Rosemary is possibly my favorite herb. It is an essential seasoning in any chef’s pantry, and comes in an array of shapes, growth habits and flower colors.
The most common forms are either upright evergreen shrubs (up to 3 feet tall), or low-growing groundcover plants. Their flowers can be pink or white, but most often they’re blue.
One of the latest varieties of Rosemarinus officinalis to filter into the nursery is called ‘barbeque rosemary.’
My first inclination was to rub a branch to see if it smelled like barbeque. Not in the slightest. Like most of the rosemary I’m familiar with, it had the fragrance of pine.
What is unique to this rosemary, however, is its upright growth habit, and its long, straight stems. The stems clearly inspired the name… because they make perfect barbeque skewers.
All the chef/gardener needs to do is cut off 12 inch sections from the plant. These herbal skewers will release special aromatic and savory essences into the food as it cooks, and are perfect to use as shish kabob sticks or as pins for butterflied meat and poultry.
They will transform your ordinary barbeque food into succulently infused delicacies!
Barbeque rosemary is easy to grow. Just plant it in a sunny location with good drainage and it will flourish. When mature it will reach a height and width of 3 to 4 feet. It is evergreen, winter hardy, and fairly drought tolerant. Another plus? Deer won’t touch it.
Let’s fire up the grill!
A recipe by Mick Vann: Rosemary-Skewered Kebabs
• 4 one-inch cubes of lamb per kebab (boneless pork or chicken thighs may be substituted)
• 2 one-inch wide sections of onion per kebab
• 1 one-inch wide section of red bell pepper per kebab
• ¾ cup olive oil
• Juice of 1 small lemon
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 tablespoons onion, chopped
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano (or 1 teaspoon fresh, minced finely)
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 rosemary skewer per kebab, stripped of leaves, trimmed of side branches, 5-6” long
• Salt to taste
Pre-skewer meat and vegetables with the end of a thin chopstick or an ice pick. Combine oil, juice, garlic, onion, oregano, and pepper in a food processor or blender and puree to make a marinade. Place meat in a re-sealable plastic bag with marinade, massage well, and marinate chilled for 1 to 4 hours. Remove and drain meat, saving the marinade for basting. Assemble kebabs by threading on rosemary skewers: meat-onion-meat-pepper-meat-onion-meat. Grill skewers over indirect coals, or under a broiler, basting with reserved marinade until medium rare (pork should be grilled to 140º, chicken to 155º). A bunch of parsley makes a nice basting “brush”. Season with salt and serve over rice or couscous.
Mick Vann is a chef, food writer, restaurant consultant, horticulturist
Happy gardening everyone!
If you have a gardening question, send it to me via email: [email protected]. (Please put ‘Ask Chris Winslow’ in the subject line.) Or mail your letter or postcard to: Ask Chris Winslow. It’s About Thyme: 11726 Manchaca Road, Austin, TX 78748 www.itsaboutthyme.com
