Teriyaki Beef Skewers
We order the 30# variety box of grass fed beef once or twice annually, and this time we got some round steak. What do you make with round steak? Well, one thing is Teriyaki Beef Skewers! (Another thing is Shish Kebabs)
Today, I tried these for the first time, and they turned out so sweet and tender and juicy – just a perfect cut of beef with some savory flavor. Normally, I like to take my time chewing, to savor the flavor longer, but with 3 sweet steak skewers on my plate, I didn’t take the time. I ate them up. And fast.
I paired these with Riced Cauliflower Fried Rice, for a Chinese-style dinner.
These were really super easy to make: mix the marinade, put them on a skewer, fire up the grill.
Teriyaki beef marinade
- 5 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 c soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp water
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 garlic clove
You have to soak the bamboo skewers in water for at least 30 minutes before putting them on the grill, or they will catch on fire. Sometimes they still catch on fire anyway.
Slice your top round steak lengthwise, thinly (about 1/2″ strips). I was able to make about 8 skewers from a 1.5 lb boneless round steak. The steak had a small strip of fat running through part of it, so I just cut that part off and made a handful of tiny strips. I could stick a few of them on a skewer. Make sure you have a big, sharp knife for this.
Put the beef strips in a large one-gallon zip-lock freezer bag.
Whisk the marinade in a bowl and pour it over the beef in the bag. Smush it around, getting some of that sugar & garlic in the beef. Then refrigerate at least one hour (or up to 24 hours).
Weave the beef onto the pre-soaked skewers, and preheat the grill to medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, then put the beef skewers on the grill.
I used disposable vinyl gloves for this step. Discard the marinade & recycle your plastic baggie.
Grilling Tip
I soaked my skewers in an aluminum 9×13″ cake pan, then dumped the water out and poured a Tbsp of vegetable oil in it, then put the beef skewers in the pan, flipping them to get a little extra oil on the beef so they don’t stick to the grill.
These are really thin strips of beef, so they’ll cook pretty quickly, about 3 minutes per side. Don’t burn them, they were soaked in sugar, so they can easily burn. If they’re still a bit bloody after you make your side dish, or if they get cold, just pop them in the broiler on low for 5 minutes, with the oven door open a crack. This will add a little extra cook, and reheat them quickly.
My husband likes to slide them off the skewer into his bowl, I just like to gnaw it off the stick by itself. You can put your teriyaki beef on a pita with some grilled veggies or a fresh lettuce blend, but the teriyaki beef flavor is typically paired with a Chinese dish, like steamed broccoli & rice or a stir-fry with bell peppers or snow peas.
Ways to eat teriyaki beef
- Over Cauliflower Rice
- With Broccoli & Bell Peppers
- Over white or brown rice
- With Snow Peas & Broccoli
- Over Ramen Noodles
- Garnished with Sesame Seed
- With Water Chestnuts, Carrots & Green Onions
- Try it Hawaiian-style with Pineapple
Other Beef Cuts for Teriyaki Beef Skewers
- Flank Steak or Skirt Steak
- Sirloin
- Top Round
- Chicken
The meat has to be a lean meat, and sliced across the grain.
Teriyaki Beef Skewers
Equipment
- Bamboo skewers
- Disposable vinyl gloves
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb top round steak cut into ½" slices
- 5 Tbsp light brown sugar
- ¼ c soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp water
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil (Canola)
- 1 garlic clove chopped
Instructions
- Whisk brown sugar, soy sauce, water, vegetable oil and garlic in a bowl.
- Put the steak slices in a one-gallon zip-lock freezer bag, then pour the marinade over the beef. Refrigerate at least one hour.
- Soak the bamboo skewers in water for at least 30 minutes.
- Thread the beef onto the skewers and preheat the grill on medium.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and cook skewers about 3 minutes per side.
Notes
