The Brilliant Trick To Prevent Wooden Skewers From Burning On The Grill

When it comes to grilling (the easiest type of cooking), wooden skewers have obvious advantages. They're cheap, they're disposable, and (because they're made of wood) you don't need to feel too bad about the fact they're disposable. (If you're worried about sustainability, feel reassured by the fact that wooden skewers are typically made with bamboo — an especially eco-friendly material.) On the other hand, the fact that disposable grill skewers are made of wood can also be a disadvantage. That is to say, if the wood catches fire before your kebabs are done they're going to break apart, leaving pieces of meat scattered across the grill grates.

To combat the problem, it's recommended you soak your skewers in water for a while before you start grilling — at least 30 minutes, and up to overnight. Still, we've got another layer of protection to ensure a smooth grilling experience: after soaking, freeze those skewers. This trick has one clear benefit which is that a soaked, frozen skewer will be even slower to catch fire than one that's merely been soaked. But the underlying — and equally valuable — benefit is that this is a time-management hack. No longer do you need to think ahead about soaking skewers before firing up the grill. You can soak and freeze a whole bunch in one go, then simply take what you need from the freezer when it's time to cook — whether it's simple chicken kebabs or a full-on skewered shrimp boil.

Take as many wooden grilling skewers as you want and soak them in water in a 9-by-13-inch baking pan, or anything big enough to accommodate the length of your skewers (it varies, but they're often around 12 inches). After at least 30 minutes, drain the excess water, then bundle the skewers however you see fit — in a plastic zipper bag, in aluminum foil — and stick them in the freezer. If we were talking about, say, blueberries, we'd suggest freezing them individually on a sheet pan before packing them together, so they don't ice up into some unbreakable mass. But you'll find that the skewers are relatively easy to separate off the bunch, so no need to take any extra steps here. Literally, just store them in the freezer however you want.

One more thing: It's not just wooden skewers you can freeze this way. If you're making kebabs, you can do all the prep work — cutting and marinating the meat and veggies, threading them onto the skewers — before freezing the kebabs whole, skewer and all. No need to thaw when you're ready to cook. Just heat up the grill (on your apartment balcony or in your six-acre backyard), take out the frozen kebabs, and throw them onto the grates; proceeding as usual. Only one thing to keep in mind: It's already a good idea to cook meat and veggie kebabs on separate skewers, given that they'll be done at different times. Do that here, too, for best results.