what would be a good marinade for pork shish-ka-bobs?

[Kali]

yeah, I know pork shish is a little wierd but hey...

I have a pile of red bell pepper, good onions for the vegs (no pineapple) and while I like plain grilled pork just fine, I got to thinking about possible marinades. My go-to beef (and the rare times we have lamb) shish is red wine, olive oil, salt, pepper, and lots of oregano.

any ideas?

[Turbineguy]

1. Corriander.

[pscot]

2. Soy, sesame, vinegar & ginger?

We like to add pork kidney and bacon to pork kebabs, with a mustard sauce.

[Kali]

6. yeah a kind of Asian thing was the most obvious, but honestly

we do so much stir-fry "Asian" I didn't really want to go that direction for this. some kind of mustard thing sounds like a good start though. don't want to go into bbq sauce mode either, but thinking a bit of mustard flavor would be good.

[Cracklin Charlie]

3. My favorite

I usually like grilled pork with just a little salt and pepper; but, if I use a marinade, I usually start with blackberry jelly, add some dijon, or a grainy mustard. You could also add a little lime juice, and jalapeno.

[Kali]

7. that does sound like a good combo!

don't have the jelly on hand and it actually sounds more like a glaze, but I may try that on something next time I get to the store for some jelly!

[MiddleFingerMom]

15. Almost any jelly works -- I've used blueberry preserves and red pepper jelly on chicken and pork.

.
.
.
And raspberry preserves on beef -- even for pot roasts.
.
Luckily, I caught the typo -- originally, I was suggest this
to be used on "beer".
.
.

[Kali]

16. oh yeah - recently I got rid of some fig jam nobody wanted to eat

blended it up with some chipotles and other stuff (cider vinegar, garlic, oregano, cumin etc) for a kind of spicy bbq sauce for chicken. it was pretty damn good.

[MiddleFingerMom]

18. I've always been reluctant to open a can of chipotles in adobo because I wouldn't use...

.
.
.
... more than one or two. Is there a good way to store them for awhile once opened?
.
.
.

[Kali]

19. we use them fairly fast,

but I just put them in a jar in the fridge - seem to last a couple weeks, anyway - I don't see why you couldn't freeze them. supposedly you can buy dried ones, but I have never seen them (and then you would have to make your own adobo - but that is actually easy, just red chili, garlic and a little cider vinegar)

[MiddleFingerMom]

20. Thanks. I'll try the jar thing -- I'm assuming a very small jar.

[Kali]

21. yeah, I have a pile of bullion jars that are the right size for that

I suppose you could even dump them in a sandwich bag and put that in a cup or something. I would NOT use foil, I suspect chipotles would dissolve that.

[MiddleFingerMom]

22. I have some no-salt instant chicken broth jars that are the same size. Thanks.

[Lugnut]

25. I put them in a small plastic container.

I mostly use them to make black bean soup but they're also good in chicken taco soup. The flavor and heat is perfect.

[siligut]

4. I would do like they did with the gyro meat in Greece

Olive oil, lemon juice or red vinegar, chopped garlic, oregano, parsley, rosemary, mint and thyme. And of course salt and pepper. Too bad about the pineapple, but red bell pepper is a good substitute and shish-ka-bobs are always yummy no matter what you skewer up.

[Kali]

8. I'm thinking close to this

and a little mustard in there too, somehow.

[siligut]

11. Lots of interesting ideas for marinades in this thread

Asian and BBQ flavors are good for pork, but I think of shish-ka-bob as Mediterranean food, so I want those flavors. A little mustard would be quite good added to the marinade and it would help to emulsify the acid and the oil.

Mr Gut always wants shish-ka-bob for special occasion meals, we also marinate mushrooms and potatoes to add to the skewer. You have to preboil the potatoes, so they will cook in time with the rest of the food.

[Kali]

12. I think you are right it is that Mediterranean (and hard to pinpoint what exactly that is) flavor I

want. and pork isn't exactly all that Mediterranean.

I was jsut rummaging through the spice cabinet and found this pack of kofte seasoning my sister sent from Egypt. No idea what is in it but thinking it might be good to add a few teaspoons!

[siligut]

14. Why yes, add some of that too

I think köfte is what they add to gyro meat on the spit.

[Major Nikon]

5. My basic marinade for kabobs is this

1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
herbs and spices

Put everything in the food processor except the oil. With the food processor on, pour in the oil slow enough so that it gets emulsified but not too slow, turn off the food processor as soon as the last of the oil goes in. Put everything in a ziplock back and push all the air out before you seal.

The salt comes from the soy sauce so there's no need to add additional salt. You can use whatever herbs and spices you like. Garlic and onion powder works well as do oregano, basil, rosemary(my favorite for pork), and/or thyme. Curry powder can make things quite interesting.

I prefer to cook the meat and veggies on different skewers.

[Kali]

9. I think all I have is white and cider vinegar

but I have limes and I am leaning to having a touch of mustard in this.

[Major Nikon]

10. Close enough

You can substitute whatever you like for the vinegar so long as it's acidic. Wine would work also.

If you don't have a food processor, you can use a bit of mustard to start the emulsion and drizzle the oil into the mixture with a balloon whisk.

Allspice is very nice to use with pork.

[cbayer]

13. I might use one with juice (orange), spices and brown sugar.

I love the crunchy glaze you can get when using juice and sugar.

You could make it Mexican with tortillas and sides for building your own fajita.

[Kali]

17. our normal diet is pretty much Mexican

between that and generic "Asian" stir fry, I was looking for something from somewhere else

[MiddleFingerMom]

23. "our normal diet is pretty much Mexican" translates to...

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
... "our normal diet is pretty much beans"
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.

[locks]

24. more

Add a little Grandma's molasses and fresh lime juice

[idwiyo]

26. You can try shashlic marinade based on Georgian (country) recipe.

You'll need to buy some Russian vinegar for it but can substitute with Japanese vinegar. If using Russian vinegar be careful because it can be sold in a very high concentration and will have to be highly diluted.
Japanese vinegar is much less strong and will require less water.

The actual spice mixture can be purchased on-line or from Russian shops, or made at home:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmeli_suneli

Mix khmeli-suneli and lots of garlic (as much as you like) with enough water to cover meat. Add Russian vinegar to taste. Marinate overnight in the fridge. You can marinate onions for the shashlic in the same marinade.

Best grilled over coals of course, otherwise I use liquid smoke (hickory).