Author | Dominic Trimboli
Brand | Grilla Grills
This week skip the takeout and try making Japanese inspired yakitori skewers with Chef Cosmo Goss! With a citrus-forward tang and the wood-fired flavor from the Chimp Tailgater Pellet Grill these skewers will blow you away. We’ll even talk you through creating your own secret sauce to take these yakitori skewers to the next level!
Skewer Ingredients
- Boneless Chicken Thighs – Cubed
- Green Onion
- Kosher Salt
- Olive Oil
- Yuzu Kosho
Homemade Yuzu Kosho Ingredients
- Zest of 1 Lemon
- ½ Jalapeno – Finely diced
- ½ Tsp. Kosher Salt
Tools
- Pellet Grill or Smoker
- Meat Probe or Thermometer
- Metal Skewers
- Sear Grates
How to make your own Yuzu Kosho Sauce
One of the main ingredients Cosmo calls for is a Japanese sauce called Yuzu Kosho. It has a tangy citrus taste that comes from yuzu fruit, with a slightly salty aftertaste. While you can find it online, or at a local Asian market, you can also make a solid substitute at home with just a few simple ingredients.
Simply zest a lemon and mix that with a ½ of a finely chopped jalapeño and a half tsp. of sea salt. While this doesn’t have the exact flavor you can expect from Yuzu Kosho, it’s about as close as we can get with the ingredients readily available at the grocery store!
Directions
- Start your pellet grill and set it to 500F. Place a set of sear grates on as it comes up to temperature.
- Trim the excess fat off your chicken thighs and slather them with the Yuzu Kosho.
- Cut the white portion off your green onions and chop them into bite sized pieces.
- Build your skewers alternating between chicken and green onion.
- Feel free to add additional salt & pepper here if you desire.
- Once the pellet grill has achieved our desired temperature place the skewers on top of your sear grates and close the grill.
- Cook for a total of 5-7 minutes, roughly 1-2 minutes per side.
- Remove the skewers from the grill and allow them to cool before diving in!
- Pro tip: Squeeze a bit of lemon juice onto your skewers before eating them to really make the flavor pop!