braindoc Posted July 17, 2022 Report Share Posted July 17, 2022 The hunger for something new strikes again. We are looking at Japanese konro grills. I’ve looked back at some threads here and read that people are using them indoors. I also understand that these grills were developed for indoor use. I’m wondering why so many websites warn against this, even when using authentic binchotan charcoal. Any thoughts from the community? Product recommendations? Korin and MTC kitchen are out of stock for some of the models we are considering, but our thought is that we’d use the konro during the winter so we can wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Chang Posted July 17, 2022 Report Share Posted July 17, 2022 (edited) it depends on what you are cooking. if just vegetables, then its ok. if fatty meats or sugary yakitori, then there will be lots of smoke. we had to open our floor to ceiling windows and it was still very smokey. binchotan is really expensive to burn, i just use compressed bamboo, it's also smokeless. i like low profile grills like this round one so you don't need to reach high for the food. if doing yakitori, then bincho grill is excellent but not really for indoor use. yakitoriguy on youtube has done reviews on most of the popular models. Edited July 17, 2022 by David Chang 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted July 18, 2022 Report Share Posted July 18, 2022 I've watched the Yakitori Guy's YouTube vids - they are very good. Sorry, but I've only done yakitori outdoors, so I'm no help with the indoor question. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted July 18, 2022 Report Share Posted July 18, 2022 Me too, outside is where I use mine too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
braindoc Posted July 18, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2022 @David I have to admit I was so focused on carbon monoxide I wasn’t thinking about the food smoking! We have a pretty powerful Broan exhaust over our range. I guess we’d use the konro there. We do appreciate the photos. Thanks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted July 19, 2022 Report Share Posted July 19, 2022 When I returned to teaching mid-pandemic, I bought a $250 CO2 meter to test my classrooms; people exhale CO2 so these levels are a good proxy for COVID exposure risk. Research predating COVID shows transmission of airborne infectious diseases is virtually eliminated if one can exchange indoor air to outdoor CO2 levels. The Brits learned a parallel lesson in the 1800's after several Cholera epidemics: Don't drink sewage water. Are we making a similar investment in indoor space ventilation, using heat exchangers to make outdoor air quality the indoor standard in all public spaces? No. We breathe the equivalent of sewage water, and accept common colds and now COVID as an unavoidable fact of life. Yes, we're that stupid. There must be a similar meter that shows levels of CO. You don't just want an alarm, you want to measure your risk. CO is a byproduct of incomplete combustion, and bincho charcoal does burn more cleanly than alternatives. I've sat by live bincho fires in Japanese izakaya, and I've had live charcoal fires at my table in Korean BBQ restaurants, but I don't understand the risk. Modernity is novel, which leads to mistakes. One is tempted to try things without twenty generations of experience, "Did my ancestors die doing this?" My favorite example is Alaskan natives who for generations fermented seal meat in seal skins, till someone had the bright idea "Why not just use a plastic pail?" Botulism is why not. Closer to home, one shouldn't use galvanized metals in a BBQ cooker. Who knew? One can't possibly know everything like this, so the fallback is to always be keenly aware of precedent. There is precedent for burning bincho charcoal indoors, but I don't have ancestral wisdom here, and even that can be wrong. So I'd want a good meter. I get laughed out of fermentation forums for testing my hot sauce ferments with a pH meter, but who cares! We're talking $100. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Chang Posted July 19, 2022 Report Share Posted July 19, 2022 @Syzygies i too have dined with live charcoal and some establishments in seoul were totally smoke filled, but nobody passed out dead. they have improved the ventilation in modern yakinikus and korean bbq places, but these ventilation setups usually involve an adjustable exhaust inches away from your food or exhaust built table level that has hidden ductwork inside the table. that setup is a dream. having table level grilling with 0 omissions. anyway, i think the CO meter is a really good idea. i wouldn't know how to read one if i had one, but i would guess it's more accurate than having a parakeet in a cage. 