You've just taken home your new fancy Konro grill! You're well on your way to the joy of backyard yakitori, and other grilled treats. You dig out the instructions and your heart sinks as you realize that it’s all in Japanese. That is, if you're anything like me and can't read Japanese. Oh no! But, don't worry we've got your back. Here a translation of the basic instructions you'll find in all Konro boxes:
You only need enough charcoal to cover the bottom of the Konro, anything more will cause excessive heat and flame.
To light yourbinchotan,thaan or lump charcoal load it into acharcoal chimney and light it from the bottom with newspaper or a gas burner. After it is lit, then spread it out over the floor of the grill.
Use the vents to adjust heat. Open vents means more oxygen gets to the coals, which in turn means higher temperature. Binchotan lasts a long long time, but if you do need to add some, only add enough to keep the bottom of the Konro covered.
If you have a Yakitori sized grill and are using our bamboo skewers, you can just rest your food right across the grill. If you’re on a wider grill or cooking without skewers, be sure to pre-heat your grate before you get cooking.
Charcoal burns hot, but takes time so be patient.
Snuff the charcoal out in a thick cast iron dutch oven or dunk them into water in a bucket. DO NOT pour water on the Konro to put out the fire, or the Konro will break due to extreme temperature change. Only put away or store your Konro after it has cooled completely.
Here are the basic dos and don'ts of Konro ownership. Remembering these will help you have a safe and delicious cooking session: