Pork Skewers (Shashlik)
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I love the smell of barbecue floating through the backyard; but not so much when it’s the neighbors BBQ. It’s too enticing. I’d be the one poking my head over the fence to see what’s cooking (good thing we have nice neighbors!). We’ve been grilling away almost daily.
I made this Pork Skewers (Shashlik) recipe twice in one day because I wanted it to be perfect for y’all. Seriously my husband grilled it in the morning, then we tweaked some things and made it again in the evening. It’s important to me to make sure I live up to my “tried and true” motto. I want you to try these pork skewers and say, yeah it’s a keeper.
This recipe was inspired by my cousin Alla of Washington. Alla you are one talented gal and thank you so much for replying to my random text messages about food!
Ingredients for Ukrainian Shashlik (Kabobs)
1 3/4 to 2 lb Pork Sirloin
1/4 cup dry red wine such as merlot
1/4 cup olive oil
4-5 cloves garlic, pressed
1 medium onion sliced into 1″ pieces
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
6 to 8 (12-inch) wooden skewers
How to Make Pork Skewers:
1. Chop pork into 1 inch pieces and place them in a large bowl. Add sliced onion and press in the 4-5 cloves of garlic.
2. Sprinkle with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper and stir everything to combine.
3. Pour in 1/4 cup olive oil and 1/4 cup red wine. Stir everything to combine.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the fridge for 3-4 hours.
5. About 15-30 minutes before your meat is done marinating, place 6-8 wooden skewers in a pyrex dish with enough water to submerge the sticks. Soaking them keeps the sticks from burning on the grill.
Preheat your grill and just before adding your meat, set to medium.
6. Skewer the meat and onions (don’t squish them too tightly together; they meat should be just touching on the skewer, not smashed together).
7. Grill over medium heat, turning every 4 minutes or so until all sides are browned and the meat is cooked through.
Enjoy with our favorite BBQ sauce or A1.
I’d love to hear about your grilling adventures. What’s going on your BBQ this week?
Pork Skewers (Shashlik)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Chop pork into 1 inch pieces and place them in a large bowl. Add sliced onion and press in the 4-5 cloves of garlic.
- Sprinkle with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper and stir everything to combine.
- Pour in 1/4 cup olive oil and 1/4 cup red wine. Stir everything to combine.
- Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the fridge for 3-4 hours.
- About 15-30 minutes before your meat is done marinating, place 6-8 wooden skewers in a pyrex dish with enough water to submerge the sticks.
- Preheat your grill and just before adding your meat, set to medium.
- Skewer the meat and onions (don't squish them too tightly together; they meat should be just touching on the skewer, not smashed together).
- Grill over medium heat, turning every 4 minutes or so until all sides are browned and the meat is cooked through.
Enjoy with our favorite BBQ sauce or A1.
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
With so many fantastic questions I was hoping to find if I can make this in the oven and the good temperature to use it at with the amount of time. I can’t grill it I don’t have a grill, but I would love to make this in the oven. Please let me know what would be best to not overcook it so it’s not dry!!
Temp and time! ♥️
Hi Anna, I haven’t tried either way to be honest. I think it might be a little dry in the oven. Pork is one of those meats that really need the moisture in the marinade and they need to be cooked carefully.
This is a good quicky Americanized version of real Russian/Ukrainian shashlik. I spent time in Russia Rostov on Don and had the real deal many times. They put a lot of love into it. First they use much larger chunks of pork shoulder not sirloin. Lots of onion and spend a long time massaging the onion and meat together until your eyes are on fire. 1-2 days marinating. No vegetables and metal skewers not bamboo to handle larger chunks. Seasoning only salt and pepper. no wine, no garlic. They put a lot of attention while slow cooking standing by with spray bottle of water to control flare ups. Baste the meat with lard The men gather around to joke and chat while slow bbq. Plenty of vodka and toasts. It’s more of fun experience than a meal. Also Sturgeon shashlik is the best. Just sharing real Russian fun shashlik bbq’s. Thanks
Hi Natasha, I tried this recipe and it it turned out well.
Would you give a tutorial on how to make a smoked shashlyk that has that delicious smoky smell? I want to make it with wood/char but have no idea where to start.
That’s so great! Thank you for that suggestion, we will add it to our list.
