Yakitori literally means grilled chicken: small pieces of thigh, wing, heart or meatballs on a bamboo skewer, grilled over glowing charcoal and glazed with tare, a sweet sauce made of soy sauce, mirin and sake. The secret isn't in a recipe, it's in the heat.
Why a Japanese table grill?
On an ordinary barbecue, the meat hangs far above the coals and the skewers themselves burn. A yakitori grill is narrow and shallow: the skewers rest with their ends on the edges, the meat hangs just a few centimetres above the coals, and the bamboo stays out of the fire. The thick diatomaceous earth wall holds the heat, so a handful of coals grills you through the whole evening.
For yakitori, a rectangular shape works best. With the rectangular shichirin table grill you lay the skewers side by side and turn them easily. Want to grill bigger pieces or vegetables too? The round 34.5 cm shichirin gives you more room.
Binchotan: the fuel of the yakitori bar
Japanese yakitori chefs grill on binchotan. This white charcoal is so hard it almost sounds like metal, burns for hours at a constant temperature, and gives off almost no smoke. The fat that drips onto the coals produces exactly that roasted flavour, without a bitter sooty layer. Choose binchotan maitiew or binchotan eucalyptus. Give the lighting some time: binchotan catches slowly, a briquette starter or gas torch helps.
How to grill juicy yakitori
- Soak bamboo skewers in water for at least half an hour.
- Thread pieces of equal size, otherwise one piece will be done while another is still raw.
- Grill without sauce first until the meat is nearly done, then glaze two or three times with tare, letting the sauce caramelise briefly each time.
- Turn often and keep the coals glowing but without flames.
Safe grilling
Binchotan also releases carbon monoxide. Grill outside or in a well-ventilated spot, place the grill on a heat-resistant surface, and let the coals fully extinguish before you clear up.
