Kona Coffee Kebabs - The Kona Coast for Outdoor Wednesday

Hawaii will steal your heart if you allow it to. Each of the islands has a special lure just waiting to ensnare the unsuspecting tourist. I suspect these islands are where the art of fusion cooking was first honed. Today's recipe uses native ingredients to produce a truly unique mop sauce for quick cooking kebabs or London broil. I've made a few changes to the recipe, but the original won third place honors for Bill and Lianne Magness at the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival a few years ago. As to my changes, I thought the lemon juice and mustard flavors were too bold. I substituted vinegar for the lemon and reduced the mustard by half. This is a very mellow sauce that will give gorgeous color to your meat. It's not necessary to slavishly follow ingredients for the kebabs. Use what you like to assemble them. This sauce will not work for chicken or pork, so don't be tempted. I think you'll love it for beef and I hope you'll enjoy the photos of the Kona coast. Here's the recipe.

Kona Coffee Kebabs

Ingredients:

Mop Sauce:

2 cups Kona coffee, strong brew

1 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoons honey mustard

1 tablespoons mustard

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/4 cup water

Kebabs:

2 pounds beef loin strips, cut in 1-inch cubes

2 red bell peppers, cut into 1-inch squares

1 red onion, cut into 1-inch squares

20 cherry tomatoes

Directions:

1) For Mop Sauce: Combine all of the ingredients, except cornstarch and water, in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Whisk together cornstarch and water in a small bowl to make a slurry. Add the slurry to the mixture and stir well. Bring back to boil and cook for 5 minutes. Let cool.

2) Combine beef and the toss with half of marinade. Refrigerate for 24 hours. Refrigerate remaining sauce for basting.

3) Preheat a grill. Skewer beef cubes, red bell peppers, red onion and cherry tomatoes. Skewer each item separately as cooking times vary. Barbecue over low heat, turning and basting with reserved mop sauce for 20 to 30 minutes or until done. Yield: 4 to 5 servings.

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