Watch How To Make These Beef Skewers
Flavor, Flavor, and More Flavor.
The number of times I have made these in the last few weeks is… a lot. Too many to count. I love these flavors.
I don’t normally consider myself a beef person – I love a good burger, a beautiful steak, or a slow-cooked roast, but at home I tend to cook more chicken, veggies, and tofu. And yet, here I am, standing over my stove and licking my fingers while just eating these with my hands. Very demure, very mindful.
I think I love these because of two things:
- THE FLAVOR. Garlic, ginger, soy, and curry powder with the umami of beef is not going to let you down. It’s just not, okay? It’s warming and rich (hello curry powder!) but pleasantly sharp at the same time (looking at you, garlic), and is it weird that I enjoy smelling it almost as much as I enjoy eating it?
- THE STRIPS. They’re thin. They’re browned and caramelized but still juicy. They eat, honestly, like little bites of savory candy. They cook for 6 minutes, 7 tops. Delicious.
You can skewer them or not. You can broil them, flash-sear them in a pan, or air fry them. It’s a choose-your-own adventure! Whatever you pick, the flavor is on point, and you’ll get caramelization with all three methods.
When they come out of the oven, I’m going to require that you drizzle these with a bit of fish sauce, a bit of lime juice, and some extra spoonfuls of all those pan drippings. This Vietnamese-inspired flavor treatment is THE WAY TO GO.
I like to pop the beef into a rice bowl with a little cucumber shallot salad. The chili crisp isn’t really necessary for flavor, but that red color in there is nice and makes the whole thing feel like a completed masterpiece.
But also, I like just eating these straight off the pan. The flavors are big. The prep time is minimal. Life is good.
How To Make This Recipe
1
Cut the Beef into Thin Strips.
Cut against the grain into thin strips. If the skirt steak itself is very thin, fold it over itself a few times to make it easier to cut (as shown in this picture).
2
Add Some Flavor.
Add garlic, ginger, soy sauce, curry powder, salt, and sugar. MAGIC, I’m telling you.
3
Skewer (Or Not).
FYI, things smell amazing at this point. Scrunch that yummy beef onto soaked skewers! Doesn’t have to be perfect. If that feels like too much work, skip it! You can pan fry or air fry. Instructions are down below.
4
Blast Them With Heat.
Broil the skewers for 6 minutes. Caramelized on top, juicy, full of flavor. So good. (Alternate instructions below, too.)
5
You’re Done! Yum!
Pop the beef into a rice bowl with a little cucumber shallot salad. Highly recommend finishing with a drizzle of fish sauce and lime juice! Oooo-ee! Yum.
Garlic and Black Pepper Beef Skewers
Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
These beef skewers are bringing all the flavor! Thinly sliced strips of steak browned and caramelized to juicy, sweet perfection.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the Beef:
- 1.5 lbs. skirt steak, cut against the grain into very thin strips (see photos and video)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- freshly cracked black pepper
For Serving:
- fish sauce, lime juice, chili crisp, and cilantro for topping
- rice
- broccoli, bagged salad, or a quick cucumber salad, see notes!
Instructions
- Prep (optional): Soak your skewers – 15 minutes minimum for wood skewers.
- Beef: Mix the beef strips with the other beef ingredients. If you have time to marinate, go for it. A 30-45 minute marinating session is delicious! But I promise that if all you have is 5-10 minutes, they’ll still be great.
- Skewer: Thread the beef onto skewers – just scrunch it on there (see video). Place skewers on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Top with freshly cracked black pepper.
- Broil: Arrange an oven rack 4-6 inches below the heating element. Preheat the broiler on high heat for a few minutes. Broil the beef for 6 minutes – we’re going for caramelization on that top surface. (Alternative cooking methods in notes below)
- Serve: Let the beef stand for a few minutes; brush the golden tops with the pan juices, and drizzle with a bit of lime juice and fish sauce. MAGIC WILL HAPPEN. Top with cilantro or chili crisp and serve with a cucumber salad (recipe in notes). Holy smokes! You can eat them plain, drizzled, or in a rice bowl. They are finger licking good. I have been known to eat them standing right over the stove.
Notes
Other cooking methods, without skewers:
- Air fry at 450 (or a high broil setting) for 5-6 minutes. For best results I like to preheat the air fryer. Keep the beef pieces in a single layer for optimal browning – this may require that you do it in batches depending on the size of your air fryer. I line the basket with parchment for this method.
- Broil on high on a parchment lined baking sheet for 6 minutes! Works just fine without skewers, too.
- Pan sear in a very hot cast iron skillet for just 3-4 minutes, mostly undisturbed, until you see some golden browning. Yum.
If you’re using fresh garlic and ginger: grate 3 large cloves garlic and a 1-inch knob of ginger.
To make a little cucumber salad: thinly slice half of a cucumber and a shallot, toss in a small bowl with a teaspoon or two of lime juice or vinegar, plus some salt, pepper, and sugar. Voila! Magic.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Vietnamese-Inspired
Keywords: steak skewers, steak skewers, easy dinner recipe, beef recipe, skirt steak recipe
Frequently Asked Questions About This Recipe
Nope! Just place the beef onto a parchment lined baking sheet and broil near the top of the oven for 6 minutes.
Yes! Place beef strips in a parchment-lined air fryer at 450 (or a high broil setting) for 6 minutes. More info in the notes of the recipe.
Yes! Grilling the skewers would be delicious. Be sure to get your grill really hot so you can get that nice quick sear.
I don’t think you can go wrong with these flavors – garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and curry powder plus some sugar and salt? This combination just never tastes bad. The main thing to keep in mind, besides the flavor, is that the goal is a bit of caramelization on the meat! So I would be sure to use high heat with whatever protein you’re doing.
We always do these with rice, but my three favorite veggies to throw on the plate are: 1) just some nice green broccoli (steamed, pan fried, whatever suits you), 2) a bagged grocery store Asian-style salad (just did it tonight for dinner!), or 3) a little cucumber and shallot salad which is outlined in the notes section of the recipe.
The fish sauce, lime juice, and pan drippings are enough for me! But since we’re talking about it, they would be absolutely BOMB with some gochujang sauce or yum yum sauce.
I tried and it wasn’t nearly as good. The grocery store cut wasn’t thin enough for me and they didn’t have as many options for the actual cut of meat – I think the only option was sliced sirloin. In this recipe, I think it’s worth it to cut your own strips to ensure you can really get them nice and thin.
I would go to flank steak or flat iron steak as my second choice. As long as you cut your steak into very thin strips, as shown, you can make it work.
