Today we're going to discuss glutamic acid.
*I know, the excitement never ends here on DadCooksDinner. Please buckle your seat belts, and keep your hands and arms inside the ride until we come to a complete stop.
The September/October issue of Cooks Illustrated published an interesting recipe about beef kebabs, with a marinade that included tomato paste. Why tomato paste? Because, tomato paste is full of glutamic acid, which adds depth to the beef flavor of the kebab. Glutamic acid is the source of "umami", or the potential fifth basic taste of savoriness.
Glutamic acid occurs naturally in a number of foods, including cheese, mushrooms, and soy sauce. This is why I use soy sauce it in my quick marinades - it gives a boost to the savory taste of meat. The author of the CI article, Charles Kelsey, wanted to avoid soy sauce because it has a very distinct flavor.  As he put it, everything winds up tasting like beef teriyaki if you add soy sauce to the marinade. He chose tomato paste as his substitute source of glutamic acid.
*He also included canned beef broth in his marinade, which includes glutamic acid to increase its savory, beefy flavor. I'm not willing to buy canned broth, so I left it out.
The tomato paste does its job well - it gives these kabobs an extra depth, and the tomato goes well with the Mediterranean flavor profile of the rest of the marinade; the combination of onions, garlic, thyme, lemon and tomatoes is classic across much of the region.
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📖 Recipe Card
Grilled Beef Kebabs with Tomato, Onion, Lemon, and Thyme Marinade
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Sirloin kebabs with red pepper and onion, soaked in a salty tomato, onion, lemon and thyme marinade, then grilled hot and fast.
Ingredients
Kebabs
- 2 pounds sirloin, cut into 2 inch chunks (start with thick-cut steaks)
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 large red onion
Marinade
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 medium onion, peeled
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- ¼ cup water
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
- â…“ cup vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon honey
Instructions
- Make the marinade: Drop the garlic into a running food processor, and process until minced. Cut the onion into chunks, add to the processor, and pulse until chopped. Add the lemon zest and juice, water, thyme, oil, tomato paste, salt, pepper and honey, and process until smooth, about 1 minute, scraping down the sides once or twice.
- Marinate the beef: Put the sirloin chunks in a zip-top bag, pour in the marinade, seal, and toss to coat. Refrigerate for 1 to 4 hours, turning the bag every 30 minutes.
- Cut the vegetables: Just before grilling, core the red pepper and cut it into 1 inch pieces. Peel the red onion, cut it in half, and pull out the center, leaving the outer 3 or 4 layers. Cut each half into 8 pieces, about ¾ to 1 inch.
- Skewer the kebabs: Lift the beef out of the marinade, wiping off most of it with your fingers (a little left on makes a nice crust). Thread the skewers in this pattern: beef, pepper, onion. Repeat to the end of the skewer, and finish with a piece of beef.
- Prepare the grill: Set up the grill for direct medium-high heat. On a gas grill, preheat on high for 10 to 15 minutes, brush the grate clean, then turn the burners down to medium-high.
- Grill the kebabs: Grill with the lid closed as much as possible, giving the kebabs a quarter turn every 2 minutes, for 6 to 8 minutes total. Peek at the meat in the middle of a skewer - if it isn't done to your liking, give it one more quarter turn and grill 2 to 4 minutes more. (I had medium-rare at 8 minutes.)
- Rest and serve: Let the kebabs rest for 10 minutes, then serve.
Notes
Equipment: A grill (I use a Weber Summit), a food processor, and two 12 inch skewers. I prefer metal skewers; bamboo works if you don't mind burnt tips.
Each skewer serves two, though big eaters may want a whole skewer.
This is really a brinerade - the salt (and the glutamates in the tomato paste) season the beef all the way through, while the rest of the marinade forms a flavorful crust.
Teriyaki kebabs: Use soy sauce instead of the water in the marinade, and cut the salt back to ½ teaspoon.
Adapted from Charles Kelsey, Cook's Illustrated, September/October 2010.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Marinate: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
What do you think? Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts:
Grilled Thin Pork Chops, Quick Marinated
Grilled Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, Quick Marinated
Grilled Teriyaki Flank Steak
Grilled Beef Fajitas Recipe
Adapted from:
Charles Kelsey, Cooks Illustrated, Sept/Oct 2010
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Chris says
Love the site Mike, I'm trying to pull more of your recipes into the rotation so I'm not just making burgers all the time.
For this one, I had a couple questions. First, I don't own a food processor. Do you think the marinade would work as well just chopping it up and stirring like a madman?
Also, I have an old set of grilling tools that has these kebab cages. They're like tiny long fry baskets, about 2x2 and a couple feet long, designed so you can kebab with things that are a pain to skewer. Do you think that would have any material change on the way they would cook?
Thanks!
Mike V says
Good for you! Yes, chopping like mad will work - so will a box grater, or a blender. The kebab cages will work - I think they will push the cooking time to 8 to 10 minutes, because the meat won't be touching the preheated grill grates. (That's an estimated time, of course: check after three turns, like I describe in the recipe.) good luck!
Ingrid says
I'm going to have the hubby check out your blog! 🙂
MikeV @ DadCooksDinner says
@Lynn:
Sounds like you have a recipe that works for you - great! It looks like it will taste much better than the canned stuff, straight up.
Looking at it, my thought is I think I can make a Pressure Cooker beef broth using beef shank or oxtail in about the same amount time. So...when you see a PC beef broth recipe on the blog in a few months, you'll know you've inspired me. Thanks!
Lynn says
Sounds yummy--I'm going to try it tonight. I mostly agree with you about canned broth. However, I discovered a recipe for enhanced broth several years ago in one of those by-the-checkout-counter-at-the-grocery-store cookbooks. (Some people go for the candy; I go for the cookbooks.) Basically you rough chop 2 cups of onion and 1 cup each of celery, carrot, and mushrooms, smear 2 T tomato paste over it, and roast it in the oven for an hour. The recipe calls for 4 garlic cloves as well, but I omit that since some people in my family are truly allergic to garlic. Then you add the roasted veggies to 8 cups of purchased broth (I use the quart sized organic stuff) with a T of Worcestershire sauce, some peppercorns and a bay leaf, and simmer for another hour. Still takes some time, but it's easier than tracking down beef bones and roasting them. I make a double batch and freeze in 1 cup quantities and then always have decent beef broth on hand.
MikeV @ DadCooksDinner says
@growmyown:
Yeah, sorry about that. I just get my teeth into this stuff sometimes, and I can't let go until I think I understand it.
growmyown says
You went all Alton on us, but we can take it. Nice pictures. I especially liked the one with your hand all coated with stuff. That always happens to me and it is nice to know that professional food bloggers get yucky hands also.