If you’re looking for flavors you can only find in Peru, these grilled steak kabobs are for you. With a few skewers and some amazing steak, you’ll have delicious steak around the campfire for the whole family.
Take your taste buds on a journey to Peru with our Grilled Steak Kabobs. Infused with traditional Andean flavors, these skewers transform your BBQ into an international culinary experience.
Lomo saltado is a Peruvian dish of thin-sliced beef and french fries, tomatoes, and onions, all stir-fried together and served with rice. Spotted on almost every menu in Peru, its popularity inspired this tasteful recipe. If you’re a fan of kabobs like Antichuchos, you’ll fall for these easy steak kabobs. It’s one of those steak recipes you’ll want to hang onto.
What are Grilled Steak Kabobs
Lomo saltado is a quick dish that, when cooked traditionally, is a stir fry. For this camping version of the recipe, you’ll find it’s a simplified kabob version for easy cleanup while elevating the hearty beef and potato combo with aji and huacatay, signature Peruvian flavors.
Think shish kabobs with the best marinade for a piece of steak and great flavor! This main dish will be done in about 8-10 minutes, super fast!
Ingredients Needed for Easy Steak Kebabs
These are super easy bbq beef kabobs. However, finding the aji amarillo and huacatay may be a bit tricky (see my recipe notes for tips). Once you have those, you just need a lean cut of beef like a sirloin steak, a couple of Idaho potatoes, and a few staples like soy sauce, red onion, and tomatoes.
Everything’s punched up with a little lime juice for a pop of brightness and some cilantro for serving.
How to Make Grilled Steak Kabob Recipe
Begin by making your cilantro sauce. Combine the ingredients and season with salt to taste, then store in the fridge until it’s time to serve.
Cube your meat and make the quick Peruvian steak marinade with olive oil, soy sauce, aji sauce, huacatay paste, and lime juice for 2 to 6 hours. Once it’s time to cook the meat, assemble them on skewers, alternating with potatoes. Not sure about these flavors? You could use our all-purpose steak marinade instead.
Grill kabobs until the internal temperature reaches 135 degrees f with an instant read thermometer. Grill your peppers and onions until soft and a little crispy.
Serve steak cubes and veggies on a platter with cilantro sauce for dipping.
Quick Tips for Peruvian Steak Kabobs
Marinate the beef ahead of time to let it soak in the flavors. Make this before camping, allowing the flavors to marinate in a resealable bag in the cooler while then heading to camp. It’s a perfect easy grilled dinner.
Don’t want to slice potatoes at camp? No problem! You can use frozen potato wedges for this or steak-cut fries as well! Just don’t let the frozen potatoes thaw while getting to camp, or they get soggy.
You could also use frozen fries for this campfire chili fries, and frozen potato tots for this make-ahead burrito recipe is just as amazing!
When cubing the steak and slicing the potatoes, even cuts is going to be the trick to making sure everything cooks evenly. As best you can, try to make sure all the beef is cubed to the same size and the potatoes are sliced to even wedges.
Girl Carnivore Expert Recipe tips
- Find your aji amarillo sauce and huacatay at international markets or Latin markets. Occasionally you can spot aji in the Latin aisle at generic markets; check for the Goya label. They come in small glass jars. Or you can order the aji amarillo paste and huacatay from Amazon.
- This recipe was designed for camping but would work on any grill – gas or charcoal.
- Slicing the potatoes into equal wedges portions will help them cook evenly.
- Spruce up your campfire eats by making sauces ahead of time and storing in resealable jars. Chimichurri and this quick aji verde are two of my favorite condiments!
What to Serve with Steak Kabobs
Pair this with a quick green sauce – aka aji verde – a cilantro-based crema that is perfect for these kabobs and a variety of other things (try it on chorizo eggs and potatoes too).
Try serving your steak kabobs with coconut rice, fried rice, or your favorite type of rice. Grilled bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, and even grilled fruit is amazing. Add some pineapple to the skewers for a summer twist. Some people also love adding cherry tomatoes for the perfect summer meal.
