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No. 17CubanBeefKamado Joe

Mojo Beef Skewers

Maybe not with any sweet BBQ sauce. I more like the sounds of the beef and the orange.

John Drummond

Flat slabs of charred flat iron steak on double bamboo skewers on a timber board, one cut to show a pink centre, under green mojo, crisp garlic and orange zest, beside a bowl of mojo and a charred orange and lime half
Prep40min
Cook15min
All up

55min+ 45–60 minutes

Serves4
LevelMedium

Mise en place

What you need

Tick each one off as it goes in.

Beef

Mojo paste

Table mojo

To finish

Makes 4 serves

It started with a menu line: "BBQ Beef Skewers, Marinated with Lime & Orange Spiked BBQ Sauce". Maybe not with any sweet BBQ sauce. I more like the sounds of the beef and the orange.

So it's mojo, the Cuban one: sour orange, garlic, cumin and oregano. Real sour oranges are a winter thing here, so it's orange and lime, two to one. Savoury and sharp, and nothing sticky.

I can get good flat iron steak from my local butcher, Bruce's at Mitcham. It's not overtly thick and won't be square cubes. Although it expands when cooked, so it's more of a flat skewer. Kinda better maybe: you don't have to cook four sides, just two. Ask them for a bit of the fat trim too.

It went through the full three-way blind review (Claude, Grok and Codex) in October 2026, with the bar set at "shit balls amazing". What came out of it: - The salt goes on first, by itself, and the citrus only gets 30–45 minutes, because a long acid bath turns thin beef grey before it hits the fire. - The steak is cut across the grain so every bite is short. - The last ten seconds over the fire are a brush of the steak's own rendered fat. - It finishes with crisp garlic, cracklings and fresh orange zest straight onto the hot crust.

The final round tested squeezing charred orange and lime over the lot. Both other judges said no: a whole orange and lime is that much juice on the crust you just built. So the charred halves go on the side, a few drops at a time.

None of it has been cooked in this exact form yet.

Gas BBQ on a weeknight, the Kamado Joe on the weekend. Both are in the method.

The method

Ten moves.

  1. Steak, Cut

    Find the grain. It runs the long way. Cut across it every 3 cm, then cut those strips into pieces 6–7 cm long, at the steak's own thickness. About 20 pieces of 40 g. Any translucent sheet of sinew left in, trim it. Don't pound them. Keep the fat trim.

  2. Beef, Salt

    Toss the pieces with the 8 g salt. Onto a rack, uncovered, fridge, 45–60 minutes. Skewers into water to soak.

  3. Fat, Render

    Dice the fat trim. Small pan, low heat, about 12 minutes, until the fat runs clear and the bits are golden. Strain. Keep the fat warm. Set the cracklings aside. Stop at gold: burnt fat is bitter.

  4. Mojo, Make

    Olive oil, sliced garlic and crushed cumin seeds into a cold small pan. Low heat to just golden, 5–7 minutes. Lift the garlic out onto paper towel; it crisps as it cools. Oil off the heat, oregano in. Pound the raw clove with the 2 g salt. Whisk in the juices, zest and pepper, then the warm oil. Not hot. Taste it: a little too sharp on its own is right. Coriander stays out until you plate.

  5. Beef, Paste

    Toast the cumin seeds in a dry pan until they smell nutty, under a minute, and grind them. Pound the 4 garlic cloves smooth. Mix in both zests, the juices, the cumin, the oregano, pepper, chilli and oil. Salted beef in, turned to coat. Fridge, 30–45 minutes. A coat, not a swim. No longer.

  6. Fire, Light

    Kamado Joe: lump banked under two-thirds of the grate, a bare third as the rescue zone. Grate low, no deflector. Lid closed to about 300°C on the dome, smoke running clean, then the lid stays open. Gas BBQ: all burners on high, hood down, 15 minutes. Clean and oil the grate. One side to low as the rescue zone. Lid open.

  7. Skewers, Thread

    Lift the beef out. Blot the drips and keep the spice film. Two parallel skewers through each row of four pieces, through the 3 cm side, 4–5 mm gaps, flat faces down. Five pairs. Thick pieces on their own pair.

  8. Skewers, Grill

    Hottest zone. Don't touch them until they release with dark patches, 75–120 seconds on the kamado, 90–150 on gas. Turn once. Probe the thickest piece from the edge. At 49–50°C, brush both faces thinly with the warm beef fat, 10 seconds a face over the fiercest heat. A lick of flame, no soot. Pull at 51–52°C. Anything colouring too fast goes to the rescue zone.

  9. Skewers, Rest

    Skewers onto a warm plate, uncovered, 2 minutes. While they rest, orange and lime halves cut-side down on the hottest spot, 20–40 seconds, until the flesh spots. Off before the rind blackens.

  10. Plate, Now

    Coriander into the mojo. A line of mojo over each skewer, about a tablespoon, crust still showing. The rest in a bowl. Crisp garlic shards and cracklings over the top, whole, not crushed. Grate the orange zest straight over and a pinch of flaky salt.

    Charred halves on the side, a few drops each, not a wring. Eat now. The crust has two minutes. Medium-rare at 52°C is the cook's call on fresh, whole-muscle beef. If the steak has been needle-tenderised, cook it further.

    Make the mojo the same day, keep it in the fridge if it has to wait, and bin any left over.

Keep wandering

From the same volume.

No. 14Asiago Chicken PastaItalian · 40 minNo. 15Filipino Pork SkewersFilipino · 55 minNo. 16Gochujang-Lime Flat Iron SteakAsian · 25 minNo. 18Frango Piri-PiriPortuguese · 1 hr 20 min · Spain 2026

Mojo Beef Skewersserves 4 · 55 min + 45–60 minutes