Main dish

Grilled Steak Kebabs with Cherry BBQ Sauce

Delicious and sticky Grilled Steak Kebabs with homemade cherry BBQ sauce! These are a summers party dream meal and so easy to make!

To recipe
Easy grilled steak kebabs
Recipe insights & TIPS

Grilled Steak Kebabs slathered in a homemade cherry barbecue sauce.

Easy grilled steak kebabs

I'll be a little sad when summer leaves us and my recipes switch to comfort foods. I mean, who wants a Panzanella Salad or Grilled Sausage Skewers in September? Totally nothing wrong with that if you do btw! Actually, I grill all year round but it's in the summer that I really focus on it and it makes more sense. It's just easier and usually with so many tasty options available like these grilled steak kebabs covered in a sweet and sticky cherry barbecue sauce. Grilled steak kebabs are quick to make with tender strips of NY Steak along with juicy cherries stuck between the meat. Even the homemade cherry barbecue sauce is crazy simple, which is a hundred million times better than store-bought in my opinion!

Stick grilled steak kebabs

Making homemade BBQ sauce for your grilled steak kebabs.

BBQ sauce is easy to make and the options are huge. I always like to go with some base ingredients I use in all of my BBQ sauces like brown sugar, some kind of soda like Coke or Dr. Pepper, and fresh fruit. I've used peaches, rhubarb, and blueberries before, and now for this recipe, cherries! Simmer all of the ingredients together for about 30 minutes on a really low heat to get those flavors mixed together. Once the mixture has cooled, a quick 20 seconds in a blender will make sure your sauce is nice and smooth. Store it in the fridge for a week (if it lasts that long) and slap it on everything!

Tips for grilled steak kebabs.

I recommend using either rib eye or New York steak. Slice them into thin strips which will help these more expensive cuts of beef go further. They'll cook quicker and remain juicier if cooked to medium/medium rare. Soak the wooden skewers in water for at least two hours before you add the meat to them. They'll last a while longer before fading to ash at the tips because of the high heat. Every grill has a hot point so start your sear there and then after you flip them over move them slightly off the direct heat to avoid flare-ups ups or being charred too much on the outside. Only add the BBQ sauce when the meat is almost ready. If you add it too early it'll just burn because of the sugar in it. A quick glaze with a brush on both sides a couple of times and your grilled steak kebabs are set to go! Enjoy with plenty of napkins...or not but then you'd have to lick your fingers. Ooooo shame!!!

Grilled steak kebabs
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Recipe

Deliciously grilled steak kebabs covered in sticky cherry BBQ sauce!

Course:
Main dish
COOKing TIME:
30 minutes
Total TIME:
50 minutes
CUISINE:
American
PREP TIME:
20 minutes
SERVINGS:
4

Ingredients

  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 2 1/2 cups cherries pitted
  • 3/4 cup Cherry Coke
  • 2 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp BBQ rub
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 2 medium New York Steaks

Ingredient Swaps

Instructions

  1. Preheat your grill to a high heat.
  2. In a medium-sized pot, add the ketchup, red wine vinegar, brown sugar, 2 cups of the cherries, Cherry Coke, soy sauce, BBQ rub and black pepper.
  3. Stir and bring to a simmer.
  4. Let the sauce simmer for about 30 minutes stirring often.
  5. Prepare the steak by slicing it into thin strips.
  6. Take a 6-8 inch skewer and thread a couple of pieces of steak onto it bunching them together but not too closely.
  7. From the remaining cherries left, place a cherry onto the skewer followed by another piece of steak.
  8. Repeat until all of the steak and cherries have been used. You should have about 4 cherries on each skewer
  9. Lightly drizzle the kebabs with some olive oil and place on the direct heat of the grill.
  10. Let the skewers sit for about 3 minutes on the heat and then turn them using a pair of tongs.
  11. Place them back down slightly off the direct heat for about one minute then with a pastry brush, glaze the grilled steak kebabs with the sauce.
  12. Turn the skewers over again and repeat with the sauce on the other side
  13. You can repeat on the other side again and then take them off the grill to a plate to rest for a few minutes.
  14. Brush the skewers lightly gain with more sauce just before serving them.

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