Natasha,
We cook shashlik often and can’t wait to try this recipe! You have so many wonderful recipes. I was wondering if you could come up with a recipe for an easy Napoleon cake and Tirimisu?
Hi Kimberly! We have a Napoleon cake here and Tiramisu recipes here. I hope that helps!
Hi can I use pork sirloin roast for this recipe?
Hi Snezhana, pork sirloin is very lean and would probably be too dry in this recipe.
But the recipe says pork sirloin. If that would be too dry what pork cut would you use?
Hi Katerina, a cut with more fatty content will produce more tender meat. You can also try pork shoulder if you want it more tender.
About how long do these skewers take to cook? I see “turn every 4 minutes over medium heat” but about how many turns d’ya think to reach 145 – 150 degrees?
Hi Chris, I grill for a total of about 15 minutes.
This recipe was the best tasting pork I ever had. I do have a question though. What would be a good authentic Ukrainian side to go with the Shaslik ?
Any of the cucumber and/or tomato salads and mashed potatoes or roasted red potatoes or any potatoes really. The best combo right there! 🙂
Can it marinate for more than 4-5 hours?
Hi Liliya, you can marinate longer if you prefer.
Hi Natasha,
Can wine be omitted or substituted with something non-alcoholic?
Hi Viktoriya, You might try some lemon juice or maybe something like cider vinegar. I haven’t tested those but that would be my best guess.
Hi, what proportion of lemon juice/ cider vinegar should be used?
Hi Olga! I haven’t tested them. My guess would be that you could use them in same proportions.
can pork tenderloin be used?
Yes, it will work.
Hey, would pork roast -boston butt work?
Lana, for juicy, tender kebabs, I would recommend pork loin, or pork neck meat. Pork is typically fatty meat, so it really is ideal for juicy kebabs. Boston butt and pork leg meat yield drier and tougher kebabs. Hope this helps.
Hi Natasha, can the red wine be substituted with white wine?
Hi Olga, I haven’t tried with white wine but I think it would be a good experiment! Let me know if you try it 🙂
Hi Natasha, can I substitute pork with beef? Would it also come out tender and delicious? thanks!
Hi Olga, I haven’t tried this recipe with beef but I think it should work. The cut of beef and how long you cook it will affect how tender it is, but the flavors should work well together 🙂
the marinade was delicious, but the meat turned out pretty dry,. what did I do wrong
Hi Tony, with pork, it will dry out if it is overcooked. Try cooking it a little less next time – check for doneness 1 to 2 minutes earlier.
Tried grilling for less time and added extra wine to marinade per other reviews. Turned out delicious and so Tender. Loved it. Thank you
This is the best pork kabobs ever!! It was a hit with my family. I marinated them over night, and they were just ao yummy :).
I’m so happy you love the recipe!
Natasha, thanks for sharing this. My stepdad used to marinate pork in the same ingredients except he would use white vinegar instead of wine, and then he would marinate it for over 24 hours. The meat turns out so tender and can be cooked on cast iron indoor (for those who don’t have outdoor grill). I did his recipe few times and I liked it but I want to try yours with red wine. Thank you for your recipes.
His method does sound really good and I’m sure marinating for that long would make for some very tasty meat! 😉
Very Yummy and Tender! Thank You, Natasha, for a great recipe. I did add a little more wine, though;)
I bet it tasted even better with more! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂 Thanks Tanya 🙂
I was in Ukraine a few weeks ago and had shashlik. This recipe is spot on. Absolutely fantastic!
I added more wine so the pork was fully covered. It doesn’t need anything else.
Thanks Natasha!
Don, thank you for a great review. Reading your comment, made me crave them all of a sudden, so I might be making them again soon and adding bit more wine per your suggestion :).
Hi Natasha, what if i don’t have red wine, or wooden sticks can just bake it in the oven, or it will be a little dry?
I haven’t tried either way to be honest. I think it might be a little dry in the oven. Pork is one of those meats that really need the moisture in the marinade and they need to be cooked carefully.
Wanted to let you know shashlik was sooo good! Just perfect, wine gave it a nice flavor. The men were raving over the meat. Lol
That’s awesome! I love that they were raving over the meat… Music to my ears and yours to I’m sure 😉 Thanks for the great review!
