes. Rotate the skewer so that the meat is facing upwards and finish cooking for 1-2 more minutes. Finally, lightly brush the remaining marinade over the tail. Serve immediately.
Feel free to use the same marinade for the vegetable kabobs if you would like to continue with this theme. When choosing vegetables, squashes, mushrooms, onions, and peppers hold up better in high heat. Cut vegetables into bite size pieces and place them on the skewer. Make sure they are of similar size when placing them on the kabob. It is easier to first place the vegetables on the skewer then put the in the marinade and rotate. Once marinated, grill the skewers until the vegetables are slightly charred. Serve immediately.
If you have left over skewers, use them to make desert. Be creative and use pineapples, watermelons or even peaches.