Leftover and Reheating
You can store the sauce in the fridge in an airtight container or large resealable plastic bag for up to 1 week. To reheat, just turn on the grill and warm up your already-cooked steaks. You can also reheat in the microwave or in the oven. Just don’t let them cook too long.
Recipe FAQs
If you can’t find top sirloin steak, any lean cut will work for this recipe. Avoid fatty cuts, like ribeye for kabobs, because when cubbed, even and equal size pieces of meat will cook better. Try NY strip, Denver, or any even lean cut.
This depends on the heat of your grill, but a basic starting point to achieve medium-rare steaks, cook these kabobs for about 7 minutes, rotating often. If you want them more done (medium) do closer to 9 minutes.
Be sure to flip your kabobs every 2-3 minutes or about halfway through the cooking time. Depending on the thickness of the steak cubes, you may need to flip it more frequently or sooner.
This comes down to personal preference, but we love wooden skewers or bamboo skewers. You can also use metal skewers, but we find that they get really hot and hard to handle over the fire. With any, please be sure to use tongs or grill-safe gloves to avoid burns.
More Delicious Latin American Recipes
Sauces, Mops, & Condiments
Homemade Cilantro Chimichurri
Beef Recipes
Anticuchos – Grilled Beef Heart Kabobs
Beef Recipes
Beef Birria Recipe
Sauces, Mops, & Condiments
Red Chimichurri
One of the first things you’ll want to do after reading this recipe is grab top sirloin steak from the grocery store. It has the best flavor and is an easy recipe for anyone to recreate. It’s easy to switch up and add your favorite vegetables to as well!
If you are looking for a flavor-filled summertime meal for an outdoor grill that can also be made around the campfire, these steak skewers are perfect. Add these juicy steak kabobs to your monthly rotation or prep them for a summer bbq. Just in time for grilling season!
Grilled Steak Kabobs Recipe
Recommended Equipment
- Grilling Skewers
Ingredients
Cilantro Sauce:
- ½ cup Mayo
- 1 bunch fresh Cilantro
- ¼ cup Queso Fresco
- 1 Serrano or jalapeno seeded, stemmed and minced
- 2 Garlic cloves
- 4 Scallions
- Lime juice from one lime
- Salt
Peruvean Steak Marinade:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 tbsp Aji Amarillo Sauce
- 1 tsp huacatay paste
- Lime juice
For the Grilled Steak Kabobs
- 2 lbs top sirloin steak
- 3 evenly sized Idaho Potatos washed, peeled and sliced into wedges
- 1 Red Onion sliced into disks
- 1/2 lbs Tomatoes
Instructions
Make the Cilantro Sauce (aka aji verde)
- In a food processor, combine the mayo, cilantro, queso fresco, jalapeno, garlic cloves, scallions, and lime juice.
- Pulse until smooth.
- Season with salt to taste.
- Cover and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Prep and Marinate the Beef
- Remove any excess fat from the steak and cut into 1” cubes. Place in a large resealable bag.
- Whisk the olive oil, soy sauce, aji sauce, huacatay paste and lime juice together in a bowl.
- Pour over the steak cubes.
- Marinate for 2 to 6 hours.
Per-cook the Potatoes
- When ready to grill, preheat your campfire or grill for indirect heat.
- Par-cook the fries by grill at high heat, around 450, in foil tray or cast iron pan until golden brown with a tiny bit of oil to prevent soggy potatoes, stirring as needed to crisp evenly, about 25 minutes.
- Season with salt and set side until you make the kabobs.
Assemble the kabobs
- Assemble the kabobs with the marinated beef cubes alternating with the cooked potatoes.
Grill the kabobs
- Place on the hot side of the grill, and rotate, making sure to cook the beef evenly to desired doneness or 135 for medium-rare.
- Remove from the grill and set aside to rest.
- Meanwhile, grill the onions and tomatoes.
- Serve the kabobs on a platter with the grilled onions and tomatoes with the cilantro sauce for dipping.
Notes
Nutrition
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