Danelle McCollum’s steakhouse supper on a skewer pairs balsamic-marinated beef and mushrooms with parboiled potatoes for one well-timed pass over the grill.
Jon Sullivan’s grill shows the source pairing of cubed beef and whole mushrooms. The potatoes are absent from this illustrative frame; they join only after their head start in simmering water.Photo by Jon Sullivan / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Serves
6
Marinate
2 hr minimum
Grill
10–12 min
Beef
145°F + rest
A steakhouse order only becomes a good kabob when its clocks agree. One-inch beef wants a brief hot grill. Mushrooms can share that window. Potatoes cannot—unless simmering water moves them close to tender before anything touches a skewer.
Danelle McCollum’s 2015 formula solves that mismatch without expanding the shopping list. Steak and mushrooms spend at least two refrigerated hours in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, rosemary, and oregano. Potatoes get their separate head start. At the grill, the three parts finally arrive ready to finish together.
“Marinated steak and mushrooms, grilled kabob-style with new potatoes.”
Give potatoes a head start
Eight to ten minutes in salted water gets them nearly tender before the quick grill begins.
Leave breathing room
A small gap between pieces exposes more surface to heat and helps one-inch beef cubes cook evenly.
Measure the center
Grill marks arrive before safety is certain; a thin-tip thermometer closes the question at 145°F.
The skewer mapCube soften absorb carry
Four jobs in a ten-line ingredient list
The source proportions stay intact. Reliability comes from choosing an appropriate scale for each piece and respecting the potato’s separate preparation.
01
One-inch steak cubes
One pound supplies the fast-cooking center of six mixed skewers and enough surface for balsamic seasoning and browning.
Top sirloin suits the method, but the archived source names no cut. Keep the cubes even rather than rewriting the ingredient.02
Small potatoes
A pound turns the skewers into supper, but potatoes need an eight-to-ten-minute water start before the beef reaches the grate.
Stop at light knife resistance. They should be tender enough to finish over fire and firm enough to survive threading.03
Whole mushrooms
Eight ounces absorb the same balsamic, garlic, rosemary, and oregano bath as the steak, then brown at the edges.
Choose small, similarly sized caps when possible. Halve only outliers that dwarf the one-inch beef pieces.04
Oil + balsamic
Equal quarter-cup measures carry three cloves of garlic and the dried herbs across steak and mushrooms.
This is a cold marinade, not a finishing sauce. Discard it after raw beef contact instead of brushing it back onto cooked food.
Grill rhythmCut chill simmer thread turn rest
Two quiet hours, twelve minutes of fire
Most of the elapsed time is hands-off. The final pass is fast because every component reaches the grate prepared for the same finish.
CUT
Make the beef consistent
Cut the steak into one-inch cubes and pair it with mushrooms of a similar scale.
2 HR+
Marinate under cover
Whisk the balsamic-herb mixture, coat steak and mushrooms, and refrigerate.
8–10
Parboil the potatoes
Salt the water and stop while a knife still meets light resistance.
HEAT
Prepare the grill and skewers
Bring the grate to medium-high; soak bamboo skewers for thirty minutes if using them.
10–12
Turn once over the fire
Grill until mushrooms brown, potatoes finish, and the thickest beef cubes reach temperature.
3 MIN
Rest on a clean platter
Give the whole-muscle beef its USDA rest before tasting and adjusting the seasoning.
Earth + emberThe soft start before the hard sear
Potatoes begin in water; mushrooms end over flame
Small potatoes can stay whole; larger ones should be cut into substantial, skewer-friendly pieces. Either way, the source gives them an 8–10 minute simmer before grilling.Photo by Marek Ślusarczyk / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0
Parboiled is not fully cooked
The pieces should accept the skewer without crumbling, then lose their final resistance beside the browning beef.
Eight ounces of mushrooms share the balsamic-herb marinade with the steak. Choose similarly sized caps so they take on color without crowding the skewers.Photo by Daderot / Wikimedia Commons · CC0 1.0
Four finish cuesYield brown measure breathe
Read every piece, not only the steak
A mixed skewer is ready only when the potato is tender, the mushroom has color, and the beef has a verified center.
01
Potatoes hold, then yield
After parboiling, they remain intact on the skewer. After grilling, a knife reaches the center without a hard core.
02
Mushrooms darken without collapsing
The caps look glossy from the marinade and browned at their hottest edges, not shriveled into loose skins.
03
Beef reads at the center
Probe a thick cube from the side and check more than one skewer. The safe floor is 145°F, followed by a three-minute rest.
04
The skewer has space
Small gaps remain visible between components, so heat can reach the sides instead of steaming crowded contact points.
Cold side, clean sideMarinate drain separate chill
The make-ahead plan is also the safety plan
The recipe moves cleanly from covered refrigerator container to hot grill to clean platter when each tool has one clear job.
Marinate in the refrigerator
Start at least two hours ahead in a covered nonreactive container. Cold holding is part of the method, not a separate precaution.
Parboil during the marinade
The potato head start fits inside the two-hour wait. Drain and cool the pieces before threading so they stay firm and manageable.
Keep raw tools on the raw side
Move the finished skewers with clean tongs to a clean platter; discard the marinade and wash anything that touched uncooked beef.
Chill leftovers promptly
Refrigerate within two hours—one hour above 90°F—use within 3–4 days, and reheat to 165°F.
Grilled steak, potato & mushroom kabobs
Balsamic-garlic steak and mushrooms threaded with parboiled potatoes, grilled over medium-high heat, and rested before serving.
8 ounces mushrooms, trimmed and left whole if small
1 pound small potatoes, scrubbed
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt, plus more after grilling if needed
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, plus more after grilling if needed
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Directions
Put the 1-inch steak cubes and mushrooms in a rimmed baking dish or covered nonreactive container. Keep the potatoes separate for now.
Whisk the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, rosemary, and oregano until evenly combined. Pour the marinade over the steak and mushrooms, turn everything to coat, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Do not marinate at room temperature.
While the steak marinates, put the scrubbed potatoes in a large saucepan of salted water. If the potatoes are much larger than the steak cubes, cut them into substantial, similarly sized pieces. Bring to a boil and cook until just tender, 8–10 minutes: a knife should enter with light resistance, but the pieces must still hold their shape. Drain and cool until easy to handle.
Heat the grill to medium-high. Clean the grate. If using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for 30 minutes and drain before threading; metal skewers need no soaking.
Lift the steak and mushrooms from the marinade and let the excess drip away. Discard the used marinade. Thread steak, mushrooms, and potatoes onto the skewers, leaving a small gap between pieces so heat can reach their sides. Divide the beef as evenly as practical among the skewers.
Grill the kabobs over medium-high heat for 10–12 minutes, turning once, until the mushrooms are browned, the potatoes are hot and tender, and the center of the thickest steak cube reaches at least 145°F (63°C). Check more than one skewer because pieces and grill zones vary.
Move the kabobs to a clean platter and rest for 3 minutes. Taste, add salt and pepper only if needed, and serve immediately while the potatoes are hot and the mushroom edges are still browned.
