How to Grill Perfect Kabobs and Skewers, According to Barbecue Experts

Summer is here, which means barbecue season and backyard grill parties are finally in full swing. And one of the best ways to fire up the grill is by throwing a bunch of meats and vegetables—sausage included—onto skewers and grilling up a storm.

There’s something primal about eating meat on skewers. It makes sense that you'll find skewered meats in nearly every corner of the planet: glistening yakitori in Japan with chicken hearts and gizzards; Thailand’s marinated pork, or moo ping; Persian kebab koobideh made with aromatic lamb; sweet and spicy tteokbokki in Korea. And you can’t forget the pleasurable American pastime of a hot dog—or corn dog—on a stick.

Although the act of barbecuing on sticks can sometimes feel primitive—if cave people could cook meat over flames, how hard can it be, really?—there are plenty of considerations that can improve the experience. How can you ensure the wooden skewers holding your kebabs together don’t crumble into ash? What are the best combinations of meat and vegetables to assemble on your skewers? How can you get a nice sear without overcooking your food?

Fret not. We’ve tapped two barbecue experts—Morgan Bolling, the executive editor at America’s Test Kitchen (which just published The Complete Grilling & Barbecue Cookbook), and Mike Nugent, CEO and pit master at New York’s Dinosaur Bar-B-Que—for their best skewer advice.

How to Prepare Skewers for Grilling

Using metal skewers? You’re good to go. But if you’re going the wooden route, you’re going to need to do a bit of prep work. It’s worth it—opting for wood can impart an earthy, smoky flavor into your finished skewers. But first, they need a bath.

“I always soak wooden skewers in water for at least 30 minutes before grilling. It keeps them from catching fire,” Bolling advises.

There are some downsides to wooden skewers. They are prone to burning and can splinter—plus they’re single use. If those issues are of any concern, Bolling suggests investing in metal skewers. “[There’s] no soaking required, and they are reusable,” he says.

How to Build Great Kabob Combinations

Once your skewers are properly soaked (if using wood) or clean (for metal skewers), it’s time to prepare your ingredients.

What’s most important is ensuring that everything going on the skewer is similar in size so it can cook evenly. You can slice proteins into chunks, zucchinis into rings, and peppers into strips that can be expertly woven onto skewers.

Bolling takes it a step further with an S-shape technique.

“Instead of cutting meat into large chunks, cut it into ½-inch strips and thread them onto the skewer in a tight S-shape,” he says. “This gives you significantly more surface area than chunks, which means they can cling to more flavorful marinade when skewered.”

The benefits go beyond marinade absorption. Because the strips are the same size and thickness, they also cook more evenly and develop a better char. “Once you try S-shaped skewers, it's hard to go back to chunks,” he explains.

How to Choose the Best Ingredients for Skewers

This is the fun part—it’s a bit like solving a puzzle. How you arrange ingredients on a skewer can have a huge impact on how evenly everything cooks.

Try not to mix items with drastically different cook times on the same skewer. Pairing quick-cooking vegetables with slower-cooking meats, for example, can lead to burnt veggies and undercooked proteins. Instead, group ingredients that cook at a similar pace.

The same applies to marinades. Sugar-forward marinades, like a honey soy glaze or sweet gochujang, tend to burn faster because of their high sugar content. Reserve these for quick-cooking proteins like thinly sliced pork belly, fish cakes, or even canned meats, along with fast-cooking ingredients like rice cakes and zucchini.

If you want to avoid any undercooked chicken breast mishaps combined with burnt peppers, you can always choose to keep all the same ingredients on a single skewer. “It's not as pretty or visually dramatic as a fully loaded mixed skewer, but you can time every component to cook at its own rate,” Bolling says. “Once everything comes off the grill, pull it all off the skewers and serve it together. People can still build their own mix exactly how they want it.”

Don't Overcrowd Your Skewers

If you've ever bitten into a skewer that was charred on the outside but still raw internally, one of the issues may have been packing the ingredients too tightly. Not only does this affect cooking time, it also affects how the skewer itself responds to the heat.

“Leave a little space to allow heat to circulate and help it char rather than steam,” Nugent advises.

Giving ingredients a little breathing room leads to better browning, a stronger sear, and more flavorful results. Trust us—no one wants a steamed skewer.

Why Chicken Sausage Works So Well on Skewers

One of the best things about fully cooked chicken sausage is that it offers many of the same benefits as chicken without the hassle of handling raw poultry.

While it may be difficult to thread sausage into Bolling's signature S-shape, it solves a surprising number of skewer-related challenges. Need ingredients that are uniform in size? Sausage can be cut into whatever shape or size works best for your spread. Need a protein that cooks quickly alongside vegetables? Chicken sausage grill up in just a few minutes and can keep pace with many of the vegetables commonly found on skewers.

It's also incredibly versatile. Looking for a sweet-and-spicy combination? Try our Sweet & Savory Kabobs. Curious about a viral trend? Our take on "Lazy Girl Kabobs" put a playful spin on skewer season. Teriyaki, huli huli, barbecue sauce, peppers, onions—the possibilities are only limited by your imagination and the length of your skewer.

Have Fun and Enjoy the Great Outdoors

Sure, skewer season is about the meat (and sausages), but what makes the experience so special beyond the food is spending time outside with loved ones.

“With the grill going, music playing, and a cold drink in hand, the atmosphere becomes just as enjoyable as the meal itself,” Nugent says.

Plus, it’s impossible to be unhappy while eating meat on sticks.