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Rosemary Chicken on Homemade Skewers

Got a rosemary plant? If not, you might want to skip down to the “additional information” section of this post for another type of possible homemade skewer. If you do have a rosemary plant, then you know how fast it grows and that it can turn into a huge bush before you know it. If your plant is overgrown then it’s time to trim some stems. Trim some long stems near the bottom and make some skewers out of them. That’s right, use the rosemary stems as skewers!

Solve two problems at once – make homemade skewers when you have none and totally infuse rosemary into the center of each and every bite of chicken for the ultimate rosemary chicken recipe. These rosemary skewers can be used for chicken, fish, beef and most anything that is soft in the center and could benefit from a hint of rosemary.

Homemade Rosemary Skewers

Recipe Using Rosemary Stems

To make homemade rosemary skewers, simply follow these basic steps.

First pick the strongest branches from a rosemary plant.

Rinse them off good and then let them soak in clean water for about 20 minutes or so.

Take a sharp knife and make an angled cut at the bottom of the stem (the piece that was closest to the ground).
The branches of rosemary should be growing away from the cut end of the stem.

Slip large chunks of chicken one at a time up the rosemary stem, slipping from the cut end in the direction that the stems are growing.

Brush on some marinade and let them sit for 30 minutes to a few hours in the fridge.
We used a marinade of olive oil, lime juice, garlic, pepper and mustard.

Grill the skewers on each side until the chicken pieces are cooked through.

These homemade skewers hold up to the hot BBQ really well and the chicken stays put until taken off the stem. Rosemary skewers can take the heat without absorbing all the heat like metal skewers and they keep hold of the chicken instead of letting it roll around like often happens with metal.

We made a dip of plain greek yogurt, a squeeze of lime and some chopped fresh rosemary to complement the chicken pieces.

Homemade rosemary skewers can also be used for vegetables, but the veggies also need to be soft in the center. Try zucchini circles, for instance. For rosemary potatoes, red potatoes, or onions you will need to first soften the potatoes (boiling or microwave) before skewering. Sticking a rosemary skewer through a hard object will remove all of the rosemary leaves from the stick and leave you with just a brown stick running through your potato and a pile of rosemary leaves on the plate below.

Homemade Skewers

Additional Info

No skewers & no fresh rosemary? There’s still hope! Maybe you had take-out on a previous night and saved your chop sticks? We often seem to have more sets of chopsticks than we can use since we often opt for a fork once home and just stash the chopsticks in the drawer. So, if you’ve got some extra wooden chopsticks simply break them apart, soak them in water for about 20 minutes or so and then skewer up some kabobs – pointed end first. Note: don’t try this with plastic chopsticks!

If grilling vegetables, check out our vegetable grilling times chart.

Display your rosemary and other fresh herbs and add beauty to the kitchen by making a herb bouquet.

To explore the unique qualities of both fresh and dried herbs, see our fresh vs dried page for more information.

To find out how long other foods are good for, please visit the Dairy, Drinks, Fruits, Grains, Proteins, Vegetables and Other sections of Eat By Date or use the search function below.