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Small Tandoori Oven Skewers

ALL ABOUT TANDOORI OVEN SKEWERS 

 

The GT skewers are an essential part of the tandoori oven and should not be considered as an accessory as very few people have realized the importance of the same. It is a tool without which the skewered tandoori food would not exist. Here is all about tandoori skewers that you would want to know.

History of Skewers

There are hardly any written documentation on skewers whereas one finds the remains of the tandoori oven in various excavations that were carbon dated to be centuries old. Artisans who have been making tandoor pots since generations narrate stories on the development of the skewer.

 

The First Skewers….

The earliest skewers were twigs of a special variety of wood that was just write in its size and shape when plugged from the tree. The wetness of the twig like skewer with its rough texture held it long enough in a tandoori oven holding meat on the rough surface and bearing the heat. Since the tandoori cooking was very quick the meat usually cooked before the moisture in the wooden twig like skewer actually vaporized turning the wooden twig to carbon.

 

Cast Iron Skewers…..

With the Iron Age the metal casting was specialized in India with the manufacturing of the weapons and utensils that resulted in cast iron skewers. They are the most successful till date but due to the increased cost in the manufacturing process and artisan work required to prepare them the cast iron skewer just vanished. This is the best skewer as the cast iron is porous in nature and has too many capillaries to hold the meat on the skewer thus resulting in non slippage of cooked food. Some old chefs still get them made as though difficult to prove unless tasted the food tastes best on these type of skewers. Golden Tandoors have maintained the tradition of these skewers till date.

 

Steel Skewers……

Popularly known as Mild Steel Skewers, they are the largest selling skewers today. The mass production and easy working on steel with cheaper costs resulted in this skewer. Today this is the cheapest form of skewer one can buy. The food in this skewer is considered best since the cast iron skewer is not available at all places and is a little difficult to maintain too in comparison to the stainless steel skewers that are the latest trend. Even though the steel skewers need extra care due to the nature of the material used but they hold the food better then the stainless steel ones that just more slippery.

Stainless Steel Large Skewers Tandoori Oven
Stainless Steel Skewers

 

The latest in the trend… Stainless Steel Skewers…..

The newest skewers are the latest trend due to its easy maintenance and material quality of stainless steel for hygiene. These skewers are asked by almost all new restaurant and catering companies these days but the chefs that know the difference between the iron, steel and stainless steel skewer still prefer iron or steel skewers depending on how much they are ready to maintain them to achieve the best skewered food.

Stainless Steel Wooden Handle Medium Tandoor
Stainless Steel Skewers with Wooden Handle for Medium Height Home Tandoor Ovens

 

The SKEWER TIP

 

Considered as just a way to make easy entry into the meat or the vegetable of choice the shape and finish of the tip of a skewer is also very important for the way it penetrates the to be cooked food.

A very sharp tip that is used mostly today is grind and as usual not preferred by the expert chef as this is the area of the skewer that takes the most beating be it insertion in the hard meat to beating it at the floor or a hard surface when pulling cooked meat or cleaning and of course this is the area that gets super hot as in most cases it is right in the flame at most times.

The correct tip is the one that is made by heating and beating it with hammers so as to give it a forged shape increasing its strength. The non grind tip further ensures a better handling as it smoothens with every use instead of being rough resulting in torn meat on the inside.

Never let the tip of the skewer be razor sharp, it might hurt someone and in use shall become blunt in a extruded manner making the point of entry tough.

Golden Tandoor Skewers are handmade to ensure the right tips for commercial restaurant and catering use.

Never use slanted or wedged tips as they tend to cut/rip the uncooked food instead of gliding in…

 

The SKEWER SHAPE

This is another important factor as being round or square can make a difference in type of food being cooked. The Paneer Tikka (Cottage Cheese Tikka) cannot be done on a round one as after heating the dryness of the food shall make it slip whereas chicken would be a little hard to handle after being cooked on a square skewer. Some manufacturers use hexagonal skewers too but we at golden tandoors maintain the traditional tandoori cooking by limiting ourselves to round and square skewers in varying sizes and weight.

The SKEWER WEIGHT

Well most people using skewers do not consider the amount of skewer weight can alter the way the food is cooked but we at golden tandoors with our experience take care of providing the right weight of skewers for use in restaurants and catering.

Too light a skewer and it shall heat too much on the inside resulting in the food to cook faster on the inside, plus it shall not hold the weight of the food thus bulging.

Too heavy at it shall take too long to heat up on the inside and shall give fatigue to the user who needs to take it out every time and put back in again.

 

The THIN & THICK SKEWER

Golden Skewers come in varying thickness according to the requirement of the food being cooked. We manufacture skewers in the following under mentioned shapes and thickness apart from the standard skewer set of 12 pieces that comes free with every Golden Restaurant and Catering Tandoor.

  1. Very Thin Round Skewers for Mushrooms and similar items.
  2. Very Thin Square Skewers for Shrimp and other sea foods.
  3. Standard Round and Square Skewers for meat, fish, kebabs and other vegetables.
  4. Very Thick serrated skewers for very heavy whole meats.

 

Maintaining and Cleaning Skewer before every use

It is very important to clean & maintain the hygiene of the skewers every time you cook, cleaning them after every use to be prepared for the next is better than preparing them fresh when you intend to use them.

For Steel Skewers….

First Use – You might find them a bit rusted in the sea travel that they might have taken some moisture and feel rusted. Use aluminum foil and clean the skewer so that the rust like layer is removed. Clean them with vegetable oil and let the oil soak a bit on the metal. Store them vertically hanging if possible in an area that does not let the dust accumulate on the oil you just put on the skewer.

In the meantime your tandoor oven shall be red hot so for the first time put empty skewers in the pot to remove any unwanted accumulation on the metal. The intense heat in the tandoor shall remove the vegetable oil along with any foreign matter that may have gathered in its transportation and storage.

Heat them for 20 minutes, remove and let them cool… once cooled they are ready to be used again.

If you do not intend to use the skewer and shall do that in a day or later then again put a very light layer of vegetable oil and store them as directed.

Do not use wax or petroleum jelly for coating the skewers even for storage.

Regular Use….

After use let the skewer cool and then using aluminum foil scrub all the food particles that might have been stuck on the skewer. If the particles are difficult to remove using the ball of aluminum foil then try using a blunt blade or a skewer cleaning tool.

Once clear of all particles hang them with a very thin layer of vegetable oil.

With little care your Golden Tandoor Skewers shall last you very long.

 

For Stainless Steel Skewers…..

First Use…

Stainless steel shall be shiny and clean when it reaches you but to be extra sure of removing any unwanted matter on the skewer during transportation clean them using a scrubber with soap and water. Once clean put the skewers in the hot tandoori oven for 10 to 15 minutes. This shall ensure a very clean skewer.

Regular Use…

After every use make sure to clean all particles and left over of cooking clean of the skewer using an aluminum foil, scrubber or skewer cleaning tool. You can wash them with a soap and scrubber after every use and wipe with a dry cloth. Prefer hanging them instead of placing them horizontally on a table.

With a  little care the Golden Tandoor Stainless Steel Skewer Shall last you very long even with very heavy usage on a daily basis.

 

The SKEWER STAND

We offer tandoor mounted stands for skewers and stand alone stands that help you ease your work while handling skewers. To know more about the Golden Skewer Stands write to us on info@hometandoor.com

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