These chargrilled Turkish beef shish kabobs take 10 minutes to prep and 5 minutes to grill on an open flame. They are incredibly easy, tender, and perfect with some fresh pita bread or chopped salad (like this Persian Shirazi Salad).
Grilled meats and kabobs are popular all over the Mediterranean! This recipe is an adaptation from an old Turkish friend, Mehmet. He would make a version of this marinade for beef kabobs and lamb chops when we would grill out, and let's just say there were never any leftovers!
Main Ingredient Notes
Steak chunks: Use any type of steak- sirloin, New York strip, ribeye, or tenderloin. For higher-quality meats, you can skip the marinade and just salt the kabobs.
Kabob Marinade Ingredients
Dried Italian herbs are a shortcut. Mehmet would use dried oregano and dried basil. Any kind of dried herb combination works for this marinade.
How To Make Turkish Beef Kabobs
Add the tomato paste, lemon juice, dried herbs, garlic powder, oil, salt, and pepper to a large bowl. Mix until the marinade is fully combined.
Cut the beef into 1.5" (about 4 cm) chunks. Fully coat the beef in the marinade.
Cut the onion and bell pepper into a similar diameter to the beef. Skewer the cubed meat, onion, and bell pepper.
Heat the grill to a high temperature. If using charcoal or wood, prepare the fire. Place kabobs on the hot grill grates. Flip once they begin to char.
These kabobs cook quickly! They can easily burn if you set them and forget them. I recommend standing by and flipping quickly. Depending on the grilling environment (and how well done you want the kabobs), these can cook for 1 to 4 minutes on each side.
The Best Skewers
There are a variety of skewers (like bamboo skewers or stainless steel skewers). I personally prefer heavy-duty metal skewers because they don't burn and can be reused.
What To Serve With Kabobs
I enjoy kabobs with pita bread and a dipping sauce like toum garlic sauce or baba ganoush. My favorite sides are a chopped salad (like shirazi salad or fattoush), vermicelli rice, or homemade french fries.
📋 Recipe
Turkish Beef Shish Kabobs
Ingredients
- 3 lbs steak ribeye, strip, sirloin, or tenderloin
- 2 bell peppers
- 1 onion
- 4 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 whole small lemons, squeezed about 4 to 5 tablespoon of lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- salt and pepper to taste to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the tomato paste, lemon juice, garlic powder, dried Italian herbs, oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
- Cut the beef into 1.5" (about 4 cm) cubes. Add the cubed beef to the marinade and mix until the beef is coated.
- Chop the onion and bell pepper into chunks a similar diameter as the beef. Skewer the beef chunks, onion, and bell pepper.
- Heat the grill to the highest temperature. Once the grill is hot, add the skewers. Grill until they start to char, then flip to the other side. Cooking time depends on how hot your grill is and how well done you want your steak. For this video, I grilled about 1 to 2 minutes then flipped for another 1 to 2 minutes.
Video
Notes
- Try different cuts of meat for these beef shish kebabs. Try sirloin tips, top sirloin steak, beef tenderloin, ribeye, strip steak, and fillet mignon.
- Cut the beef chunks not larger than 2". Because we are grilling these quickly, anything thicker will undercook on the inside of the kabob.
- Use different vegetables for the skewer. It's fun to play with different flavor combinations such as cherry tomatoes, juicy pineapple chunks, mushrooms, and zucchini.
- Grill Tips: These steak kebabs taste the best on an open fire. I prefer a wooden fire, with a charcoal fire coming in second. A gas grill also works; just make sure to get it hot. Watch the steak shish kabobs carefully on the fire. They cook quickly!
- Use chicken or lamb. The chicken needs to cook on a less hot flame, but the lamb can be cooked the same as the beef.
Dan says
Making these tonight!