Kabobs have pierced all manner of foodstuffs — minced lamb, ground beef, offal, veggies, and endless additions among them — for centuries. One would think that hundreds and hundreds of years would have been long enough to master something as simple as cubed steak on a stick, but it can still be tricky to get it just right. You have a considerably smaller surface area to work with versus a standard whole steak, so the danger of overcooking is high. But you can mitigate some of that risk with the right cut for the occasion.
Top sirloin is the top choice for kabobs, based on its own merits for this very use, and by the process of elimination. Most folks don’t want to hack up big, beautiful, expensive T-bone or porterhouse steaks, but rather show them off in their full, glorious form. Likewise, your more affordable but still flavorful cuts of steak aren’t quite right for kabobs. Something like a skirt or a flank steak is great to toss on the grill in other configurations, but they don’t quite cube as properly as a top sirloin. And, even with this superb kabob pick, you still want to take some precautions for optimum top sirloin kabobs.
Perfecting top sirloin kabobs for your next cookout
Top sirloin is lean, which means, of course, that it’s absent a lot of the lovely, lacy marbling that better guards those fattier steaks against dryness. It’s still flavorful on its own in spite of that absence, but a marinade can further ensure tenderness even after the beef meets the fire. Cube first to let your preferred recipe really sink in before you get to grilling.
You should also keep those cubes as large as you can; somewhere around an inch and a half should do. You’re also going to need to sacrifice some botanical aesthetic. As pretty as a meat and veggie skewer can be, things like cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, and onions require different cook times than steak, so keep them separate. And, perhaps most importantly, keep a close eye on your kabobs as they cook. Top sirloin steak kabobs will reach medium doneness in less than 10 minutes whether they’re prepared over an open flame or in the oven.
