Ultra-Easy Grilled Marinated Pork Skewers over Cold Ramen Salad
In my world, grillin’ and chillin’ time is in full force. Austin is sunny and beautiful on a regular basis and the nights are getting longer and longer. No time like the present to fire up the ol’ BBQ!
Even though I love grilling on these nice warm evenings, I’m not a fan of marinating meat. I mean, yes, I am in theory, but let’s be real. I often forget until it’s too late and I’m already home from work and ready to start cooking. I don’t want to wait forever for my meat to marinate. Luckily I discovered Smithfield’s line of marinated fresh pork so my days of forgetting to marinate my meat ahead of time are over. They have tons of flavors available and once you bring them home from the store, you can head straight to the oven or grill.
I used some Smithfield marinated fresh pork to grill up some skewers at a dinner party with my friends last weekend and it couldn’t have been easier. It took us about five minutes to prep the skewers, six minutes to grill the skewers, and another five or ten minutes to throw together the salad (depending on if you buy pre-chopped ingredients or not). And the finished product was so good!
I’m planning on making this over and over this spring/summer, and I suggest that you and your friends do the same.
Ultra-Easy Grilled Marinated Pork Skewers over Cold Ramen Salad
Pork Skewers:
1 pound Smithfield Marinated Fresh Pork Sirloin in Garlic & Herb, cut into 1-2″ cubes
3 bell peppers (your choice of color – I like having a rainbow!), cut into 1-2″ pieces
1 sweet yellow onion, cut into thick slices
10 large crimini mushrooms, cut in half
Olive oil, salt, & pepper
Kebab skewers
Cold Ramen Salad:
1 package pork instant ramen (the block of noodles, not the cup) – uncooked and roughly chopped
1 cup shredded red cabbage
1 cup broccoli slaw
1 avocado, diced
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup steamed & shelled edamame
1/2 cup cashew pieces
Ramen Salad Dressing:
Flavoring packet from the ramen (trust me on this one)
1/2 cup canola or olive oil
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup granulated sugar or honey
1/8 cup soy sauce
juice from 1/2 lime
Make your skewers: As mentioned, I used Garlic & Herb marinated pork, but any of these flavors would be equally delicious, if you feel like branching out! You don’t have to spend time making marinade and waiting for the pork to soak up the flavor, so prepping these skewers takes just a couple minutes. All you need to do to prep your veggie pieces is toss them in a bit of olive oil and sprinkle some salt and pepper over them.
Line up the pork chunks about 1″ apart on each skewer, same for the vegetable skewers. I like keeping my meat and vegetables on separate skewers in case one of them cooks fast than the other, but if you like to live life on the wild side, you’re welcome to mix it up and put everything on each stick.
Heat your grill to high heat and grill the pork skewers and veggie skewers. The pork should need about three minutes, flip, then another three minutes. Keep an eye on it the whole time, though, in case it cooks quicker! The veggies will probably cook a bit faster, so don’t hesitate to take them off first if you
Make your salad: Shake all the dressing ingredients in a mason jar and set aside. Toss together all the salad ingredients, pour the dressing on top, and toss again to combine.
To serve, scoop about a cup of the ramen salad onto your plate, then lay 2-3 skewers on top. Voila! A colorful, festive dinner is served in under a half hour.
This sponsored post is part of Endless Simmer’s 2016 series as a Blogger Ambassador for SmithfieldMarinated Fresh Pork.
