Do You Yakatori?

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FWIW, tare sauce holds fairly well due to the sugar and salt content, even at room temperature.
Made between half a liter and a liter just fine... though I once had a problem when I tried to make a really large batch (multiple liters); I think it started fermenting, probably because it spent too much time in the wrong temperature zone, so the taste was completely off and the sugar was mostly gone.
 
How could it be in the wrong temp zone? simmering away is close to 100'C and fermentation would likely be closer to the 30'C zone?

I plan on making a larger batch, and make it slightly thicker too...more is better ;-)
 
Maybe because it took forever for the pot to get to the right temperature? It was a disk bottom pan, not a clad one. Either way I'm not really sure why it went wrong... just experienced that it did. Always stuck to <1 l batches since then.
 
I can imagine, I;d do the same....still if it eventually did reach simmering temp any fermentation would have been neutralized but for some off flavors.

Anyhow, makes me check things twice before use!
(I must say that the tare did improve with use so I can totally see it evolving like a sourdough starter)
 
Now that the POC was a success I'm looking for a real Konro, any pointers?
I saw some made in Japan from diatemous earth, so good, but the strips holding it together are stapled in, which may work fine but probably is more wabi sabi than I'm happy with at the price point we're talking about ...
and what size (looking for something that can serve 2-4)
this or a Yakiniku Shichirin?

Konro-Grill-Small-4-300x300.jpg

1697297663639.png
 
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Sorry if I missed it earlier, but what price point are you looking at? I happen to be kind of close to Vancouver, BC, so I made a trip out of it and picked one up in person at Ai&Om. Although the area the shop was crazy so I'm not sure if I'd recommend you to do the same.
 
I'm located in The Netherlands so I'm pretty sure the same shop won't work ;-)
The price point is open, the one showing on top is quite expensive at 400 euro, the other one slightly cheaper at 270 (still pretty pricey for what it is). I'm looking for one that is large enough, retains heat nicely and does not fall apart in a year from now, function over form...
 
Staples look fine. Get the diatom one. And get a larger size than the one pictured.
 
maxxpup said:
This feels like a very dark and dangerous rabbit hole to go down.
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it's not that dark or dangerous....the biggest question for me is if the 'investment' makes sense for the amount of use.....
I can easily see myself McGyvering a MKII version with something like biscotto tiles (provided they can withstand almost 1000'C) and happily use that.
 
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Option 1: Do paid work for long enough to be able to afford a Grand Yakitori Tour of Japan

Option 2: Equipment, special charcoal, and a whole lot of labor and refinement to be able to make a few bites of food at home.

Option 1 is looking easier. On the other hand, I get to use knives a lot with option 2.
 
Rangen said:
Option 1: Do paid work for long enough to be able to afford a Grand Yakitori Tour of Japan

Option 2: Equipment, special charcoal, and a whole lot of labor and refinement to be able to make a few bites of food at home.

Option 1 is looking easier. On the other hand, I get to use knives a lot with option 2.
Click to expand...
I can do either option or both, but plan on doing nr 2, the major question is 'what equipment', loads of labor and refinement come with option 2 and that is fine with me.
 
I curse every single person on this thread, because the haunting visions of chicken and charcoal have followed me for days, and I have relented. Grudgingly.

So tonight I thought I would make a grudging tare. Turns out I can't even do that right. Oh, I started with the most pedestrian ingredients imaginable. Kikkoman soy sauce. Kikkoman Mirin. Geikkeikan sake (why I bought that, when a bottle of Sho Chiku Bai was right there, I will never know). My homemade chicken stock, instead of a proper charcoal cooked chicken carcass.

I messed it up. The sake-mirin mixture cooked its water out, and while I was butchering the chicken (in more ways than one), I turned to see a brown foam. I think the yakitori gods are looking out for me, it was beautiful caramel that kind of made up for my not having charcoal chicken.

So the sauce is done, and it is actually delicious, not the Wal*Mart version I expected. The chicken...well, I had the Chicken and Charcoal pictures in front of me, and I'm not sure I did anything different from the way I usually take a chicken apart, except for the feeling around for the fillet, and keeping the tail.

Out of energy for today. Tomorrow, actual skewers. I'm kind of hoping they don't taste like my dreams, because I don't want to have to do all the work that yakitori seems to involve.
 
Once when trying to make some kind of pomegranate stuff, I made volcanic ash. Happens to everyone.

I bet you that that added rest to dry and pelicle up will help.

Cheater tare tip: gelatin!
 
Rangen said:
I curse every single person on this thread, because the haunting visions of chicken and charcoal have followed me for days, and I have relented. Grudgingly.

So tonight I thought I would make a grudging tare. Turns out I can't even do that right. Oh, I started with the most pedestrian ingredients imaginable. Kikkoman soy sauce. Kikkoman Mirin. Geikkeikan sake (why I bought that, when a bottle of Sho Chiku Bai was right there, I will never know). My homemade chicken stock, instead of a proper charcoal cooked chicken carcass.

I messed it up. The sake-mirin mixture cooked its water out, and while I was butchering the chicken (in more ways than one), I turned to see a brown foam. I think the yakitori gods are looking out for me, it was beautiful caramel that kind of made up for my not having charcoal chicken.

