Yakitori Tsukune (つくね, chicken meatballs)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Bamboo skewers
• •Charcoal grill, gas grill, or ridged grill pan
• •Pastry brush for tare
• •Small saucepan
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the skewers

   Soak the bamboo skewers in water for at least 30 minutes. Bamboo burns quickly over charcoal or a hot grill, and soaking buys you enough time for the chicken to cook before the exposed ends blacken too far.

2. 2

   Make the tare

   Combine the soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar, and rice vinegar in a small saucepan. Bring it to a lively simmer, then lower the heat and cook until glossy and reduced to about 2/3 cup, 8 to 10 minutes. It should coat a spoon lightly, not sit on it like syrup. A thin tare brushes on in layers and seasons the meat; a thick one scorches before it helps you.

   The vinegar is not there to taste sour. It sharpens the sweetness just enough so the glaze does not become cloying.
3. 3

   Mix the chicken

   Put the chicken, optional nankotsu, scallion, ginger, egg white, panko, potato starch, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, salt, and sesame oil in a bowl. Mix with your hand in one direction for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture changes from loose mince to a sticky paste that clings to your fingers. This is the binding step. Salt and kneading draw out the proteins that hold the tsukune together on the skewer.

4. 4

   Shape the skewers

   Wet your hands lightly with water. Divide the mixture into 8 portions and press each portion around a skewer into a long oval, about 10cm long and 2cm thick. Press firmly so there are no air pockets against the bamboo. Air gaps loosen as the meat cooks, which is when a neat skewer begins looking for the floor.

5. 5

   Chill to firm

   Lay the shaped skewers on a tray and refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes. Chilling firms the fat and lets the starch hydrate, so the tsukune meets the grill as one piece instead of a hopeful idea.

6. 6

   Grill until set

   Prepare a medium-hot charcoal grill, gas grill, or ridged grill pan. Oil the grate lightly. Grill the skewers without tare at first, turning gently, until the surfaces turn opaque and the meat has set, 6 to 8 minutes. If you brush on tare too soon, the sugar burns while the center is still raw.

7. 7

   Glaze in layers

   Brush the skewers with tare, turn, and grill for 30 to 45 seconds. Repeat 2 or 3 times, building a soy-dark gloss in thin layers. The chicken should reach 74°C at the center. Thin glazing gives you shine and savor; heavy glazing gives you bitter sugar.

8. 8

   Serve with yolk

   Set the tsukune on a warm plate with a little room between the skewers. Serve with small bowls of pasteurized raw egg yolk for dipping, if using, and a pinch of shichimi tōgarashi. Dip only the glazed meat, not the bamboo. If raw yolk is not safe for your table, leave it out and serve the tare-glazed skewers as they are.

Chef Tips

• •Use fresh chicken thigh, not breast if you can help it. Thigh has enough fat to stay tender over direct heat, and tsukune should be springy, not dry.
• •Ask the butcher to grind the chicken fresh, or mince it yourself with a knife. Pre-ground chicken that has sat too long tastes flat, and tare should not be asked to hide it.
• •Nankotsu, the soft cartilage from chicken breastbone or knee, gives the little crunch many yakitori shops prize. Leave it out if you can't source it cleanly. The skewer remains tsukune without it.
• •Keep one small bowl of tare for brushing and another clean portion for serving if you want extra sauce. Once a brush touches raw chicken, that bowl must be boiled again before it comes near the table.
• •If you use egg yolk for dipping, use pasteurized eggs and serve them cold in individual small bowls. Children, pregnant people, older adults, and anyone immunocompromised should skip raw yolk.

Advance Preparation

• •The tare can be made up to one week ahead and kept refrigerated. Warm it gently before brushing so it coats evenly.
• •The chicken mixture can be shaped on skewers up to 6 hours ahead. Keep it covered and refrigerated until grilling.
• •Cooked tsukune is best from the grill, but leftovers keep one day refrigerated. Rewarm gently and brush with fresh tare rather than grilling hard a second time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 230g)