Yakitori Hatsu (ハツ, chicken heart skewers)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Flat bamboo yakitori skewers (kushi), or thin metal skewers
• •Charcoal grill with binchōtan, or a very hot gas grill or broiler
• •Small saucepan and basting brush for tare
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the kushi

   If using bamboo yakitori skewers, kushi, soak them in water while you clean the hearts, at least twenty minutes. Bamboo will still darken at the tips, and that's no tragedy. Wet bamboo is simply less likely to catch before the lean hearts are cooked.

2. 2

   Make the tare

   For a tare finish, combine the soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat for eight to ten minutes, until glossy and reduced to about 1/3 cup. It should coat a spoon but still run. Too thick, and the sugar burns before the heart is ready. Set aside two tablespoons in a clean cup for the final brush.

   Use the remaining tare for basting during grilling. Anything touched by a brush that touched raw chicken should be boiled again or discarded.
3. 3

   Clean the hearts

   Trim away pale tubes, tough membrane, and any ragged fat from the top of each heart, leaving a little clean fat if it looks fresh. Press from the pointed end toward the opening to push out dark clots. If the opening is tight, make a tiny slit at the crown with the tip of a knife, but don't split the heart down the middle. Rinse the hearts in a bowl of cold water, lifting them out gently, then pat them very dry.

   The dark clots are the detail that decides hatsu. Leave them in and the skewer tastes metallic. Take them out and the flavor is clean, with nothing hidden.
4. 4

   Skewer evenly

   Thread three hearts onto each skewer, piercing from the rounded crown toward the pointed end so each heart sits whole and slightly flattened. Keep similar sizes together and leave a narrow space between them. Even pieces reach doneness together, and the small gaps let the fire touch the sides instead of only the outside faces.

5. 5

   Prepare the fire

   Heat a charcoal grill, ideally binchōtan, until the coals are hot and settled. A gas grill or a broiler set very hot will do honest work at home. Wipe the grate lightly with oil. Hatsu is lean, so it needs fierce heat to brown the surface before the center tightens. For shio skewers, salt just before the hearts meet the fire. Salt too early pulls moisture to the surface, and wet meat browns poorly.

6. 6

   Grill fast

   Lay the skewers over direct heat and grill for two to three minutes, until the underside is browned at the edges and releases cleanly. Turn and cook another two to three minutes. For tare skewers, grill them plain for the first four minutes, then brush lightly with tare and turn every thirty seconds for one to two minutes, building a thin soy-dark gloss. Add the tare late because sugar loves to burn before it learns manners.

   Chicken hearts are done when lightly charred outside, springy when pressed, and 165°F or 74°C at the thickest part. Without a thermometer, cut one open: the center should no longer look raw.
7. 7

   Finish and serve

   Rest the skewers for one minute, then finish them plainly. Shio skewers need only a last pinch of salt and, if you like, a squeeze of sudachi or lemon. Tare skewers get the clean reserved tare brushed over them for shine. Serve at once with a little shichimi tōgarashi. Hatsu waits badly; as it cools, the firm bite turns tight.

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher when the hearts were packed, and use them the day you buy them if you can. They should be deep red, glossy, and firm, never brown, tacky, or sour-smelling. Sourcing first, always.
• •Do not marinate the hearts to tame them. If they need taming, buy different hearts. Good hatsu is clean and lean, and salt is enough to prove it.
• •Binchōtan gives the steady, clean heat yakitori loves, but a hot charcoal grill, gas grill, or broiler will still make a proper skewer. What matters is high heat and a short cook.
• •Tare is seasoning, not a blanket. Brush it on late and lightly, then stop. The heart should still taste like heart, not like syrup with grill marks.
• •For a dinner party, grill in small batches and serve each batch immediately. Yakitori is at its best when the cook accepts that the skewers, not the schedule, are in charge.

Advance Preparation

• •The tare can be made up to one week ahead and refrigerated. Warm it gently before grilling so it brushes on thinly.
• •The hearts can be cleaned and skewered up to four hours ahead. Keep them covered in the refrigerator and salt only just before grilling.
• •If using bamboo kushi, soak them while you prepare the hearts. Longer soaking is harmless, but it doesn't replace watching the tips near the fire.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 95g)