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Jidori Tsukune

4.2

(10)

A plate of Japanese chicken meatballs on skewers served with red chili seasoning and lemon slices.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne

Most yakitori-ya (grilled chicken shops) will have their own special tsukune, for the simple reason that the Japanese chicken meatball recipe uses up chicken scraps that might otherwise go to waste. (Similarly, many sushi and sashimi spots will turn their tuna scraps into a spicy tuna roll.) I always like to order tsukune because it’s a great way to measure the overall quality of a new place. If the tsukune is good, you know they’re paying attention. The best tsukune is nicely caramelized, well seasoned, and juicy—and served straight off the grill so that you can capture all those delicious volatile compounds (i.e., charcoal grill smells) while they’re still activated.

At my restaurant, Rintaro in San Francisco, our tsukune is fairly traditional, although we do take one unusual step: The tsukune is coated in a thin layer of glutinous sweet rice (or mochiko) flour, which gives the exterior a slight bite, and steamed before grilling, which helps ensure even cooking and that your chicken won’t fall off the stick. During the cooking process, we dip the skewers back into the tare, a multipurpose glaze and dipping sauce, no fewer than three times as they’re cooking. This means over the course of the night, as we move the skewers from grill to tare and back again, more and more of the meaty, juicy, charred taste goes into the tare mix.

At the end of the night we boil the tare (since it has come into contact with uncooked chicken) and cut it with fresh, unused tare. In this way the tare becomes a sort of mother sauce. The tare we’re currently using has been in rotation since before we opened, which means that elements of it are more than 10 years old.

We often serve this dish with a raw egg yolk and a tablespoon of tare on the side. It makes a lovely dipping sauce.

What you’ll need

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    1 hour 30 minutes

  • Yield

    10 skewers

Ingredients

Tare

1 cup sake
1 cup soy sauce
½ cup mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)
½ cup zarame sugar or demerara sugar

Chicken and assembly

1 lb. skin-on, boneless chicken thighs or 1 lb. ground dark-meat chicken and 2 Tbsp. chicken fat
½ small onion, finely chopped
2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt
1¾ tsp. mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)
1½ tsp. finely grated yuzu or lemon zest
1 cup glutinous sweet rice flour
Shichimi togarashi and lemon wedges (for serving)

Special equipment

Ten 6" bamboo skewers, soaked at least 1 hour, or metal skewers

Preparation

  1. Tare

    Step 1

    Bring 1 cup sake, 1 cup soy sauce, ½ cup mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine), and ½ cup zarame sugar or demerara sugar to a boil in a medium heavy saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is reduced by about a quarter, 25–30 minutes.

    Do ahead: Tare can be made 3 days ahead. Let cool; cover and chill.

  2. Chicken and assembly

    Step 2

    If using 1 lb. skin-on, boneless chicken thighs, grind in a meat grinder fitted with a 7-mm die. Divide chicken into 2 equal portions and run 1 portion through grinder a second time. Combine both portions in a large bowl. (You can also ask your butcher to grind the chicken for you.)

    Step 3

    If using 1 lb. ground dark-meat chicken plus 2 Tbsp. chicken fat, mix together in a large bowl.

    Step 4

    Add ½ small onion, finely chopped, 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, 1¾ tsp. mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine), and 1½ tsp. finely grated yuzu or lemon zest to chicken meat. Using your hands, mix until thoroughly combined.

    Step 5

    Divide meat into ¼ cup portions. Shape into balls, then form into 3½x1" logs. Arrange tsukune on a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill until firm, about 30 minutes.

    Step 6

    Place 1 cup glutinous sweet rice flour on a plate. Working one at a time, dredge tsukune in flour, turning to coat, and transfer as many as will snugly fit to a parchment-lined large steamer basket.

    Step 7

    Pour water into a large saucepan to come 1" up sides and bring to a boil. Set steamer on top and cover. Steam tsukune until just cooked through, 6–8 minutes. Repeat process with any remaining tsukune if needed.

    Step 8

    Prepare a grill for high heat. Place tare in a tall, narrow glass (you should be able to submerge tsukune when you dunk it in the tare). Thread each tsukune onto a skewer.

    Step 9

    Grill tsukune, turning and dipping in tare every 2 minutes, until richly glazed, deeply browned, and charred in spots, about 8 minutes total.

    Step 10

    Transfer to a platter and sprinkle shichimi togarashi over. Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over.

TagsSkewerSakeAlcoholBeveragesJapaneseEast AsianAsianChicken ThighChickenPoultryYuzuCitrusFruitGlutinous Rice FlourFlourMainDinnerDairy FreeGluten FreeNut FreeMeal PrepGrillingEpicurious

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