Heavenly Palate: [Pork Shish Kebab] Grilled shish kebab with red wine marinade

Kebab is a variety of meat dishes originated from the Middle East,

that are now found worldwide.

In North America, kebab generally refers more specifically to shish kebab served on the skewer. However, kebab refers to meat that is cooked over flames; large or small cuts of meat.

The traditional meat for kebab is lamb, but it may now be beef, goat, chicken, or pork.

Shish kebab is a Turkish dish consisting of meat threaded on a skewer and grilled.

Shish mean 'skewer' in Turkish.

Cubes of meat and/or vegetables are threaded on the spit as well. Typical vegetables include tomato, bell pepper, onions, and mushrooms.

Shish kebab is very similar to Greek souvlaki. Greek food is very much like Turkish food.

By the way I love Turkish food~ I had wonderful meals during my trip to Turkey.

I like Greek food too. I remember my Turkish friend used to do her grocery shopping at Greek market and told me that the ingredients are almost identical.

I like pork a lot. That must be why I picked pork over beef to make shish kebab the other day.

As kebab originates from the Middle East, pork wouldn't be an usual choice of meat. But, I am not biased towards any meat, I choose on the basis of meat sales of the week.

This garlicky marinade sauce works very well for both beef and pork.

You can choose any hard vegetables, but I find bell pepper and onion are especially nice companions for skewers.

Here goes the shish kebab recipe:
(Recipe adapted from Grillingcompanion.com)

Ingredients
1 pound beef or pork
1 medium onion
2 bell peppers (any colour)
10 large white mushrooms
2/3 cup dry red wine, burgundy or pinot noir
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

1. If you are using bamboo skewers, start by submerging them in water using a dish or a paper towel to hold them underwater. Let them soak for 30 minutes.

2. In a stainless or glass bowl large enough to hold the meat, mix salt, sugar, paprika, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.

Add wine and mix well. Now marinade is ready.

3. Cut the meat into 1 inch to 1 1/2 inch cubes.

Add the cubes to the marinade bowl. Let it rest for 2 hours in the fridge. Then remove it from the refrigerator and let it come back to room temperature like we did in the filet mignon recipe. Let it sit at room temp for about 30 minutes.

4. Cut the onion in half and then cut each half into quarters.

Cut the bell peppers open and clean out the seeds. Cut the pepper into 1 inch squares.

You can leave the mushrooms whole, but for larger mushrooms, cut them in half.

5. Skewer the ingredients by alternating between meat, onion, bell pepper, and mushroom
6. After assembling the kabobs, brush some oil on the skewered meat and veggies.

7. Place the kabobs on the hot preheated grill directly over the flame or coals. Grill for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating 90 degrees every 4 minutes, until the meat is cooked to desired level of doneness.

You can serve with rice, salad or potato of your choice.