So the sauce is done, and it is actually delicious, not the Wal*Mart version I expected. The chicken...well, I had the Chicken and Charcoal pictures in front of me, and I'm not sure I did anything different from the way I usually take a chicken apart, except for the feeling around for the fillet, and keeping the tail.

Out of energy for today. Tomorrow, actual skewers. I'm kind of hoping they don't taste like my dreams, because I don't want to have to do all the work that yakitori seems to involve.
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I’ll take the curse as a compliment! It means we were convincing enough. Good luck with tomorrow!

IMG_1372.png
 
Yakitori Attempt #1: The Humbling

I expected a learning experience, and boy did I get one. I made some clumsy skewers, soaking them first.
1697851260563.png

You can see my first tare, in that lard jar.

I hacked my Big Green Egg with some stone pieces I found in a makeshift firepit I've never used.
1697851335771.png


And...a couple of the skewers burned through. Part of the genius of the BGE is that you use it closed, so you don't have to wait until the flare-ups stop, because they only happen when you open the lid. A bit of licking flame never hurt a steak. A stake is a different story. I rescued my skewers, and re-skewered them, and fell back on the Iwatani.
1697851463200.png


At the end of the evening, I did get some good food, but what I mostly got was lessons.

1. Symmetry matters. If your skewers are not symmetrical, they won't stay put when you flip them.
2. I was making most of them way too big, too wide. I would guess that 1 1/4" is a practical maximum. The breast, in particular, was dry on the outside before being cooked through. And smaller pieces means a better caramelized outside-to-inside ratio.
3. Charcoal matters. The ones I started over charcoal had a much more compelling flavor than the all-Iwatani ones.
4. The BGE is terrible for this. If you want a perfect steak, perfect burgers, perfect pizza, than go BGE. But even after I waited until the charcoal was down enough to not flare up, my skewers still burnt through with the lid closed. And I used a ton of charcoal. Normally the BGE is one of the best ways to help your charcoal budget, but not for this.
5. The odder bits made the best skewers. Wingtips into small pieces? Awesome. Gizzard, heart? Just the best.
6. It's hard to know when you're done cooking. I need lots more experience.
7. Tare gets used up quickly. Yakitori guy knew what he was doing when he suggested starting with 800ml each of mirin and sake.
8. My tasty bootleg tare was respectable, but not what it could have been. I need to make the fancy version, with better mirin, better sake, really cooking charcoal chicken carcasses in it, and my good artisan Japanese soy. I will also throw in a chicken foot or two, for gelatin. It needs to cling better.

Also: I need a tall, narrow container for dipping. Where do I find that? Or, more important, what do you call such a thing? I'm sure I could find it if I knew its name.

I think I'm going to have to pursue this chimera further. There's magic here.
 
Rangen said:
Yakitori Attempt #1: The Humbling

I expected a learning experience, and boy did I get one. I made some clumsy skewers, soaking them first.
View attachment 276787
You can see my first tare, in that lard jar.

I hacked my Big Green Egg with some stone pieces I found in a makeshift firepit I've never used.
View attachment 276788

And...a couple of the skewers burned through. Part of the genius of the BGE is that you use it closed, so you don't have to wait until the flare-ups stop, because they only happen when you open the lid. A bit of licking flame never hurt a steak. A stake is a different story. I rescued my skewers, and re-skewered them, and fell back on the Iwatani.
View attachment 276789

At the end of the evening, I did get some good food, but what I mostly got was lessons.

1. Symmetry matters. If your skewers are not symmetrical, they won't stay put when you flip them.
2. I was making most of them way too big, too wide. I would guess that 1 1/4" is a practical maximum. The breast, in particular, was dry on the outside before being cooked through. And smaller pieces means a better caramelized outside-to-inside ratio.
3. Charcoal matters. The ones I started over charcoal had a much more compelling flavor than the all-Iwatani ones.
4. The BGE is terrible for this. If you want a perfect steak, perfect burgers, perfect pizza, than go BGE. But even after I waited until the charcoal was down enough to not flare up, my skewers still burnt through with the lid closed. And I used a ton of charcoal. Normally the BGE is one of the best ways to help your charcoal budget, but not for this.
5. The odder bits made the best skewers. Wingtips into small pieces? Awesome. Gizzard, heart? Just the best.
6. It's hard to know when you're done cooking. I need lots more experience.
7. Tare gets used up quickly. Yakitori guy knew what he was doing when he suggested starting with 800ml each of mirin and sake.
8. My tasty bootleg tare was respectable, but not what it could have been. I need to make the fancy version, with better mirin, better sake, really cooking charcoal chicken carcasses in it, and my good artisan Japanese soy. I will also throw in a chicken foot or two, for gelatin. It needs to cling better.

Also: I need a tall, narrow container for dipping. Where do I find that? Or, more important, what do you call such a thing? I'm sure I could find it if I knew its name.

I think I'm going to have to pursue this chimera further. There's magic here.
Click to expand...
Something like a water pitcher would probably work well, especially a more narrow one.
 
that and something that will not tip over easily, a Kolsch glass IMHO is notorious for that (may have to do with drinking beer from it)
 
Rangen said:
My thought was that the dipping container was distinct from the storage container. They appear to have very different requirements.
Click to expand...
Ah, good point. Sure, put it into a sealed jar in the fridge in between sessions. That will work.
 
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