Foods on a Stick

Foods on a stick have their origins with nomadic tribes or traveling warriors who would place their food onto swords or wild branches and cook over an open fire. Today, it is the convenience factor and the casual appeal that make these dishes so attractive to the customer. Many culinary cultures include diced meat, seafood, or vegetables threaded on wooden or metal skewers. In some cases, the meat or seafood is ground, allowing for the use of trimmings and less desirable cuts. Usually, the objective with skewered items is to cook them quickly with minimal equipment and energy. Traditional kebob or satay grills, which have no grill racks and are only about 6 in/18 cm wide, suspend the skewer a few inches above a small amount of hot charcoal. This way, the food cooks rapidly with minimal loss of heat. Additionally, the narrow grill allows enough space for the meat to cook over intense heat, creating bold seared and charred flavors without burning the wooden skewers. Some prominent examples are the Turkish Shish Kebob and the Chicken Köfte Kebob.