Grilling Tip: Use Cinnamon Sticks As Skewers

Are you grilling fruit this summer? Just as barbecue cooking doesn’t have to be limited to savory ingredients (see our recent roundup of grilled desserts!), your skewer options are not restricted to bamboo and metal.

Cinnamon sticks make splendid skewers for fruits like peaches, nectarines, plums, figs, and pineapple, holding them together and imparting a bit of flavor as they caramelize. While the more common 3-inch cinnamon sticks can hold a couple of peach quarters, for example, also look for 10- or 12-inch cinnamon sticks to make longer kabobs. Gently poke a hole in the fruit with a chopstick or wood or metal skewer first, then push the cinnamon stick through the fruit.

Although we have never tried it, we have also seen mentions of cinnamon sticks used to skewer meats like pork, chicken, and scallops.

Some recipes:
• Cinnamon Grilled Peaches, from Steve Raichlen
• Cinnamon Plums with Port Sauce, from Steve Raichlen
• Grilled Spice Figs on Cinnamon Spears, from James Boyce
• Grilled Cinnamon Chicken Skewers, from The Culinary Institute of America

Related: Rosemary Skewers for Grilling

(Image: Flickr member S. Diddy licensed under Creative Commons)