These Whole30-friendly grilled pork kabobs with a sweet and spicy peach BBQ sauce will be the hit at your next summer party!
My hometown inspiration for this dish
I grew up in suburban Menlo Park, California. You wouldn’t know if from the tree-lined residential streets and quaint downtown, but my hometown’s the birthplace of Google, Round Table Pizza, and the psychedelic 60s. I lived a block away from what is now the first-ever Tesla Motors dealership; as a high schooler, I worked there as a file clerk when it was a Chevy showroom. (I got hit by a truck while sprinting across the street after work to watch Donahue. If only I’d owned a DVR in 1989, I would’ve skipped the ambulance ride to the hospital.)
Menlo Park used to be home to the Connoisseur’s Marketplace, a difficult-to-spell mid-summer festival highlighting food, wine, music, and art. As kids, my sister and I would peer into each of the stalls, tug on our parents’ arms and beg to buy trinkets and snacks. “Too expensive,” they’d say.
“Can we at least buy a lemonade? It’s hot out!”
“No. We have lemons at home, and we live two blocks away.”
Argh.
The one thing—the only thing—for which my mom and dad would gladly shell out their hard-earned bucks? Pork-a-bobs! We always made a beeline for the Filipino stand offering grilled swine slathered with a sticky-sweet barbecue glaze. I haven’t been back to the Connoisseur’s Marketplace in over twenty years, but I still think about those pork kabobs.
It’s all about the Barbecue Sauce (Whole30!)
My Whole30 version incorporates sweet summer peaches in the smoky, fruity sauce, because I really don’t know of a better flavor combination than grilled pork and peaches. The pork is marinated in a simple, flavorful marinade, which means the sauce isn’t absolutely necessary. But I brush on the BBQ sauce after the pork’s off the grill (so it doesn’t burn) to give the meat an extra boost of flavor and to make it a fun, messy, lick-your-fingers treat.
Use Pork Shoulder!
Although I normally reserve pork shoulder for low and slow cooking preparations, it’s also fantastic cubed and grilled. This recipe keeps on giving because the pork reheats beautifully and the leftover sauce (which can be smeared on your favorite meats) will keep for up to a week in the fridge.
Serves 8
Ingredients:
Pork Kabobs
1 small red onion, roughly chopped
⅓ cup avocado oil, olive oil, or melted ghee
⅓ cup coconut aminos
3 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons apple juice
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 pounds pork shoulder roast, cut into 1½ inch cubes
½ cup diced fresh peach (optional, for garnish)
Spicy Peach BBQ Sauce
1 pound peaches, halved and pitted
½ red onion, peeled and cut through the root end
2 tablespoons avocado oil, olive oil, or melted ghee
1 jalapeño pepper
½ cup coconut aminos
2 tablespoon tomato paste
1½ tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Here’s how to make the pork kabobs:
Time to make the marinade!
First, make the marinade for the kabobs by blitzing together the onions,oil, coconut aminos, fish sauce, apple juice, tomato paste, garlic, and freshly ground black pepper in a high speed blender or food processor until smooth.
Grab your pork shoulder and cut it into uniform 1½-inch cubes.
Place the cubes in a large storage container and pour the marinade over the pork.
Make sure the pork is well-coated before covering the container and storing it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to a day.
Next up: la barbecue sauce!
Heat your grill or grill pan to medium high. Cut your peaches in half and pry out the pits.
Brush the oil on the cut surface of the peaches and onion. Place the peaches, onion, and pepper on the hot grill and leave ‘em there for a couple minutes per side…
…until you get nice grill marks all over.
Roughly chop the peaches and onion, and discard the stem end of the onion. Trim off the stem of the jalapeño and remove the seeds and ribs. (If you want a less-spicy sauce, just use part of the jalapeño instead of the whole thing.)
Toss the peaches, onion, jalapeño, coconut aminos, tomato paste, rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, and a few grinds of freshly ground black pepper into a high speed blender or food processor.
Blitz until smooth.
Pour the sauce into a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.
Lower the temperature to medium low and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes or until slightly thickened. The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Last step: grilling the skewers!
Heat the grill to medium high.
Thread five to six pieces of pork on each skewer. If you make lots of kabobs, you should invest in some flat metal skewers. Wooden skewers always burn no matter how long you soak them in water.
Grill the skewers for about 10 minutes…
…turning every couple of minutes…
…until cooked through.
Remove the kabobs from the grill and brush on the barbecue sauce.
Rest the pork for 5 to 10 minutes before digging in.
I added some diced peach to make ’em pretty.
Grab some napkins!
(Originally posted: July 28, 2013)
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013) and Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017)!
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Peachy Pork-A-Bobs
These Whole30-friendly grilled pork skewers with a sweet and spicy peach barbecue sauce will be the hit at your next summer party! I like to call them paleo Peachy Pork-A-Bobs!
For the Pork Kabobs
1 small red onion (roughly chopped)
⅓ cup avocado oil (olive oil, or melted ghee)
⅓ cup coconut aminos
3 tablespoons Red Boat fish sauce
2 tablespoons apple juice
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 large garlic cloves (minced)
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 pounds pork shoulder roast (cut into 1½ inch cubes)
½ cup diced fresh peach (optional, for garnish)
Spicy Peach Barbecue Sauce
1 pound peaches (halved and pitted)
½ medium red onion (peeled and cut through the root end)
2 tablespoons avocado oil (olive oil, or melted ghee)
1 jalapeño pepper
½ cup coconut aminos
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1½ tablespoons rice wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
2 teaspoons Red Boat fish sauce
2 medium garlic clove (minced)
1 tablespoon minced ginger
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For The Pork Kabobs
Make the marinade by combining the onions, oil, coconut aminos, fish sauce, apple juice, tomato paste, garlic, and freshly ground black pepper in a high speed blender or food processor. Blitz until smooth.
Cut the pork shoulder roast into uniform 1½-inch cubes.
Place the cubes in a large storage container and pour the marinade over the pork. Mix well to coat the pork evenly. Store in a covered container in the fridge for at least one hour and up to a day.
For the Spicy Peach Barbecue Sauce
Heat your grill or grill pan to medium high.
Brush the oil on the cut surface of the peaches, onion, and the outside of the pepper. Place them cut-side down on the hot grill and sear them a couple of minutes per side or until you get nice grill marks on them.
Roughly chop the grilled peaches, onion, and jalapeño. (If you want a less-spicy sauce, just use part of the jalapeño instead of the whole thing and discard the ribs and seeds.)
Add the peaches, onion, jalapeño, coconut aminos, tomato paste, rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, and freshly ground black pepper to a high speed blender or food processor. Blitz until smooth.
Pour the sauce into a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the temperature to medium low and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes or until slightly thickened. You can store the sauce in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Grilling the Kabobs
When you're ready to make the pork kabobs, heat the grill to medium high.
Thread the marinated pork cubes on flat metal skewers. Grill the skewers about 10 minutes total, flipping the skewers every couple of minutes or until cooked through. Pork is done when it reaches 145°F.
Remove the kabobs from the grill and brush on the barbecue sauce. Rest the pork for 5 to 10 minutes before digging in. Garnish with diced fresh peaches to make it pretty!
The post Peachy Pork-A-Bobs (Pork Kabobs with Spicy Peach BBQ Sauce) appeared first on Nom Nom Paleo®.
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