Yakitori Skewers Recipe (Charcoal Grilled Bacon, Chicken and Veggies)
This delicious, charcoal-grilled yakitori is a wonderful treat. You can substitute any other meats or vegetables you like in this recipe.
Equipment
- Charcoal grill and charcoals
- 40 bamboo skewers of at least 6 inches
- Sheet pans or plates
- Tongs
Ingredients
YAKITORI
- 1 lb pork belly, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
- 1 lb chicken leg (or thigh) skin on, deboned
- 6 strips bacon
- 1 bunch of green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces
- Shiso leaves
- 12 quail eggs
- 12 shishito peppers
- 4 trumpet mushrooms cut into even slices
- 1 pack enoki mushrooms
- 4 asparagus stalks cut into 2-inch pieces
- 12 okra
TARE
- 3 fl oz (6 tbsp) soy sauce
- 3 fl oz (6 tbsp) sake
- 3 fl oz (6 tbsp) mirin
- 3 fl oz (6 tbsp) water
- 17.2 g (4 teaspoons) brown sugar
TOPPINGS
- Lemon or yuzu
- Salt
Instructions
YAKITORI
- Let the wooden skewers soak in water for at most 1 hour.
- Leg/thigh of chicken: Remove bones from bone-in chicken leg or thighs. You have two options: keep the skin on, or remove the skin and skewer it separately. Place the meat flat on a cutting board. Cut the meat into 2x2-square shapes. To ensure that all chickens cook at the same time, it is important to keep them in the same shapes.
- With green onions and chicken: Cut the green onions into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Each chicken square should be folded in half. Place one of the pieces on the skewer. Place one green onion slice horizontally parallel to the chicken. Continue the process until you have a piece of chicken.
- Chicken with shiso leaves You can skewer up to four pieces of chicken. Wrap one shiso leaf around each skewered meat stick. It should adhere to the meat and not move.
- Chicken skin Cut the chicken skin into long strips. Place the chicken skin onto a skewer and fold the skin in accordion fashion. You might find this a bit slippery, so dry it with a paper towel. Also, dry your hands during the entire process to ensure you have a firm grip on the skin.
- Pork bellyCut into quarter inch slices. Depending on your skewers, you can stack approximately 2 slices of pork belly horizontally flat with one or two thick skewers.
- Quail eggs Heat a saucepan of boiling water on medium heat. Carefully lower the eggs into the water. Boil for three minutes. If your eggs weigh between 10 and 11 g, you can add 30 seconds to the boiling process. Transfer the eggs to an ice bath for 2 minutes. The shells should be removed. Place the eggs vertically on the wooden skewers, so that the pointed top faces the sharp point of each skewer.
- Trumpet mushrooms: Clean the mushrooms with running water to remove any dirt. The mushrooms can be cut into 1-inch pieces. Each mushroom should be skewered onto one skewer.
- Enoki mushroom bacon Cut the bottoms off the enoki mushrooms, and then rinse them under cold water. Be careful not to damage the mushrooms. Cut the bacon into 3-inch pieces. Divide the enoki mushrooms into pieces about 1/2 inch thick. Wrap one bacon piece around each enoki. The skewer can be used to puncture the bacon's overlap. This will attach the bacon to the enoki. Continue this process until you have three bacon pieces wrapped around the enoki.
- Asparagus bacon Wash the asparagus in running water and cut off the ends to remove any tough bottoms. The asparagus should be cut into pieces of about 2-inch lengths. Make 2 strips of bacon about 2-inches in length. To secure the bacon, wrap one piece of bacon around one asparagus piece. Continue this process until you have four pieces of bacon-wrapped asparagus on your skewer.
- Shishito peppers Clean the shishito bell peppers and use two wooden skewers to place about three shishito bells of equal size on the skewers horizontally.
- Okra Clean the okra, and then use two skewers for about three okra of equal size to attach horizontally to the skewers.
TARE
- Mix all the ingredients in one small saucepan over medium heat. To ensure everything is well combined, use a whisk. Bring the sauce to boil. Reduce heat to medium. Cook the sauce for another 10-15 minutes, or until it thickens and coats a spoon. (Or reduce in half).
- Allow the sauce to cool in a jar for at least 15 mins or until it is cool enough to touch.
GRILLING
- Heat the coals. Use a chimney starter and heat it for about 10-15 minutes. To heat it evenly, I flip the binchotan in it halfway through. When the coals are nearly completely covered in whiteash, it is done. Place these coals in your yakitori grill and place the grate.
- Get started grilling. Use a fattier piece of pork belly or bacon wrapped pieces to get some oil. You can also use skewers to cook the meat. Flip them once every 20 seconds, making sure that both sides are cooked evenly.
- Control the heat. Some spots are hotter than others. You should move the skewers around to ensure that each one cooks evenly and doesn't burn any food you put on it. You can move a charred item to a cooler place if it isn't fully cooked.
- Salt Season each Skewer with salt a little on both sides before you put it on the grill. Then, re-season with salt halfway through. You can reduce the amount of yakitori sauce or tare you are going to be basting your skewers with. After the first batch is finished, taste each one to check the seasoning and adjust for the next batch. You can dip or baste any skewers in the tare.
- The coals should be cooled. To cool the coals, place them in a bucket or galvanized container. Pour a few cups water over them. My coals remain large even after four hours of grilling. You can heat them again and use them in future grilling sessions.