Grilling Up Cotija-Bobs

My Uncle Ron has a late May birthday, and usually my family chooses to spend the day outdoors to celebrate his date of birth. As far back as I could remember, that entailed firing up the grill outside for an all out Bar-B-Que. I was always certain to find my Tia washing the grates the day before with water and a scrub brush (no soap), then placing them back on the grill and oiling them with a little pastry brush soaked in olive oil. Next she would fire up the grill and let it burn the grates sterile, this was her method of cleaning the grill and I have to say I’ve adopted this technique too. Spotless grill is always followed with us going inside the house to start the preparation of all the food for the grilling festivities. She starts on the meat marinades while I string the kabobs.

My family is BIG on kabobs, and I know we make them for several reasons. One: you can prepare them the day before and let them sit in the fridge till ready to use. Two: once they are on the grill it is easy to flip them over and cook evenly. Three: it’s super fun to eat food off a stick. We serve a variety of kabobs some vegetable/meat, some all fruit, but the real star of the entire Bar-B-Que is the Cotija-Bob. Any outsider who comes to our Bar-B-Que is always amazed at the fact that we are grilling chucks of cheese on the barbie. That’s the beauty of cotija…. it cooks, stays solid, and doesn’t ooze all over the grill making a mess. When they are done you have a beautiful crispy cheese that is a bit salty so it pairs nicely with fresh fruits and vegetables. We usually make our Cotija-Bobs as an appetizer or take them off the stick and cut them into smaller pieces to toss in a salad. Anyway you enjoy them is sure to make your Bar-B-Que a little more memorable.