Yakitori tsukune

By Chef On A Mission · Video 1:35

This is tsukune, one of the most famous varieties of yakitori. Japanese chefs really do use every single part of the chicken, and they turn the leftovers into minced chicken. You season this lightly and shape it around soaked skewers. They’re grilled on a Japanese grill over binchotan charcoal. Whilst grilling, you dip the skewers in tare, an essential sauce for yakitori. This creates a sort of savoury caramel coating around the mince. Absolutely delicious!

Ingredients

Tsukune for 8 skewers

• 400 grams of chicken (preferably thigh meat or drumsticks)
• 1 organic lemon, washed
• 4 grams of salt
• 1 tbsp sanshop pepper

Tare for 1 litre

• 8 spring onions, finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 50 grams of fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 350 ml mirin (Japanese cooking wine)
• 80 grams of raw cane sugar
• 500 ml Japanese soya sauce
• 300 ml sake

Sauces and accompaniments

• 50 ml tare (left over)
• 1 egg yolk with sesame oil, soya sauce and sesame seeds

Preparation

1. Soak the bamboo skewers in cold water for a few hours. That way, they’re less likely to burn.
2. Cut the meat from the drumsticks or thighs.
3. Mince this using a meat mincer or food processor.
4. Mix with the grated lemon zest, the salt and the sansho pepper.
5. Shape the mixture into 50-gramme meatballs and mould them by hand around the skewers.
6. Meanwhile, make the tare: bring all the ingredients for the tare to the boil and simmer gently until it reduces to a light syrup. Strain and leave to cool.
7. Place a sufficient amount of binchotan in the Kasai grill, light it with a few firelighters or kindling, and open the vents.
8. Heat until it glows red. Make sure there are no more flames.
9. Make sure the sauces and so on are already on the table.
10. Let the yakitori cook over the charcoal smoke and heat, turning it very frequently – really, every few minutes.
11. Once they’re seared all over and about 80% cooked, dip the skewers into the tare.
12. Drain them and put them back in for a short while. Repeat this 2 to 3 times. The meat will caramelise nicely and the tare will coat it like a syrup.
13. Serve with the classic accompaniments and sauces.