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    Home » Recipes » Main Dish

    Turkish Beef Shish Kabobs

    By Lily・Published: Oct 3, 2022・Updated: Mar 18, 2025・Post may have affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

    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).

    chargrilled beef shish kabob skewers.

    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!

    Ingredient Notes

    beef chunks, onion, and bell peppers in a bowl.
    • 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.
    • Onion: Red onion, yellow onion, sweet onion, or white onion work great for skewers. Cut the onion into chunks the same diameter as the beef cubes.
    • Bell pepper: Use any type of bell pepper. I like changing the colors for the presentation.
    marinade ingredients for kabobs.

    Quick Overview

    how to make chargrilled beef shish kabobs.

    Make the marinade by mixing everything in a large bowl, skewer the meat and chopped vegetables, and grill on a hot open flame.

    How To Make Turkish Beef Kabobs

    add tomato paste, garlic powder, dried italian herbs, lemon juice, oil, salt, and pepper to a bowl.

    Add the tomato paste, lemon juice, dried herbs, garlic powder, oil, salt, and pepper to a large bowl.

    beef kabob marinade.

    Mix until the marinade is fully combined.

    add beef chunks to the marinade.

    Cut the beef into 1.5" (about 4 cm) chunks. Add the beef to the marinade.

    beef chunks marinating in a bowl.

    Fully coat the beef in the marinade.

    marinating beef and chopped onions and chopped bell peppers.

    Peel and cut the onion into a similar diameter as the beef. Cut the bell pepper.

    skewering the marinate beef chunks and vegetables.

    Skewer the cubed meat, onion, and bell pepper.

    beef kabob skewers laying on a baking sheet.

    Place the skewers on a baking sheet.

    grilling the beef kabobs

    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.

    Pro tip: 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.

    chargrilled beef shish kabobs on a baking sheet.

    Remove the kabobs from the grill onto a clean rimmed baking sheet. Serve immediately. 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.

    Tips and Tricks

    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!

    Variations and Substitutions

    • 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.
    • Try different cuts of meat for these beef shish kebabs. Try sirloin tips, top sirloin steak, beef tenderloin, ribeye, strip steak, fillet mignon,
    • 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.

    Equipment Notes

    You need a grill that gets very hot. It doesn't matter if it's a gas grill, charcoal grill, or wood grill. Just make sure the grill is hot before adding the steak kabobs.

    bamboo skewers and metal skewers

    Use any kind of skewer- wood skewers (like bamboo skewers) or stainless steel skewers.

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    📋 Recipe

    grilled beef shish kabob skewers on a baking sheet.

    Turkish Beef Shish Kabobs

    Author: Lily
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Mediterranean
    Prep: 10 minutes mins
    Cook: 5 minutes mins
    Total: 15 minutes mins
    5 from 4 votes
    Print Pin Rate Email
    Servings 6 people
    These Turkish beef shish kabobs are tender, easy, and cook in 5 minutes! Tender beef cubes are marinated with a tomato lemon herb marinade and then skewered with onion and bell pepper. Then these meat skewers are grilled on a hot flame.

    Ingredients
     
    US Customary - Metric

    • 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

    • Squeeze the lemon. 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 bowl. Mix until the beef is coated.
    • While the beef is marinating, peel and chop the onion into chunks in similar diameter as the beef. Cut the bell pepper as well.
    • Skewer the beef chunks, onion, and bell pepper. Lay the skewers on a baking sheet.
    • 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

    1. Use sirloin, ribeye, tenderloin, New York strip, picanhe, or any other cut of meat you like.
    2. Cut the beef chunks not large than 2". Because we are grilling these quickly, anything thicker will undercook on the inside of the kabob.
    3. Use other ingredients on the skewers like mushrooms, pineapple, cherry tomatoes, and zucchini. Just pick something that has a quick cook time. I wouldn't recommend potatoes.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 8 ounces | Calories: 561 kcal | Carbohydrates: 8 g | Protein: 48 g | Fat: 37 g | Saturated Fat: 14 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15 g | Trans Fat: 0.01 g | Cholesterol: 181 mg | Sodium: 206 mg | Potassium: 955 mg | Fiber: 2 g | Sugar: 4 g | Vitamin A: 1419 IU | Vitamin C: 55 mg | Calcium: 77 mg | Iron: 4 mg

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    About Lily

    Howdy! My name is Lilian, but my friends call me Lily. I'm the founder and one of the recipe authors here at The Matbakh. I enjoy sunsets, long walks to the fridge, meaningful relationships, and anything related to food. I'm so happy you are here!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      5 from 4 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Dan

      October 05, 2022 at 8:06 am

      5 stars
      Making these tonight!

      Reply

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    lily at the matbakh

    I'm Lily

    I'm an American Lebanese living in Texas. My kitchen, or matbakh, is a hodgepodge of recipes from the U.S. and Mediterranean region.

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