Shish kebab has long been considered a traditional summer dish, but some meat lovers cook it on skewers in winter. With the correct preparation of a kebab both in winter and in summer, its taste remains invariably delicious - so what is the difference between a kebab cooked in summer and a “winter” one?
Preparation for cooking
Unlike winter barbecue, which must be cooked exclusively on the grill with a lot of dry firewood or wood chips for lighting coal, the simplest summer barbecue requires only a fire and material for kindling it. Also, summer kebabs are always fried on skewers, while traditional skewers are not at all suitable for winter kebabs. In summer, meat for barbecue can be cut into large pieces, since in hot weather they are fried quickly enough.
In winter, the meat should be cut into thin pieces and cooked on the grill, where it will cook much faster.
Summer kebabs can be marinated for a shorter time than winter ones, which should preferably be marinated for at least two hours more. Well-marinated meat will roast faster and better in low-temperature conditions, while in summer it is not necessary to stay in the marinade for a long time.
If the firewood found in the forest is enough to cook the shish kebab in the summer, it is better to fry the winter shish kebab using ready-made charcoal, on which the meat can be cooked without waiting for the wood to burn out. You can buy charcoal and liquid for its ignition in almost any supermarket, where they are presented in a wide range.
Cooking rules
Also, summer kebabs differ from winter ones in that the distance from the coals to the grate (skewers) should be greater than in winter. In cold weather, this distance is reduced by placing an additional grate or any other object on the bottom of the barbecue. In addition, in summer, shish kebab can be safely cooked on an open surface, while in winter, roasting meat must be covered with a lid, protecting it from hypothermia and uneven temperature distribution.
When frying a kebab in the summer, you do not need such a frequent injection of air as in winter, since in the warmth the heat from the coals is well inflated without much effort.
In the summertime, barbecue meat cooks rather quickly and cools slowly, so a lot of coal is not required to cook it and maintain the required temperature of a fire or barbecue. In winter, the situation is completely different - it is more difficult to fry a shish kebab in the frost and cold wind, besides, it cools down rather quickly, so it is advisable to use more material for kindling and cook the amount of meat that will be eaten in one sitting.