Thank you natash, you’re awesome you know that?! :))
Oh stop. 😉 So are you! 🙂
does the pork sirloin turn out pretty tender or more chewy? I have pork shoulder in my freezer, do you think that work or its too fatty of a cut?
I think this should work. A cut with more fatty content will produce more of a tender meat. I hope you’ll love it :).
I’ve had Shashlik when I was in Ukraine. In Lugansk specifically! I’ve been to a couple of restaurants there! However one of the restaurants provided a special home made sauce to dip the thin bread and Shashlik into! The taste was amazing! I’m going back to Lugansk to visit my friends this Orthodox Christmas holiday and definitely going to have Shashlik!!!
I will try your recipe and compare!
Have a great trip Nacio. Maybe you can ask how they make that dipping sauce :).
Have you tried this with lamb or beef? If so, what cuts of meat would you use? I am going to try the pork, too. Thanks.
I haven’t tried with either one. If using beef, something like a top sirloin might work well. Get something that isn’t too tough to chew 🙂
hi!:D what if i add 1/2cup mayo? would it be good?
Yes, it would still be good. The color of the uncooked meat will be a little strange looking (pink from the wine), but I have done it this way and it tastes good. 🙂
Hi, thanks for the recipe, Can I marinade the meat for longer, like overnight?
You sure can! It will definitely be more flavorful 🙂
I love how you provide a picture to go with each step, especially showing clearly all the ingredients needed to start.
It’s what I do…. 😉
Made this yesterday on the 4th. Excellent. I used an onion that was almost too small. Plenty to flavor the marinade, but had to scramble for enough to go on the skewers. Thanks again for your fine recipes.
I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe. Hope you had an awesome 4th of July!! 🙂
Hey one more question. Does the wine give a “wine-y” (I just made up that word) taste to the meat? For some reason, I am skeptical about using wine.
It depends on how long your marinate it. It will have a slightly stronger taste if you marinate overnight, but I did keep it marinated overnight for todays dinner and it still tasted great. I didn’t think it was “wine-y” after the four hours 🙂 It added some nice flavor!
Can i use white dry wine insted of red?
I haven’t tested it with white wine so I can’t really make that recommendation. Sorry… Anyone else tried that?
Wow, your shashlik looks delicious. I’m wondering how it would taste with the wine marinade… I usually make the marinade with beer and sometimes add some mayo, you should give it a try. I will try to make your version too. For the chicken try to marinade it in mustard, beer, onions and seasonings (don’t add too much mustard, just enough to coat your chicken 1-2 tsp for 1 lb.).
Dry or prepared mustard?
prepared.
Hey.. can this be made with chicken instead? Would it still be good?
It will be good, but I would suggest instead of wine, use juice from half of a lemon :).
This is making me hungry! I grew up eating shashlik: so many kinds of it, I wouldn’t even be able to remember! I missed the real shashlik made on smoking coals. Great post and recipe – Pinned!
Thanks for pinning; do you mean on those old school coal bbq’s?
Hello from sunny Cyprus.Natasha try to add cumming powder (about a teaspoon) in the marinade.I would also recommend oreganum 5 minutes before you take out from bbq .the recipe you added is really nice.I use it for bigger pieces of meat as well.Very good idea to add it.keep up the good work and ty for all the recipes !!!
I’ll have to try those add-ins next time. Thank you!
These look delicious. 🙂 Natasha your photos are so good I can almost smell the aroma of shashlik. I need to try your recipe╰⊰✿
Thank you Lea, they were delicious indeed :).
I’ve been looking for a great shashlik recipe and I think I have found one!! Thank you so much for sharing!! Can’t wait to grill some shashlik and share it with family and friend!
I would love to hear the outcome :).
Yes! Yes! Yes!
we used to marinade lean meat in mayo, to soften it up and make richer.
I have got to try these, would make a lovely feast. They look so good, and you are such inspirational.
Thank you Veronika :).
I’m drooling right now! I will definetly be trying this recipe this summer. Thanks!
Let me know how they turn out :).
This looks amazing. I have been waiting for someone to teach us how to make sashlik! Do you know what the red wine can be replaced with? Or is the wine a mandatory ingredient in this recipe? Thanks for the post! 🙂
Try using juice from half of a lemon instead :).