Binchotan Charcoal Grilled Chicken Recipe With Yuzu

Break out the binchotan charcoal for this flavorful chicken recipe

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Chef Silla Bjerrum's new book, Robata, is an excuse to try a different kind of grilling this summer. It teaches you all about using binchotan charcoal, a no-steam burner often used in Japanese cooking that helps make a crispier and juicier final product than you're used to. This grilled chicken recipe uses yogurt and juice from yuzu, a Japanese citrus, to make a tender and flavorful main course. Just make sure you set this up to marinate the day before you want to serve it.

Get more grilled chicken inspiration right this way.

Excerpted from 'Robata,' by Silla Bjerrum, published by Jacqui Small 2018

Grilled Yuzu Chicken
4.7 from 37 ratings
Get the recipe for this binchotan charcoal-grilled chicken, marinated in yuzu and yogurt, from new book Robata, all about Japanese home grilling.
Prep Time
10
minutes
Cook Time
20
minutes
Servings
4
servings
Total time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
  • For the Sake-Mirin Spray
  • ½ cup cooking sake
  • ½ cup mirin
  • 1¼ cups water
  • For the Chicken
  • 2 cups full-fat natural yogurt
  • Scant ½ cup yuzu juice
  • 2 tablespoons runny honey
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 8 pieces chicken (legs and thighs)
  • Zest and juice of 1 pink grapefruit, plus extra wedges to serve
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons soft brown sugar
  • 3½ tablespoons olive oil
  • Sake-mirin spray
  • 2 tablespoons mixed sesame seeds
Directions
  1. Make the sake-mirin spray: Combine the sake, mirin and water in a food-safe spray bottle, and set aside.
  2. Make the chicken: Combine the yogurt with the yuzu and honey in a large mixing bowl, and season with salt and pepper.
  3. Rub the chicken pieces in the yogurt marinade, place in a container and pour the remainder of the marinade on top. Marinate in the refrigerator for 24 to 36 hours.
  4. Start the robata grill. Put the grapefruit juice into a bowl and combine with the soy sauce and sugar.
  5. Rinse the yogurt off the chicken and dab dry with a paper towel, then dress the chicken in a little olive oil. When the coals are ready, place a wire rack over the robata pit, brush with oil and place the chicken on top. Seal the chicken, controlling the heat by moving the chicken from hotter to colder areas and vice versa. Use the sake-mirin spray to control the flames and reduce the heat. When the chicken is cooked through and the skin is nice and crispy, place on a serving dish. Drizzle with the grapefruit juice mixture, sprinkle with the chopped zest and sesame seeds, and serve with a few wedges of grapefruit on the side.
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