Bamboo Skewers: How and When to Soak Them

Grilled kabobs are an enjoyable, adaptable, and simple method to feed a large group of people, especially when those people have varying dietary needs and interests. For the vegetarians in the group, you can construct skewers with different combinations of meat and veggies. Bamboo skewers are an excellent tool for this; they're cheap, easily accessible, and disposable, which makes cleanup a breeze. After using them, you can even repurpose your bamboo skewers if they aren't overly burned.

Bamboo skewers have the potential to require some setup time before use. You might find instructions to soak the bamboo skewers in water before using them in a recipe. Is this, however, really necessary? Regarding whether or not this is necessary while grilling skewers, there are two schools of thought.

Do You Need to Soak Them?

It can be unsettling to place a piece of wood over a blazing fire since, as we all know, wood is combustible. However, wet wood is less likely to catch fire, which is why soaking the skewers prior is advised.

However, numerous chefs and test kitchens have found that bamboo skewers will scorch whether or not they are soaked; the tiny bits at the end will always burn, and the majority of the spear is covered in food, shielding it from the flames. However, the skewer's thickness may affect the burn factor; a thicker stick will be less likely to scorch. So, you might want to think about soaking your thin, somewhat weak bamboo skewers.

Furthermore, you might wish to soak the wooden skewers in water for a little while before using them if you've ever had the experience of them breaking apart while you're sliding the components onto them.

Ways to Soak

If soaking is what you want to do, all you need is a pan big enough to fit them in, some warm water, and at least 20 minutes. Before anything else, put the bamboo skewers in a pan of warm water. Verify that the skewers are completely immersed. Let the skewers soak for at least 20 minutes and as long as 3 or 4 hours.

Try immersing skewers in wine or juice for a more refined aesthetic and a richer taste for your grilled dishes. Just make sure the item you select goes well with the meat and veggies you're using for the kabobs.

To ensure that the bamboo skewers are ready when you are, another piece of advice for frequent grillers is to soak the entire package at once. Thoroughly drain, transfer to a plastic bag that can be sealed, and store in the freezer. You'll be able to grill your kabobs more quickly because they'll keep just fine.

Other Options

Use metal skewers instead if you find that making all of these decisions and preparing them is too much work for you. Many of them are reusable, come in greater lengths than bamboo, and have handy handles. The metal skewers with flat edges are what you want to search for because they tend to keep the food from slipping and sliding around a bit better than the ones with rounded edges. Just remember that metal heats up really quickly! Make sure you remove the metal skewers from the grill while using gloves that can withstand heat.

You can cook food on the grill using a grill basket or foil packet approach if you are pushed for time, realise you don't have any form of skewer in the house, or just don't want to bother sliding stuff onto a stick. If you have a grill basket, just load the ingredients into it in a single layer and fire it. An alternative would be to place the meat and vegetable pieces in a sizable sheet of foil, cover tightly, and then drizzle with oil or marinade to keep the moisture in. While the dish won't obtain any grill marks, it will get some of the flavour of the smokey grill.