BBQ Chicken Kebabs

BBQ chicken kebabs. I am sure that your first reaction was the same as mine when you first laid eyes them. Is finger-licking amazing the phrase you were looking for? Well, these BBQ chicken kebabs really do this phrase justice.  The chicken skewers coated with a rich BBQ sauce make the perfect starter or canapé. Especially, if you want to cook to impress while having guests over for dinner or a garden grill party. Give the chicken an alluring char and top them off with some fresh herbs. The kebabs go hand-in-hand with an ice cold beer and other BBQ recipes such as oven-baked barbecue chicken or BBQ meatballs. With this recipe, you’ll easily gain a reputation for hosting the best barbecue in town.

BBQ Chicken Kebabs with Gas2Coal Hybrid Grill

If you love having barbecues in the warmer months, I am sure you have to decide this age-old question: gas or charcoal? Wouldn’t it be nice to have both? Therefore, the grill that you want for completing these BBQ chicken kebabs is the GAS2COAL® HYBRID GRILL from Char-Broil. This combination grill easily converts from gas to charcoal in only three steps, no tools required. Therefore, you can enjoy the best of both worlds choose whichever option you fancy at the time.

In addition to Char-Broil supplying amazing grills and accessories, they also have a lot of dedicated experts who give excellent advice on grilling and barbecuing. One of these experts include the award wining Al Harris – a.k.a. Dr. Sweetsmoke. He has won multiple awards, is known as the British BBQ Grand Champion, and has tons of TV experience teaching audiences about barbecue. In addition to that, he is also one of the key judges and BBQ demonstrators at leading UK barbecue events such as Grillstock.  Dr. Sweetsmoke learnt his BBQ skills in his US home state of California as a young boy and moved to the UK 14 years ago. Stunned by the cold climate and feeling homesick he turned to barbecuing, in all weathers, and built his reputation as one of the leading UK BBQ experts.

Expert thoughts from Dr. Sweetsmoke

“In reality barbecuing is about spending fun and quality time with friends and family. I learnt from my father who is from Louisiana. It’s not like cooking by yourself in a kitchen. Food is a binder of people. My aim is to get British people cooking on the BBQ year-round like me,” says Dr Sweetsmoke. He also predicts these BBQ trends for 2018:

• “This BBQ season is trending towards more vegetarian and locally sourced meats which is a great thing for everyone.”
• “German dishes are huge this year as BBQ and grilling has really taken off as it has here in the UK.”
• “Home curing and smoking your own bacon is an extremely popular trend.”

Following Dr. Sweetsmoke’s views on 2018, I’d say thay my grilled sweetcorn with feta and chilli will keep you trendy. Plus, who could possibly resist bacon-wrapped sweetcorn?

A barbecue for everyone

First of all, chicken mini-fillets work especially well for kebabs. There’s no need to cut them but instead simply thread them on. However, who said that the only thing that you should put on a barbecue are pieces of meat? Whenever I have guests over, I like to give as many options as possible. So, why don’t you also try serving a piece of fish, such as hot smoked salmon? It can be served as a lighter version for those who wish to get into shape before the summer. Otherwise, you can also inspire yourself with delicious jerk prawns.

Also, you can throw some vegetables on the grill such as bells peppers, onions, or you can also make simple roasted asparagus. It goes with the BBQ chicken skewers as well as a the smoked fish or jerk prawns.

If you are accommodating vegans, stick to the vegetables on the grill, just in case, and make sure you make enough. You can also add roasted carrots. A protein alternative is to toss some tofu on the grill and give it a good sear on each side.

Types of skewers

Here is some food for thought. Ever thought of using metal skewers instead of the wooden ones? I didn’t have any at home, but the reason why metal works better for the BBQ chicken kebabs is because the wood can absorb the moisture. All those delicious juices released during the cooking process can get absorbed straight into the wood. That’s why professional kitchens tend to go for the metal alternative. Also, you reduce the risk of the meat catching an unpleasant aroma from burned wood.

If using wooden skewers, soak them 10 minutes in water before they hit the barbecue. This will keep them from burning.

Use your oven

Just when you thought that you are doomed without a professional smoker or a grill, no need to panic. You can easily make delicious BBQ chicken kebabs using your kitchen oven too. Similarly, I used the oven for my oven-baked barbecue chicken and the result was definitely restaurant worthy. If you love BBQ sauce and adore chicken, then please take a look at this recipe, I have a feeling that it might become one of your favourites this year.

For a charring effect, use the grill function in your oven. Again, not every single oven has it, but there are ways to go about.

BBQ sauce

The BBQ sauce has considerable sugar content, so be careful when cooking the chicken skewers. If you place them on too high heat they will burn quickly and won’t be cooked through before you have to remove them from the barbecue. Moreover, the barbecue sauce ingredients listed are enough to baste the kebabs with. Double up if you want to reserve some for dipping. Split the sauce between two bowls because you don’t want to poison yourself by dipping cooked food into raw chicken juices, i.e. the bowl you basted the raw chicken with!

Complementary BBQ dishes

For a successful BBQ events, naturally you’ll need more BBQ dishes. I can tell you for a fact that if you make these spicy smoked ribs or these honey glazed smoked ribs in addition to the BBQ chicken kebabs, you’ll be the king or queen of Barbecue Land.  You can prepare these rib recipes easily, all you need is the right rub or marinade. You’ll need to keep a eye on these when you put them on the grill though.

If you feel like creating something that you don’t necessarily have to monitor every minute, then the whole smoked turkey is for you! Of course, for this recipe, you’ll need a barbecue that has a smoking function. So be sure to check out the recipe which gives you plenty of information on how smoking works and the The Big Easy® Smoker Roaster/Fryer & Grill.

Serve with sides

Traditionally, BBQ recipes can be quite heavy, therefore I recommend serving lighter dishes on the side. For example, you can try my creamy apple salad or a cucumber salad.  In any case, I hope you enjoy making these BBQ chicken kebabs!

What is your favourite BBQ recipe?

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