The chickens we use at Yardbird have relatively small breasts, and this mune skewer utilizes almost the whole breast, save for trim. Most readily available breeds have much larger breasts, which means you will probably be able to get two or three skewers out of one. The seasoning for this yakitori is simple, celebrating the chicken’s natural flavor. Finishing with soy sauce adds a salty-umami punch, while a touch of wasabi brings sinus-clearing heat.
Editor’s note: It's helpful to keep a small spray bottle of sake handy for finishing this skewer. If you don’t have a spray bottle, pour about 1 Tbsp. sake into a small bowl and brush a small amount onto each skewer to finish.
Recipe information
Total Time
16 minutes
Yield
Makes 5 skewers
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Trim any excess fat from the outside of the breast. Cut the the thin end of the breast into a 2-inch (5-cm) wide piece. Cut the remaining piece lengthwise. Then cut the resulting lengths in half. Cut the pieces of breast so that you end up with 25 even bite-size rectangular pieces. Starting with the thinnest pieces of meat, pinch the meat so that the shiny side faces up and skewer directly through the middle of the meat. Repeat, being sure that the shiny side is facing up and that you are skewering directly through the middle of the meat, until you end up with five skewers with five chunks of chicken per skewer. Each skewer should weigh about 1½ ounces.
Step 2
Brush the skewers with a light coating of olive oil. Season with kosher salt. Start with the smooth-side down over high heat, grilling until light brown, 2–3 minutes. Rotate ¼ turn, cook on each side until lightly colored, about 1 minute per side. Once three sides are colored, finish cooking on the last side until light brown, about 2 minutes. Spray with sake and lightly season with salt to finish. Garnish with wasabi and soy sauce.
Recipe notes
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