How to Prepare Wooden Skewers

Kebabs are a great and easy dish to make at home. All kebabs require skewers and skewers are made from a variety of materials, including wood, bamboo, and metal. Before making and cooking kebabs using wood or bamboo skewers, it’s important to soak those skewers in water. The saturated skewers have less of a chance of burning and possibly even catching on fire while on the barbeque or in your oven.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Soaking Skewers in Water

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1
Use a dish or bottle that’s big enough to hold the skewers. Get either an empty 2 L (8.5 c) soda bottle or a shallow glass casserole dish. Ensure the dish is long enough or the bottle is tall enough to fit the skewers. You can also use another dish, container, or bottle, as long as the skewers will fit once submerged in water.^{[1]XResearch source}
- Wash out the empty soda bottle, if you decide to use one. Also, make sure to keep the lid.
2
Place the wooden skewers inside the dish or bottle. Put more skewers in the dish or bottle than you’ll actually need; you can always dry them out if they’re not used. For a dish or container, place a heavy metal object on top of the skewers to hold them down once the water is put in the dish.^{[2]XResearch source}
- Wood skewers will float in water. A heavy metal object, such as a cooling rack or a serving spoon, will hold the skewers under the water and prevent them from floating.
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3
Fill the dish or bottle with water and soak the skewers for 30 minutes. Use a funnel to fill the bottle if needed. Make sure all the skewers are submerged in either the bottle or dish and that they are not floating. Keep the skewers in water for at least 30 minutes.^{[3]XResearch source}
- The temperature of the water is not important.
- The wood skewers can soak for longer than 30 minutes. In fact, some recipes may specifically direct you to soak the skewers for longer than 30 minutes.
If you used the bottle, you may need to pour out the water before you’re able to get the skewers out. You can lay the wood skewers on a paper towel to dry slightly while you make your kebabs.^{[4]XResearch source}

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Assembling your Kebabs

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1
Spray skewers with non-stick cooking spray to prevent food from getting stuck. Spray each skewer as you take it out of the water, but before you put any food on it. Use any non-stick cooking spray you have. The spray will prevent the meat and vegetables from sticking to the wood skewer, which in turn will help you slide the food off the skewers much easier.^{[5]XResearch source}
- You can also spray non-stick cooking spray onto the barbeque grill to prevent items from sticking. However, do not spray the grill once the barbeque has been turned on. Only spray the grill when it is cold.
2
Combine items on the same skewer that have the same cook time. To prevent under or over cooked food, only combine food that requires the same cooking time on the same skewer. The easiest way to do this is to put the same item on each skewer. For example, only put chicken on one skewer and only put peppers on another skewer. Vegetable and meat combinations that require the same cooking times are listed below.^{[6]XResearch source}
- Chicken, pineapple, and onion.^{[7]XResearch source}
- Swordfish, cherry tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers.
- Beef, onion, mushrooms, and bell peppers.
- Pork, mango, peach, and onion.
- Shrimp, pineapple, red bell peppers, and onions.
- Bacon-wrapped pork, red onion, and apples.
- Chicken, zucchini, and yellow squash.
- Shrimp with boiled potatoes, boiled corn on the cob, and sausage.
3
Cut items the same size so they cook in the same amount of time. Cut the meat for your kebabs into 1–1.5 in (2.5–3.8 cm) cubes. Cut the vegetables into similar sized pieces if possible. For meat that is less than 1–1.5 in (2.5–3.8 cm) thick, cut it into strips that are 1 in (2.5 cm) wide and 2 inches (5.1 cm) long. Fold the strip in half when placing it on the skewer so the end result is a piece of meat that’s approximately a 1 inch (2.5 cm) cube.^{[8]XResearch source}
- Shrimp and scallops do not need to be cut, as they can each go onto a skewer whole.
4
Leave a small space between each item on the skewer so they cook evenly. Keep at least a ¹⁄₂ in (1.3 cm) space between each item you place on each skewer. This space will ensure each piece gets the proper amount of heat to all sides and is fully cooked.^{[9]XResearch source}
- Kebabs that have all the food items push up against each other may not cook evenly. The middle of the meat cubes may be cooked, but the ends may be undercooked.
5
Use two skewers instead of one to prevent the food items from spinning. Assemble each kebab as you normally would, with one skewer. Slide a second skewer into each kebab, ¹⁄₂–1 in (1.3–2.5 cm) from the first skewer. The two skewers together will make the kebab lay flat and will prevent the kebab from spinning when picked up.^{[10]XResearch source}
- Be gentle when pushing the second skewer onto the kebab as they can be delicate and may break if you apply too much force.

Community Q&A

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Question
Can I soak the skewers in some kind of oil instead of water?
Community Answer
Just prior to cooking, yes, but not before. The oil will make them smell rancid and they will flare up during cooking.
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I soaked wooden skewers for 12 hours. Is that OK?
Community Answer
More than OK. Just keep them damp, not wet, so that the wood doesn't dry out and splinter.
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Tips

Soaking wood and bamboo skewers in water will slow down the burning process, but it may not eliminate it completely. You can also wrap the ends of each kebab with foil to prevent the wood or bamboo from burning if you’d like.^{[11]XResearch source}
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The stalks from a rosemary plant can be used as skewers as an alternative to wood, bamboo, or metal. Remove the leaves before using them as skewers. The stalks will add a lot of flavour to the kebab.^{[12]XResearch source}
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