Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs

Grill Week

Day 1

Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs

I posted about this recipe a while back. I had tried to make these, only to discover that I was completely out of skewers. Well, this time I was prepared!

I got this recipe from my mother-in-law, and I have to say that I have never tasted kabobs that are quite this juicy and tender - absolutely amazing!

See all of those kabobs pictured above? Yeah...my family of 6 ate every...single...one. We didn't have any leftovers - they're that good!

Ingredients:

Marinade

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup sugar

1 clove garlic

1 Tb. oil

1 tsp. ginger

2 to 3 large chicken breasts - cut in 1 to 1 1/2 inch chunks

Vegetables

2 small zucchini cut into 1 inch chunks

1 onion - chunked

1 red pepper - chunked

1 can diced pineapple

salt and pepper

wooden skewers

Combine marinade ingredients into a 9x13 pan.

Place chicken in pan, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to marinate 4 hours or overnight. Turn the chicken over half-way through the marinading process.

Soak the wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes (this will help keep them from burning during the cooking process). While they're soaking, go turn on that grill - we want it to be nice and hot.

Lightly sprinkle the vegetables with salt and pepper, then remove the skewers from the water and begin assembling the kabobs.

Randomly place chicken, vegetables, and pineapple on the skewers. I like to cap the ends of the skewers with vegetables, as well as place lots of pineapple by the chicken. But, that's just me.

Once they are assembled, take them out to the grill. By now your grill rack and the interior of the grill should be at high heat.

This is the point where I turn it over to my husband. I prepare the food and he grills it - that's just how our relationship works. So...my husband, Elliott, will take over the post from here.

Just before placing the kabobs on the grill - turn the grill down to Low. There should be very few flames so the kabobs don't char.

Depending on the speed of cooking - you'll want to use little to no flame during the cooking process. Remember - the more flame you have - the more charring you'll end up with on your kabobs. If you need to have a flame, use an indirect heat - for example keep the far left burner on high but have your kabobs on the right side of the grill.

I like to put the kabobs perpendicular to the front of the grill - allowing you to turn them to the right or left, instead of turning them from front to back of the grill. This will also keep you from burning your hand reaching inside the grill to grab any kabobs at the back. Tongs are the easiest way to work with kabobs.

Keep the grill lid closed as much as possible to keep the heat in - but check them periodically to ensure they aren't burning. With chicken and kabobs, you'll end up turning them more often than other grilling meats.

Cook them until the chicken is firm to the touch - and done on the inside (temp should be 165 on the inside). The more often you grill - the better you'll be at gauging the doneness by feel.

Since the chicken chunks aren't very thick, and you'll be turning them to cook on all sides, the whole cooking process won't be very long - 10-15 minutes or less.

When the kabobs are done, remove them from the grill and place them on a clean plate (not the one you brought them to the grill on) and take them in to be devoured. There is no need to let them rest like other meats - so at this point it's time to EAT!

A Big Thanks to my hubby for helping me out this week. Be sure to check back tomorrow to see what we're grilling!