she cooks…he cleans

It was one of those first days of near-spring when it felt great to be outdoors.  Sunny, but with enough chill in the air to sit around the chiminea on the patio and indulge in some crossword puzzles while James stoked the fire with pinon wood, supplemented by fallen branches from the yard.  It was also a great day to grill some kebabs on the Big Green Egg!

Chipotle, lime, cilantro and garlic remind me of the flavors of the Southwest and pork tenderloin really soaks them up.  You could also use chicken breasts, and I promise you will be impressed by how great they turn out.  This marinade works as a brine, keeping the meat from drying out during the grill.  Every bite was juicy and jumping with flavor and a bit of heat from the chile.  Every bite was also gone at the end of the evening!

Enjoy this with a margarita for the ultimate experience!

Marinade Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 chipotle chile, from canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• 4 T fresh lime juice
• 1 T honey
• 2 T water
• 3-4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 t kosher salt
• 1/2 t ground cumin
• Cilantro leaves from 4-5 stalks (small handful)

Kebab Ingredients

• 16-20 ounces pork tenderloin, cut into ~ 1 1/2 inch cubes
• 3 zucchini, cut into 1 inch rounds
• 1 red and 1 yellow bell pepper, cored and sliced into ~ 1 1/2 inch strips
• Extra virgin olive oil, Kosher salt and pepper
• Limes and chopped cilantro

Place marinade ingredients in a small food processor bowl and process until garlic and chile are well blended.

Put pork cubes in a gallon-size, resealable bag and pour marinade into bag.  Mix together well and refrigerate from 2-6 hours.

Place zucchini and peppers into a large bowl and toss with enough olive oil to coat. Season with salt and pepper and toss again.

Fire up the grill and bring it to a medium high temperature (around 400F).  Spread coals around to produce as even as heat as possible.

Although mixed meat and vegetable skewers are pretty, I think it works best to put them on separate skewers for grilling since the cooking times may differ.  Thread the meat on skewers, pushing the skewer in against the grain of the meat.  On separate skewers, thread the zucchini and peppers.

When the grill is ready, spray the grill with oil and arrange the vegetable skewers on the grate.  Close the grill and cook for around 15 minutes, turning every 5 minutes, until vegetables are tender and slightly charred.  Remove the skewers to a baking dish and keep warm in a 150F oven, if desired.  (Also good at room temperature.)

Now arrange the meat skewers on the grill and grill for 15-20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes, until meat is cooked “medium” to “medium well”.  Cooking time will vary grill to grill – these times worked on The Egg.

To serve, garnish with some chopped cilantro and give it a good squeeze of lime juice!

This guy goes good with everything…the one, the only Willie! This record, his breakout Shotgun Willie launched Willie into the mainstream, giving us “Whiskey River”, “Devil in a Sleeping Bag” and his incredible version of Leon Russell’s “A Song For You”. Don’t get much better to my ears than Willie, and you gotta love a album that starts with Shotgun Willie sits around in his underwear…”. I wouldn’t advise that with the kebabs however…hot!