😂 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted July 19, 2022 Report Share Posted July 19, 2022 Hi @braindoc, as you will have seen from my previous posts I do use my konro grill indoors under my cooker hood. I also bought a CO meter with an alarm and use it whenever I use my konro grill indoors. No issue at all on any occasion so far and the CO meter gives me the comfort that all is well. The most dangerous thing that ever happened was cooking oysters on the grill and having pieces of laminated shell fly everywhere! All good. 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted July 20, 2022 Report Share Posted July 20, 2022 17 hours ago, Syzygies said: Are we making a similar investment in indoor space ventilation, using heat exchangers to make outdoor air quality the indoor standard in all public spaces? No. We breathe the equivalent of sewage water, and accept common colds and now COVID as an unavoidable fact of life. Yes, we're that stupid. I'll take my indoor Northern California air quality over outdoor L.A. (Southern California) air quality any day of the week. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Chang Posted July 24, 2022 Report Share Posted July 24, 2022 did some yakitori today, outdoors. its a lot of work. deboning meat, cutting the right size, skewering, babysitting the food. slow cooking but nicely paced and perfectly portioned. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrus Posted July 24, 2022 Report Share Posted July 24, 2022 By the looks of it all turned really well, it was worth the investment. Hell, sitting up on a rooftop overlooking the foliage with a cold beer in one hand and tongs in the other & cooking on the Yak is simply heaven. No down side there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
braindoc Posted July 24, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2022 Thanks to everyone for the info. Sorry I’ve been out of touch. We had to rush our 13-year-old goldendoodle to the veterinary hospital for an emergency splenectomy Tuesday evening. Thankfully, he survived a very risky surgery and came home yesterday. The first sign of a problem, ironically, was a seizure in my office a few days before. Blood clots were the cause of all this and he is now on Plavix and Xarelto, among other meds. Quite an ordeal. 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted July 25, 2022 Report Share Posted July 25, 2022 Poor puppy! Glad that he's recovered, but not so good that he's on those meds now! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
braindoc Posted July 29, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2022 On Sunday, we pulled the trigger on this model: It arrived yesterday from Japan. Unfortunately, there is a large crack in the diatomite at the top on one end and the metal frame there is bent. The shipping carton and the internal packing carton both had some damage. I’ve already emailed Global Kitchen Japan with photos. The unit is probably usable but on the off chance they want it back we won’t use it. No Yakitori this weekend. 😢 Our order also included a Mac frozen food knife - yes, you read that correctly. Couldn’t resist at $19, since it barely increased the shipping charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
braindoc Posted July 29, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2022 Going off-topic again: our patient greeter and copay collector was back on the job as of Tuesday. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Chang Posted July 29, 2022 Report Share Posted July 29, 2022 2 hours ago, braindoc said: On Sunday, we pulled the trigger on this model: It arrived yesterday from Japan. Unfortunately, there is a large crack in the diatomite at the top on one end and the metal frame there is bent. The shipping carton and the internal packing carton both had some damage. I’ve already emailed Global Kitchen Japan with photos. The unit is probably usable but on the off chance they want it back we won’t use it. No Yakitori this weekend. 😢 Our order also included a Mac frozen food knife - yes, you read that correctly. Couldn’t resist at $19, since it barely increased the shipping charge. nice. while you wait for the replacement, this is a good time to make your own Tare sauce and get bamboo skewers (thin spikes and paddles) sized for your grill. a squirt bottle to spray sake or water. an uchiwa fan if you want to raise charcoal temp, but i don't really use one.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
braindoc Posted July 30, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2022 David: Do you stick to the basic soy, mirin, sake, brown sugar? Or do you embellish - dashi, ginger, etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Chang Posted July 30, 2022 Report Share Posted July 30, 2022 @braindoc yeah, pretty much those ingredients. i just followed this recipe and used grilled chicken bones. but i pulled back on the sugar. the way this works is you keep using the mother sauce and make new tare to add the old sauce. for many years, as long as possible..😄 you need a container that can dip the entire skewer in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
