Have you heard of Shrimp Kebab Tetris? Itās not a real game, but if youāve ever tried to cook with straight skewers on a round grill, youāve probably played it at least once. Hereās how it goes: You spend a lot of time loading up traditional metal or bamboo skewers with a beautiful selection of perfect prawns and colorful in-season vegetables. You pile your uncooked creations on a platter and head outside to grill. Maybe you even make your dadās tired āshrimp on the barbieā joke in a truly terrible Australian accent. You start to load your skewers onto the grill only to realize the last few wonāt fit because geometry. At that point youāre left with two options: save the surplus skewers for a second round of grilling, or try taking enough ingredients off of the last few kebabs to ensure all of the raw meat actually makes contact with the hot grill grates (which really only works if youāre not planning to close the lid).
Luckily, thereās a better way and that way is bendy skewers.
More formally known as āflexible skewers,ā these handy grilling accessories are a game changer when youāre trying to grill more than a few kebabs on a round grill. Theyāre made from stainless steel cable and theyāre usually much longer than traditional skewers. That extra length can be used to make a monster kebab or it can be tucked off to the side to make more room for other skewers (or anything else you want to put on the grill). You can also drape the long end off of the grill so it stays cool to the touch. Flexible skewers also make it possible to marinate kebabs in a bowl or freezer bag, then transfer them straight to the grill when itās time to cook.
Thereās really no wrong way to use them or bend them, and with the right bendy skewer arrangement you can fit twice as many kebabs on a round grill as you might with straight skewersāproof that it always pays to be flexible.
