The Easy Way To Make Grilled Skewers Way More Manageable

When grilling, using skewers to hold meat, seafood, and veggies is a great way to keep food intact on the grill. While most people traditionally use one skewer to hold their bites in place, using two is a much better option when it comes to convenience and efficiency. In this case, you would skewer foods on two parallel sticks, instead of using a single stick to cook food over your grill. The dual-skewer stick trick prevents food from turning over as it cooks, which can result in problems with doneness. It also makes your food much easier to flip over without wobbling around. 

Two sticks are also easier to grip, especially when wearing cooking mitts, which can decrease dexterity. There are even specially designed skewers that feature two metal sticks attached to a single wooden handle, which can be easily gripped without concerns about burning your hands. Of course, you can use whatever skewers you have available, but is there one option that's better than the others?

Bamboo skewers are a nice selection when it comes to affordability and convenience. They're also disposable, so you don't have to worry about cleaning them after you're done grilling. Wood is not a good conductor of heat, so it's unlikely that you'll burn your fingers when using bamboo skewers on the grill. However, you must soak the wood prior to cooking, otherwise, it could catch fire and ruin your perfectly grilled vegetables and meats.

Then there are metal skewers, which can be reused over and over again. They don't require soaking, which means there's no prep necessary before you grill food. Remember that the metal will get hot as you cook, so you must take the proper precautions if the skewers don't have a heat-safe handle. Similarly, the hot metal can cook food from the inside out, which means you must keep an eye on the grill in order to remove the food at the best possible time. 

So picking a tool is simply a matter of preference. No matter what type of dual skewers you prefer, there are some other helpful tips to make your next grilling session a success.

If you're using two bamboo skewers, be sure to soak them in water for at least 30 minutes prior to using them. This amount of time ensures the wood absorbs enough moisture to stop it from catching fire when exposed to open flames. If you'd rather use metal skewers, pay attention to the design. For instance, square skewers will lay flat on the grill to cook food evenly.

If you're preparing a skewer feast featuring lots of different ingredients, place separate foods on separate skewers before grilling. For instance, veggies should be separate from meats, which should be separate from seafood skewers. This is because each ingredient will have its own unique cooking time, and cooking different ingredients together can leave some food underdone while other food may be burned to a crisp. Separating different ingredients is also important from a food safety perspective, as you can rest assured that meat will reach the proper doneness to be consumed safely.