How to Make Fast, Easy Skewers on the Grill

Grilling season is in full swing. What better time to perfect this often-tricky technique?

It’s one of the most elemental cooking techniques: impaling food on a skewer or a stick and cooking it over an open fire. With iterations found throughout the world — the kebabs of the Middle East, the anticuchos of South America, the yakitori of Japan and the suya of Nigeria, to name a few — grilling food on skewers is a widespread practice that’s as richly diverse as it is satisfying. As any distracted s’mores maker who has incinerated a marshmallow knows, it can also be one of the trickiest activities to do well. With grilling season in full swing, now is the perfect time to run through some of its finer points.