Coated in a delicious sweet and savory sauce, Yakitori is an irresistible Japanese grilled chicken recipe served on skewers. It is so simple but mouthwateringly delicious. It’s perfect as an appetizer or as a main meal. You can make this on a grill or year-round inside under a broiler!

A plate with two yakitori on a skewer with a slice of lemon. Sake bottle and cups on the side.

Ages ago, I shared my yakitori inspired meatballs after eating my weight in yakitori while visiting Tokyo in 2018-2019. While in Tokyo, one of my favorite yakitori restaurants was this tiny (14-ish seater) restaurant in the Meguro area that I stumbled into while hungry and wandering the streets. While writing up my meatball recipe, I looked it up online so I could share the name and it turns out they were featured in Netflix’s Ugly Delicious series! If you have the chance, I’d recommend making a reservation at Masakichi for some delicious chicken skewers.

What is Yakitori?

Yakitori (焼き鳥) directly translates to grilled chicken. Yakitori is typically made from bite-sized pieces of chicken (it can be any cut such as chicken breast, thigh, wings, heart, liver, etc.), which are threaded onto bamboo or metal skewers and then grilled over a charcoal fire.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

It’s very easy to make (kind of lol). Making yakitori overall is very easy and straight forward. It can get a little tedious because I like to brush and rotate the chicken skewers often, so the chicken can soak up the sauce. (The sauce is called tare! It only requires soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar to make!)
You can make this Japanese chicken recipe on the grill in the summer or in the oven, under the broiler year-round!
What’s better than chicken on a stick? It’s truly a recipe that’s perfect for any occasion.

Ingredients You’ll Need

soy sauce — I use low sodium soy sauce and highly recommend you do as well. I find regular soy sauce to be a little too salty.
mirin — mirin is a Japanese sweet rice wine, if you are unable to find it, you can try rice vinegar with extra honey. See my post on What is Mirin for more recipes using mirin!
sake — don’t worry about the alcohol content. The alcohol of the sake cooks off and leaves its umami and sweet, mellow flavor instead!
brown sugar — I use dark brown sugar but you can use light or regular brown sugar.
chicken — while you can use any cut of chicken to make yakitori, I’m using chicken thighs. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are pretty budget-friendly and flavorful. They’re also more forgiving if you overcook them, and they stay moist.
oil — I just use a bit to brush the wire rack to prevent the chicken from sticking.

How to Make Yakitori

Set of two photos showing yakitori sauce cooked down in a sauce pot.

If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for at least 30 minutes.
Line a sheet pan with tin foil (for easy clean up) and place a wire rack on top.
In a small saucepan, add the soy sauce, mirin, sake, water, and brown sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and then simmer for 15-20 minutes until the sauce has reduced to around half the amount. Set aside just under half the mixture.

Set of two photos showing chicken thighs diced and placed on a skewer.

Cut the chicken into 1-inch chunks and thread them onto the soaked skewers.
Brush oil onto the wire rack and place the skewered chicken on top.

Set of two photos showing yakitori in the oven, brushed with sauce and broiled.

Set the broiler on your oven to high, and once the oven is hot, broil the chicken for 5 minutes in the second from the top rack (or middle rack, depending on how hot your oven’s broiler can get).
Then, pull out the sheet pan and generously brush both sides with the prepared sauce and flip it around. Broil for another 2 minutes and generously brush the chicken all over again and broil for another 2 minutes.
Repeat this process one more time, but switch to a clean brush and the set aside sauce. Move the sheet pan to the highest rack in the oven, right below the broiler, and do one final generous brush and 3 minute broil. Keep a close eye on the chicken here, as this final step will give the chicken that charred look. (Total time broiling is 13 minutes)
Let the yakitori rest for a couple of minutes and serve.

Overhead view of a tray of yakitori with lemon slices and sake off to the side.

Recipe Tips and Notes

These are the skewers I use. I find the flat ends easier to grip to flip the chicken.
You can double the tare recipe to make enough sauce to serve on the side, if you’d like to drizzle it over top when serving or use it as a dip.
I personally move the wire rack to the top slot in my oven for the last 4 minutes of broiling to add a more charred look to the chicken skewers. Be very careful while doing this! You can always have one rack set up higher, so you don’t have to move the racks while the oven is hot. I find that if I broil the chicken directly under the broiler for the full cook time, the sugar in the sauce burns too quickly for my liking.
I set aside some of the tare sauce to brush the chicken (with a clean brush) for the last two times I have to brush the chicken. As the exterior of the chicken is pretty much fully cooked, the sauce is set aside to prevent cross-contamination.
As I generously brush the chicken skewers with the sauce, lining the sheet pan makes cleaning up SO much easier. You can see in my photo up above just how much sauce ends up dropping off the chicken.
I love squeezing some lemon over the chicken yakitori before serving as it adds a delicious bright element to the sweet and savory dish.
The grilling process for yakitori is the same. Simply keep the lid of your grill on between brushing them with sauce.
To check if the chicken is ready, use an instant-read thermometer. The internal temperature of the chicken should be 165°F (74°C).

My Recommendation

This is my go-to meat thermometer for making sure that the internal temperature of my meat is good to go. It’s also magnetic so I have it on my fridge door to save drawer space!

Get it Now!

Make Ahead Tips

Meal prep: once cooled, remove the chicken from the skewer and transfer it to an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge. It’s easier to reheat with the wooden skewers removed!
Freezer: allow the grilled teriyaki chicken skewers to cool before removing the skewer and transferring them into an airtight freezer-safe container or freezer-safe bag. Store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Yakitori

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 1

Servings: servings

Ingredients

½ cup soy sauce, low sodium
½ cup mirin
¼ cup sake
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
oil

Equipment

skewers

Instructions

If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for at least 30 minutes.
Line a sheet pan with tin foil (for easy clean up) and place a wire rack on top.
In a small saucepan, add the soy sauce, mirin, sake, water, and brown sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and then simmer for 15-20 minutes until the sauce has reduced to around half the amount. Set aside just under half the mixture.
Cut the chicken into 1-inch chunks and thread them onto the soaked skewers.
Brush oil onto the wire rack and place the skewered chicken on top.
Set the broiler on your oven to high, and once the oven is hot, broil the chicken for 5 minutes in the second from the top rack (or middle rack, depending on how hot your oven’s broiler can get).
Then, pull out the sheet pan and generously brush both sides with the prepared sauce and flip it around. Broil for another 2 minutes and generously brush the chicken all over again and broil for another 2 minutes.
Repeat this process one more time, but switch to a clean brush and the previously set aside sauce. Move the sheet pan to the highest rack in the oven, right below the broiler, and do one final generous brush and a 3 minute broil. Keep a close eye on the chicken here, as this final step will give the chicken that charred look. (Total time broiling is 13 minutes)
Let the yakitori rest for a couple of minutes and serve.

Notes

The grilling process for yakitori is the same. Simply keep the lid of your grill on between brushing them with sauce.

Tried this recipe?Did you make this recipe? I’m always so happy to hear about it! I’d love to see how it turned out. Tag me at @CarmysHungry on Instagram so I can see it! If you enjoyed the recipe, I’d really appreciate a comment with a 5 star rating! ♥

Nutrition Per Serving

Author: Carmy

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: Japanese

Nutrition Disclaimer

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