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Hawaiian Ham Skewers, made with a pineapple grilling sauce, ham steak, and fresh vegetables, are not only insanely delicious but are super easy to make.
This is an incredibly easy recipe to make for dinner or if you’re feeding a crowd. Because the ham is already cooked, you only need to grill the skewers until they’re heated through and the tasty sauce sets.
Skewers or kabobs?
Is there a difference, really? Well guess what – I looked it up.
According to the internet, a skewer is the physical object on which food to be grilled is put. They can be metal, bamboo, or other materials.
A kabob is a specific arrangement of meat and vegetables, put on a skewer, and grilled.
Regardless of what you call them, I was truly surprised at how delicious these Hawaiian ham skewers were! In my head I had planned on just threading the ham steak and veggies onto the skewer, grilling them up, and calling it good. Then I had the fantastic idea of making some kind of pineapple grilling sauce. Pure genius.
Why are these so good?
Besides the sauce, the other reason these kabobs are so fantastic are because you’re not dealing with any raw ingredients. When you make chicken, beef, or shrimp kabobs, you have to cook them until the meat is safe to eat which often times over cooks the veggies.
Since the ham steak is ready to eat, you’re essentially grilling them up to heat them all the way through (because who wants to eat a cold dinner, right?) and to infuse all that glorious flavor of the sauce over a searing hot grill.
The combination of flavorful meat, juicy pineapple, and crunchy seared veggies all smothered in that easy to make barbecue sauce makes for an outstanding meal.
This is one of those recipes you can have the kids help with too as long as you trust them not to stab themselves in the hand as they thread the food onto the skewers (ahem, I may have done this once or twice myself).
What do you serve them?
We happened to enjoy these for family dinner with a side of rice, but they would be perfect for tailgating.
Can you make them ahead of time?
Sure can! You could do all the prep work ahead of time, throw them in an air tight container, and then throw them on the grill when you’re ready to eat. Perfect!
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Pin ItHawaiian Ham Shish Kabob Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 whole ham steak
- 1 red onion
- 1 orange or yellow pepper
- 8 ounces mushrooms
- 1/2 fresh pineapple peeled with core removed
Instructions
- To assemble the skewers, cut the ham, onion, pepper, mushrooms and fresh pineapple into 1” cubes and thread onto metal or wood skewer sticks, alternating ingredients.
- To make the grilling sauce, combine the pineapple juice, ketchup, soy sauce, garlic cloves and brown sugar in small sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 10 minutes. Allow to cool before use.
- Cover skewers with grilling sauce. This can be done ahead of time and then stored in the refrigerator, if needed.
- To cook skewers, heat grill to medium-high and sear each side for about 5 minutes until all ingredients have been heated through and have nice sear marks.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post was originally created in September 2016 and has been updated with more fun facts and tidbits for your reading pleasure.
Just what I was thinking of making and now I have a sauce to go with it. I’m planning on making them on skewers in my air fryer. Any suggestions?
Suggestions on how to make in the air fryer? I would probably just set it to 400 and make sure you have enough room in between each skewer to give them a nice crisp.
We made this in a pan and served it over rice with extra marinade. Everyone loved it!
I know what I will be having for dinner tomorrow! So light and tasty; can’t wait to enjoy this recipe!
Such a fun twist on the usual kabob fare! I confess I’ve never thought to grill ham like this, but it sounds incredible with pineapple and this delicious sauce!
I am printing out the recipe to show my husband. This is what I wish I had for dinner tonight.These Hawaiian Ham Skewers sound delicious.
Yes please, I will take 5 skewers!! I love these. Mushrooms are my fav so you won me over putting them on the skewers. Ham looks to die for, cheers
I love how simple and easy these are to make! Perfect for an upcoming summer BBQ. Thanks for sharing!
I pride myself on being able to eat almost anything. My only kryptonite…ketchup. Any suggestions for a sub? My first thought was BBQ Sauce… Thoughts?
Haha! BBQ sauce would be perfect! Krissy