The Hamilton Beach Test Kitchen is here to help you earn your grill master crown this summer. These helpful tips will ensure you’re building the best kabob to serve to your family or BBQ guests all season long.

Kabobs are a summer staple. Meat and fresh fruits and vegetables are skewered into a bright, colorful feast for the eyes before they hit the grill. Kabobs cook in no time, allowing you to put a meal on the table with only a few ingredients.

While kabobs might seem easy enough to assemble, the Test Kitchen knows there are good kabobs and then there are great kabobs.

While kabobs are usually a mix of meats and vegetables, the Test Kitchen suggests separating the meat and the vegetables onto different skewers so that everything cooks evenly. If you put tomatoes and steaks on the same skewer, the tomatoes are going to be way over cooked by the time the steaks are done.

It’s best to skewer meats and fruits and veggies that will have similar cook times on the same skewer. For example, put all of your steak on one skewer. Put tomatoes and pineapple (neither of these need much time to cook on the grill) on another. Put firmer vegetables like onions and pepper on the same skewer and softer veggies like zucchini and squash together. Grouping everything this way allows for even cooking all the way around.

Choosing the right meats is also important when grilling kabobs.

When using chicken, we recommend using thighs. Thighs have a higher fat content and therefore are less likely, than say a chicken breast, to dry out on the grill. If you have chicken breasts on hand or if you family prefers them, cook them on a higher heat. That way you can achieve beautiful grill marks on the outside while keeping the inside nice and moist.

Tender cuts of beef work best for kabobs. You want to look for a little bit of fat or marbling though, so the meat won’t dry out too quickly. We recommend using sirloin or NY strip.

As far as pork goes, we recommend using Boston butt or pork chops. You could even cube leftover ham and add it to a skewer with fresh pineapple for a sweet and salty dinner (ham and pineapple pizza lovers will definitely enjoy this combo!)

Last but certainly not least, we recommend brining or marinating your protein before adding to the skewers. The brine or the marinade will help tenderize the meat and add tons of flavour.

Using these helpful tips, you’re sure to the be crowned Kabob King (or Queen) this summer.