When Grilling Seafood, There's Only One Type Of Skewer You Should Use

Summer may be slowly drawing to a close but plenty of time remains to bring out the grill and enjoy some of the best dishes for warm weather, like seafood. And since one of the only things better than grilled seafood is a lot of grilled seafood, why not mix it up with some seafood kabobs? Whether you load them with shrimp, scallops, fish, or something else, these portable meals are easy to make and sure to satisfy. All you need to cook them is a grill, the right type of wood, and some skewers. When it comes to seafood, metal skewers are the best choice.

Metal skewers work best for grilling seafood because as the kabobs rest on the grill, the metal will conduct heat better than skewers made of wood or other materials. Speaking to the hosts of the Food Network show "The Kitchen," Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian points out that using metal skewers "cooks the seafood inside." This can come in handy if the seafood morsels you choose to grill are especially thick, and will help you cook everything more evenly.

Along with being the perfect vessels for kabobs, metal skewers are also great for cooking individual portions of fish, shellfish, or crustaceans. You can easily poke two through a filet of swordfish or a lobster tail and toss everything on the grill, then use the skewers to flip and move things around. That way your food will cook internally, and you can save a couple of dishes. Just remember that the skewers will get very hot, so you will probably want to wear gloves or keep a towel on hand to move things around.

Considering that eating undercooked fish can increase your likelihood of contracting a foodborne illness, it's a good idea to make sure you're doing all you can to ensure the food you're grilling is fully cooked. Factors like the temperature of your grill will affect how long certain seafood needs to be cooked, but in general, about five minutes per side should be enough. If you cook raw fish a lot, you may want to invest in a food thermometer to be safe.

If you want to cook like the pros, you need the right equipment. In this case, that means using quality metal skewers to ensure your grilled seafood is safe to eat. You'll be left with unparalleled food, and a sleek set of reusable kabob sticks to use the next time you get grilling.