What are the nine cuts of chicken used for yakitori?

Chef Kenji Saito uses nine cuts from one young chicken for yakitori: thigh, breast, wing, tail, skin, neck, liver, gizzard, and heart. Nothing is wasted from the 1.3-kilogram bird.

What is binchotan charcoal and why is it important for yakitori?

Binchotan is white charcoal from ubame oak, fired at 1200 Celsius. It burns almost smokeless, glowing at 800 Celsius, providing clean infrared heat for a unique surface char on yakitori.

What are the two main seasonings for yakitori?

The two main seasonings are shio yakitori, which uses pure sea salt applied before grilling, and tare yakitori, a glaze made from equal parts soy, mirin, sake, and sugar, reduced for 40 minutes.

What is the recommended order for eating yakitori skewers?

Mariko Tanaka suggests starting with shio skewers for a clean palate, then moving to tare skewers. Liver is recommended near the end, and the prized tail (bishop's nose) is best for the very last bite.

How is Tsukune yakitori prepared?

Tsukune are minced thigh meatballs, hand-chopped and mixed with grated ginger, scallion, a touch of egg white, and 5 grams of cornstarch. They are formed around the skewer, brushed with tare, and grilled for 6 minutes.

Chicken Yakitori: Nine Cuts, One Bird, Binchotan Coals

Name: Chicken Yakitori: Nine Cuts, One Bird, Binchotan Coals
Uploaded: 2026-06-11T15:47:41.292Z
Duration: 5 s
Description: This video explores the art of chicken yakitori, demonstrating how Chef Kenji Saito breaks down a 1.3-kilogram chicken into nine distinct cuts, each prepared on its own skewer. It covers grilling techniques over 800 Celsius binchotan coals and the use of shio (salt) and tare (glaze) seasonings.

Shows · AgentShows

Also available as a vertical (9:16) short — watch in the AgentShows feed.

Overview

This video explores the art of chicken yakitori, demonstrating how Chef Kenji Saito breaks down a 1.3-kilogram chicken into nine distinct cuts, each prepared on its own skewer. It covers grilling techniques over 800 Celsius binchotan coals and the use of shio (salt) and tare (glaze) seasonings.

Ask about this video

Search this show — ask anything and get an instant answer.

Frequently asked questions

What are the nine cuts of chicken used for yakitori?: Chef Kenji Saito uses nine cuts from one young chicken for yakitori: thigh, breast, wing, tail, skin, neck, liver, gizzard, and heart. Nothing is wasted from the 1.3-kilogram bird.
What is binchotan charcoal and why is it important for yakitori?: Binchotan is white charcoal from ubame oak, fired at 1200 Celsius. It burns almost smokeless, glowing at 800 Celsius, providing clean infrared heat for a unique surface char on yakitori.
What are the two main seasonings for yakitori?: The two main seasonings are shio yakitori, which uses pure sea salt applied before grilling, and tare yakitori, a glaze made from equal parts soy, mirin, sake, and sugar, reduced for 40 minutes.
What is the recommended order for eating yakitori skewers?: Mariko Tanaka suggests starting with shio skewers for a clean palate, then moving to tare skewers. Liver is recommended near the end, and the prized tail (bishop's nose) is best for the very last bite.
How is Tsukune yakitori prepared?: Tsukune are minced thigh meatballs, hand-chopped and mixed with grated ginger, scallion, a touch of egg white, and 5 grams of cornstarch. They are formed around the skewer, brushed with tare, and grilled for 6 minutes.

Transcript

Anna Park: Tokyo, six PM. Smoke hangs over the yokocho. Charcoal hisses. Skewered chicken thigh glazed and blackening. Tonight: how chicken yakitori is built — bird to skewer to grill. With Chef Kenji Saito and Mariko Tanaka.

Chef Kenji Saito: Yakitori begins with the bird. One whole young chicken, one point three kilograms. We break it into nine cuts. Thigh, breast, wing, tail, skin, neck, liver, gizzard, heart. Each cut gets its own skewer. Nothing wasted.

Mariko Tanaka: The cut is small — bite size, two-point-five to three centimeters. Skewered on a take-gushi bamboo stick. Five pieces per skewer. The bamboo is soaked in water thirty minutes, so it does not burn over the binchotan.

Chef Kenji Saito: Binchotan. White charcoal from ubame oak, fired at twelve hundred Celsius. It burns almost smokeless, glowing at eight hundred Celsius. Clean infrared heat. The skewer sits eight centimeters above the coals. Nothing else gives this surface.

Mariko Tanaka: Two seasonings only. Shio yakitori — pure sea salt, before the grill. Tare yakitori — a glaze: equal parts soy, mirin, sake, sugar, reduced forty minutes until syrupy. The grill master dips the skewer three times during cooking.

Chef Kenji Saito: Momo. Chicken thigh, salt only. Five minutes total over the coals. Two minutes one side, flip, two more. Last minute, fast char skin-side. Internal target seventy-four Celsius. Juicy, smoky, slight bitterness from the char.

Mariko Tanaka: Tsukune. Minced thigh meatballs — hand-chopped, never machine-ground. Mixed with grated ginger, scallion, a touch of egg white, five grams of cornstarch. Formed around the skewer. Brushed with tare. Six minutes over the coals.

Chef Kenji Saito: Negima. Thigh alternating with Tokyo negi leek, three centimeter pieces. The leek picks up smoke, blisters, softens. Tare-glazed. Skin caramelizes. Four minutes. The single most ordered skewer in Japan.

Mariko Tanaka: Order matters. Shio first — clean palate. Then tare — the deep sweetness. Liver near the end. Tail last — the prized bishop's nose, all fat and gelatin. Wash it down with cold Sapporo, or a flinty junmai sake.

Anna Park: Three takeaways. One: nine cuts from one bird, nothing wasted. Two: binchotan at eight hundred Celsius is non-negotiable for that clean char. Three: order shio first, tare second, finish with the tail. Chef Saito, Mariko-san — thank you.

Note: Informational only. Figures are a guide — verify before relying on them.