Independent comparisons. We may earn from shop links. More info

How to use a yakitori grill

Updated: 16.10.2026

The chicken is on sticks and the grill is on the patio table. How to use a yakitori grill means three limits: light it only in the open, cook the chicken until it is through, and leave the metal outside until it is cold. The model you bought is on the [yakitori grill comparison](/hub/portable-grills/yakitori-grill). This follows GOV.UK, the Food Standards Agency, and the London Fire Brigade, checked on 16 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. If you only have a kitchen or a tent, read [yakitori grill indoors](/hub/portable-grills/yakitori-grill/sub/yakitori-grill-indoors) before you open the bag.

The chicken is on sticks and the grill is on the patio table. How to use a yakitori grill means three limits: light it only in the open, cook the chicken until it is through, and leave the metal outside until it is cold.

Our top picks

Bincho Grill Bincho Grill MG-168

Best overall

Bincho Grill Bincho Grill MG-168
7.4/10about £334.91
View offer
GiantexUK GiantexUK cast iron hibachi

Rank 2

GiantexUK GiantexUK cast iron hibachi
8.1/10about £69.99
View offer
Yardwe Yardwe iron hibachi

Best value

Yardwe Yardwe iron hibachi
6.0/10about £40.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Set it down outdoors
  2. 2.Charcoal in a small box
  3. 3.If the grill has a vent
  4. 4.Skewers and sauce
  5. 5.Coals and ash

Set it down outdoors

Stand the grill on level ground that will not catch, clear of fences and sheds. GOV.UK tells you not to use a barbecue in a house, a tent, an awning, or a caravan, and not to light it with petrol or paraffin. The London Fire Brigade says the same about balconies and decking. A title that says indoor does not change the rule. A campsite is still the open air, and only when the pitch allows it. The Camping and Caravanning Club forbids a barbecue inside a tent, awning, or caravan, including while it cools. If the fire spreads, call 999. If someone is unwell after charcoal in an enclosed space, get emergency help.

Charcoal in a small box

GOV.UK describes about 5 cm of charcoal across a normal base, spread rather than heaped, and rules out petrol and paraffin. Do not fill a shallower firebox, such as the Amusingtao’s 300 cm² grate, up to 5 cm. These listings give no gram weight, and this page will not invent one. UK reviews on the Amusingtao say the little chamber is hard to light. Binchotan is still charcoal, so a kitchen, a balcony, and a tent stay off limits. One UK review of the GiantexUK put the wait on that grill at about 30–40 minutes with one paper bag. Keep that figure on that grill. Food goes on when the flames have died back. A wooden base is not a surface for a blowtorch.
Bincho Grill Bincho Grill MG-168

Testsieger

Bincho Grill Bincho Grill MG-168
7.4/10about £334.91
View offer

If the grill has a vent

The GiantexUK lists a sliding air door and two grate heights. Open the door to feed the fire. One UK review still found those steps coarse enough to burn dinner. The MG-168 lists two adjustable air windows, and skewer bars are not in that box. The onlyfire bullet says two bottom vents, and one UK review found a single slider. A listing with no vent cannot follow that step. Do not pour lighter fluid onto coals that are already going. If you have not bought yet, the best yakitori grill page says who the top pick and the best value are for. Grate size is the buying guide.

Skewers and sauce

The Food Standards Agency says the centre should reach 70°C for two minutes, or the equivalent times that page publishes. Probe the thickest part. Yakitori chicken cannot stay rare the way a seared steak can. A 300 cm² bed has no spare raw-versus-cooked zone, and the GiantexUK has no lid. Sauce that touched raw chicken is raw chicken. Boil that marinade if you want it as a glaze. If the heat steps are coarse, move the food toward the edge or raise the grate.

Coals and ash

Leave the grill where it stands until the coals are cold. Close an air door or the windows if you have them. Do not carry a warm hibachi into the kitchen, the garage, or the tent. GOV.UK says to cool the barbecue before you move it, and to put ash on bare soil, not in a wheelie bin. Empty the GiantexUK through the fire door only once the coal is cold. Do not light a cracked ceramic body. If the only flat you have is a balcony, you do not have a place for this shutdown.

Common questions

How much charcoal goes in a small box?
GOV.UK describes about 5 cm across a normal base, spread out, not heaped. A 300 cm² grate should not be filled to that depth when the firebox is shallower. These listings give no briquette count, and this page does not invent one.
Can I use petrol or a blowtorch on the wooden base?
Petrol and paraffin are out under GOV.UK’s outdoor fire guidance. A blowtorch on a wooden base is a way to set the heat shield alight, not a listed lighting method. Use firelighters or a chimney, outdoors, and wait until the coals are ashed.
When is yakitori chicken done?
It is done when a probe in the thickest part reads 70°C for two minutes, or an equivalent combination the Food Standards Agency publishes. A steak is the piece that can stay rare if the outside is seared. Black stripes on a skewer do not tell you the centre.
What if the grate has no cool zone?
You cook in one heat. The Amusingtao’s 300 cm² is about two short skewers, with no raw side and no cooked side. Raise the grate, ease the vent, or take the thick piece off this grill.
How do I put it out?
You wait. Leave the grill outside until the coals are cold, with the air door or windows closed if it has them. GOV.UK says ash goes on bare soil, not into a wheelie bin. If the fire gets away from the grill, call 999.
Can I finish the coals in the garage?
No. A garage is enclosed, and smouldering charcoal produces carbon monoxide after the flames have gone. The Camping and Caravanning Club includes the cooling phase in its ban on tents, awnings, and caravans. Leave the box in the open until it is cold.

Related pages

Carbon monoxide and a camping stove

Yakitori grill

Best yakitori grill: top pick, value, and who skips

Yakitori grill buying guide: body, grate and vents

Yakitori grill indoors and on a balcony: the UK rule

Konro vs hibachi for skewers: ceramic or cast iron

Sources

Public UK sources and the stored amazon.co.uk listings for these eight ASINs. Shelf prices, stars, and review counts are those listing lines. We did not run a lab cook.

  1. GOV.UK — Fire safety outdoors (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  2. London Fire Brigade — Barbecues (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  3. London Fire Brigade — Carbon monoxide (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  4. Food Standards Agency — Cooking your food (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK — BBQ food safety (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK — Smoke control areas (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  7. The Wasabi Company — 31 cm konro set (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  8. Camping and Caravanning Club — Camping safety (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  9. amazon.co.uk listings for the eight ASINs (retrieved 16 October 2026)