Recipe courtesy of Justin Warner

Yakitori Party

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  • Level: Advanced
  • Total: 1 hr
  • Active: 55 min
  • Yield: 24 skewers
I love yakitori so much. My wife and I keep little containers of the "killed" skewers so we can compete for who eats more. What I think is so great about yakitori is that it utilizes many parts of the chicken that normally go to waste in American households. If you aren't a cartilage consumer like myself, you can omit them.

Ingredients

Tare:

For Grilling:

Directions

Special equipment:
a large stovetop pressure cooker; a charcoal grill; 24 skewers, soaked for 30 minutes if wood or bamboo
  1. Light a charcoal grill or konro to medium-high heat.
  2. For the tare: Combine the soy sauce, mirin, maple syrup, salt, black pepper, MSG, garlic, onions and ginger in a large stovetop pressure cooker. Lock on the lid and cook over medium-high heat until pressure is reached, then immediately turn off the heat and allow it to release pressure naturally for 10 minutes before releasing the rest of the pressure. Strain the tare and reserve until ready to grill.
  3. For grilling: Preheat a charcoal grill over medium-high heat.
  4. Break down the chickens by setting aside the giblets, then cutting off the thighs, oysters, legs, breasts, tenders, skin, tail, wishbone and wings. Cut off the keel bone, soft knee bones, and neck meat if desired. Debone the thigh meat. Cut the thighs and breasts into bite-sized pieces. Cut the skin into strips about 1/2-inch wide.
  5. Skewer like parts with like parts, using two skewers for wings or large pieces. Skewer the scallions with the chicken parts as well, if desired. It's a party!
  6. Combine the wasabi powder with 1 tablespoon kosher salt in a small bowl and set aside.
  7. Brush or sprinkle each skewer with desired flavorings: salt, wasabi-salt mixture, ume furikake or tare, or a combo of all. Again, it's a party!
  8. Grill the meats over the charcoal until cooked through.
  9. Season everything with black pepper and serve with lemon wedges.

Cook’s Note

I've found the best method for getting crisp skin skewers is to use an air-fryer. Simply cook at 390 degrees F until super-crispy, about 8 minutes. If you crave the char, you can finish them over the grill.