Skewers—also known as kebabs, yakitori, souvlaki, satay, and brochettes—make grilling easier, more fun, and often more delicious. At their best, skewers are evenly cooked, deeply flavored, and served piled high on a platter near the grill—ready to be enjoyed outside with friends and a cold drink in hand. And while there’s no such thing as a bad skewer (we’ll eat anything off of a stick), some are better than others. Here are five of our favorite skewer-based recipes, plus everything you’ll need to make them.
The Right Skewers
Grilling with skewers shouldn’t require discarding an armory of miniature wooden swords into the trash after cooking. While wooden skewers are better than no skewers, the safety benefits of reusable, metal skewers simply make them the best option. Unlike their wooden counterparts, metal skewers never catch on fire, splinter, or—for some hellish reason—do both at the same time. Metal also doesn’t need to soak in water to become grill-safe—it’s born flame-ready.