KAZ

Nothing beats the smell of skewered chicken sizzling over glowing binchotan charcoal in an authentic Japanese konro grill. The narrow firebox focuses intense radiant heat upward, sealing in juices and laying down that signature char you simply cannot fake with a standard backyard BBQ. After spending months testing yakitori setups for groups ranging from two-person … Read more

I still remember my first real yakitori experience in a tiny Tokyo alley. The chef worked a row of skewers over a narrow box-shaped grill, flipping each piece with a flick of the wrist. The smoke smelled like nothing I had ever cooked before. That grill was a konro, the traditional Japanese charcoal grill that … Read more

There is something primal and satisfying about grilling skewered chicken over glowing white charcoal, watching the fat render and drip onto hot embers while the smell fills your backyard. That is the experience a proper shichirin grill delivers, and after spending three months testing eight different models for yakitori, yakiniku, and casual tabletop BBQ sessions, … Read more

Binchotan is Japanese white charcoal made from ubame oak, prized for burning at extremely high temperatures (1652-2192°F / 900-1200°C) for 4-5 hours without smoke or odor. After running 15 different charcoal products through our test kitchen over the past three months, I can tell you the best binchotan charcoal delivers what no lump charcoal can … Read more

I still remember the first time I cooked yakitori over binchotan at a small izakaya in Tokyo. The grill hissed, the chicken skin crisped instantly, and there was almost no smoke drifting up toward my eyes. That evening rewired how I thought about charcoal, and it pushed me to spend the last three months testing … Read more

I’ve grilled my way through hundreds of skewers over the past three years, both behind our sushi bar counter and at home on weekends. Finding the best yakitori skewers changed everything for me. Yakitori, the iconic Japanese grilled chicken skewer served at every izakaya from Tokyo to your local neighborhood pub, lives or dies by … Read more

I have grilled on every type of skewer you can imagine over the past decade, from dollar-store bamboo sticks to professional-grade metal blades. After burning through countless packs of wooden skewers that charred, snapped, and left splinters in my chicken, I made the switch to stainless steel and never looked back. The difference in cooking … Read more

I tested eight of the most popular charcoal chimney starters over a three-month grilling season, lighting more than 60 batches of briquettes in the process. The best charcoal chimney starters share three things: they light coals fast, they survive repeated heat cycles without warping, and they keep your hands safe while you pour. After dozens … Read more

There’s something special about gathering around a small charcoal grill, the smell of binchotan smoke drifting up, and skewers sizzling inches from your face. That’s the magic of a robata grill. I first encountered proper robatayaki at a tiny counter in Osaka years ago, and I have been chasing that high-heat, clean-flavored experience at home … Read more

After spending three months comparing eight diatomite grills in our test kitchen and on weekend cookouts, I can tell you the best diatomite grills deliver something no standard gas grill can match. They reach searing temperatures above 1000 degrees F, hold that heat through thick cuts of wagyu, and produce the kind of smoky char … Read more