The whole kit ‘n’ kebable Stop your shishful thinking, get on the stick, and grill up some marinated morsels for guest over Labor Day weekend

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With the Labor Day holiday fast approaching, it’s time to determine what you’ll be tossing on the grill to feed your family and friends. One possibility that will satisfy individual tastes is a grill full of colorful and tasty shish kebabs.

Perhaps the best thing about preparing shish kebabs is they only take seven to 10 minutes of cooking time over a properly heated grill. In addition, you have the opportunity to serve people their favorite morsels whether it be beef, poultry or seafood.

To give you a little more confidence around the grill, there are two books I can recommend. They’re both from the editors of Cook’s Illustrated magazine and the television show “America’s Test Kitchen.” New this year is “The Cook’s Illustrated Guide to Grilling and Barbecue,” which is a great companion to last summer’s “Steaks, Chops, Roasts, and Ribs.”

These books, which are $35 each, cost more than your average cookbook and are definitely worth the outlay of cash. The Test Kitchen cooks give you more than 750 recipes in the two volumes with extensive notes and illustrations about what works and what doesn’t. The authors not only discuss food preparation, they also rate cooking equipment and tools.

As the editors point out, the first mistake most people make is what they buy at the supermarket. So that’s a good place to start.

If you’re going to use beef for kebabs, the Test Kitchen chefs recommend top blade steak or top sirloin. Cut the meat into 1 1/4-inch cubes and marinate up to 24 hours. You can purchase or produce your own marinades to suit your tastes. I had success with some prepared soy and ginger marinades and also enjoyed The Ultimate Marinade produced in Bangor by Ann Marie’s Kitchen. The barbecue guide also offers several marinade options.

One handy tip the authors give about marinating meat is to butterfly the cube of beef before putting it into the marinade. This allows the marinade to cover more surface area and the result is a tastier piece of meat. Remember when you place the meat on the skewer it should be returned to its cube form to prevent it from cooking too quickly. If you like a peppery taste, try coating the beef with McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak seasoning just before you place the kebabs on the grill.

Now that the beef is marinating, it’s time to prepare the vegetables.

There are many vegetables to choose from, but it’s important to determine cooking times when pairing vegetables and fruits with your meat or seafood. Cherry tomatoes, for instance, probably will cook too quickly for use with chicken, and swordfish cubes will be done cooking a couple minutes before the vegetables. For this reason, it’s suggested when grilling swordfish to place the vegetables on a separate skewer.

Also take into consideration that 1 1/2-inch cubes of white chicken meat will cook more quickly than dark meat, which the Test Kitchen cooks preferred for its flavor.

The most common vegetables to consider are bell peppers – in either red, yellow, orange or green – cherry tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, small-bulb onions and red onions.

Depending on the type of kebab and the marinade, apricots or fresh pineapple also can be used to complement the flavor of your beef, chicken or seafood.

Cut the vegetables into a uniform size because it’s important that they cook through at the same time it takes for the meat to cook. You also don’t want the veggies so large that the meat doesn’t hit the grate and you lose those marvelous grill marks.

Still others might like their vegetables a bit softer. If that’s the case, parboiling your peppers might be the trick, but for the most part, 1-inch pieces of peppers and three-quarter-inch pieces for the red onion will cook just fine and taste great with a brushing of oil and some salt and pepper before placing them on the grill.

I like using both small-bulb onions, such as yellow pickling onions, and red onions. The cooking guide recommends using the outer three layers of the red onion cut into 3/4-inch pieces.

With the meat and vegetables set to go, it’s time to determine what kind of skewer to use. I like wooden skewers because it’s one less thing to clean after the gathering. If you decide to use wooden skewers, be sure to soak them in water for at least 30 minutes. Two-prong skewers are best for chicken and scallops, since both tend to spin when you turn them on the grill.

The only other ingredient you’ll need to make your Labor Day shish kebab grilling experience a success is a full serving of sunshine.

Charcoal-Grilled Beef Kebabs

Serves 4 to 6

Beef:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 pounds of top blade steaks, cut into 1 1/4-inch squares

Fruit and vegetables:

1 pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch chunks

1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 medium yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and ground black pepper

1 large red onion, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces of three layers

Lemon or lime wedges for serving (optional)

For the beef: Combine the oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a gallon-size, zipper-lock plastic bag or a large bowl. Add the steak cubes and toss to coat evenly. Seal the bag or cover the bowl and refrigerate until fully seasoned, at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

For the fruit and vegetables: Toss the pineapple and peppers with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Brush the onion with the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Using eight 12-inch skewers, thread each skewer with a pineapple chunk, an onion stack, a cube of meat and 1 piece of each kind of pepper and then repeat the sequence two more times. Brush any oil remaining in the bowl over the skewers.

Grill the kebabs directly over the coals, uncovered, turning each kebab one-quarter turn every 1 3/4 minutes, until the meat is well-browned, grill marked, and cooked to medium-rare, about 7 minutes (or about 8 minutes for medium). The grill temperature level should be hot, which means you can hold your hand 5 inches above the grate for only 2 seconds. Transfer the kebabs to a serving platter and squeeze the lemon or lime wedges over the kebabs, if desired. Serve immediately.

Charcoal-Grilled Chicken Kebabs

Serves 4

Asian marinade:

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves

6 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 tablespoons)

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

2 medium scallions, sliced thin

Ground black pepper

Chicken:

1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks

3 cups vegetables and-or fruit, prepared according to instructions in main article

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and ground black pepper

Lemon wedges for serving (optional)

Whisk the marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Combine with the chicken in a gallon-size, zipper-lock plastic bag; seal the bag and refrigerate, turning once or twice, until the chicken has marinated fully, at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours.

Lightly coat the vegetables and-or fruit by tossing them in a medium bowl with oil and salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the chicken chunks from the bag; discard the marinade. Use one hand to hold two skewers about 1/2-inch apart, then thread a portion of the chicken and vegetables on both skewers at once for easy turning on the grill. Repeat with the remaining chicken and vegetables to make eight sets of double skewers.

Grill the kebabs, uncovered, turning each kebab one-quarter turn every 2 minutes, until the chicken and vegetables and-or fruit are lightly browned and the meat is fully cooked, about 9 minutes (or 8 minutes if you are cooking white meat). Remove the kebabs from the grill when there is no pink at the center. The grill temperature level should be medium-hot, which means you can hold your hand 5 inches above the grate for only 3 or 4 seconds. Transfer the kebabs to a serving platter and squeeze the lemon wedges over the kebabs, if desired. Serve immediately.

Grilling tips from the pros

. For a lemony taste, it works best to squirt the kebabs with lemon wedges after removing them from the grill. The acids from the lemon make it difficult to use in marinades.

. Prevent fish from sticking to the grate by dampening some paper towels in vegetable oil and with a pair of tongs rub the surface of the heated cooking grate.

. Be sure the coals are covered with fine gray ash and the cooking grate has heated up before grilling. When grilling shish kebabs there’s no need to use the grill cover.

. Slit the back of the shell of large shrimp with small scissors to remove the dark intestinal tract. Grill with the shell on to hold moisture and flavor.

. It’s best to apply your sweet, sticky barbecue sauces during the last few minutes of cooking.