


April Event
Took a while to get around to this, but a short recap and photos from my April event.
We had 13 guests again and we made a total of 240 skewers plus one of our guest brought along around 20 skewers of kanpachi. At the end there were around 42 skewers left over. We'll probably drop the amount of thighs we do from 8 to 6 and then drop the extra protein skewer (in this case pork belly). We've been having problems with the onigiri falling apart when there is filling inside so we are probably going to drop the filled onigiri in favor of udon noodles or just onigiri with furikake. I split the tsukune into a batch with green onions (my typical mix-in) and a batch with shiso. I really enjoyed the shiso and I think others did as well so I'll probably switch to using shiso permanently. I'll also probably increase the set size from two skewers to three and maybe do a couple rounds of skewers for which I have enough for everyone before opening up for orders. It keeps the flow a little easier and also makes sure people try a good variety.
You can see the full menu here: https://yoruyaki.com/past-events/20260411/
I also updated my about page with some FAQs I get asked often:
How much time does it take you to prepare for each event?
Between the shopping, setup, food prep and cleanup it takes around 16 hours.
What grill are you using?
I purchased a Teruhime TK-618 on eBay and had it shipped here from Japan. My only complaint is that I should have opted for the larger size as it can get tight when cooking for 12 people. I'll likely upgrade to the TK-918 soon which gives another 30cm (~12 inches) of width.
What kind of chicken are you using?
Currently I source chicken from New Seasons or Fred Meyer. It can change between Mary's, Foster Farms, and other brands. Nothing fancy, I just try to purchase the freshest ones that include giblets.
What charcoal are you using?
I use ogatan compressed charcoal logs. They aren't as nice as true binchotan, but are considerably cheaper. You'll often see yakitoriya in Japan using a mix of ogatan (for the base) and binchotan (on top). I've used a few different brands which all work well:
- Thaan Thai-Style Charcoal
- Touryu Ogatan from MTC
- Korin Sumi Charcoal