Nothing says summer — or football season is coming — like throwing a few brats on the grill. They’re a great sausage alternative to the usual hot dog. But that doesn’t mean they have to be served on a bun.

Take the sausage, slice it up ,and stick it on a skewer with a bunch of other grillable goodness. Yep, I’m saying fire up some sausage kabobs.

READ MORE: SPRING GEAR GUIDE: 12 Must Haves for Great Grilling and Better Barbecuing

I know kabobs are traditionally the domain of steak or chicken chunks, but sausage and brats are elbowing their way in. So much so that the folks at Johnsonville are holding a contest to see who can create the best sausage kabob. The winner gets a Large Big Green Egg grill package (my absolute favorite grill) full of grilling goodies, and a year’s supply of Johnsonville sausage. And eight randomly drawn weekly winners will score a Pampered Chef BBQ Ultimate Grill Set. Not a bad deal for dreaming up a unique kabob. (Enter your kabob recipe here.)

You can check out some seriously creative kabob recipes that have been entered in the contest on their site, like Sweet Bourbon Kabobs, or the Hofbräu Kabob. To get you started in the kabob frame of mind, here’s my own creation: The Kabob Nicoise. It uses Johnsonville Pork and Chicken Sausage, pancetta and some veggies and olives tossed in a lemon viniagrette to bring a little Euro class to your next backyard barbecue. Go grab some skewers and get grilling.

Kabob Nicoise

For the Vinaigrette:

1/2 cup Lemon juice

3/4 cup Extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 medium shallot, minced

2 tsp fresh basil, minced

2 tsp fresh oregano, minced

salt and pepper to taste

For the Kabob:

1 package of Johnsonville Pork and Chicken Sausage, sliced into large slices

Pancetta, cubed

Yellow peppers, cut into large chunks (red will work too)

Nicoise olives (or kalamata if you can’t find Nicoise)

Red onlon, cut into thin slices

Grape tomatoes

1. Mix the vinaigrette ingredients together well in a bowl.

2. Toss the kabob ingredients in to coat. (You don’t need to marinate long. A good coating works.)

3. Pan sear the pancetta until it turns brown.

4. Skewer all ingredients and grill until the sausage is done and the other ingredients are soft.

5. Serve with potato salad and green beans

Optional: Make another batch of vinaigrette to drizzle over the kabobs when done. DO NOT use the leftover vinaigrette you tossed raw sausage into. That would be bad,)