Fire Sense Yakatori Charcoal Grill: Large Rectangular Grilling Surface for Delicious BBQ Meals

Amazon Customer: They were bough as a gift, my first worry was that they would break in the shipping, but they both arrived in prefect condition, she loves them

Canada on Nov 14, 2023

Jasmine: I got this for my husbands birthday, because our smaller one broke and I could see the light leave my husbands eyes when we had no way to sit outside, enjoy the weather with our son, eat fantastically cooked meats and vegetables. It was really saddening, our back porch hadn't been sat in over a year. But when I decided to get this one, the ultimate reason why was because it is bigger, way bigger than the other one we had.
I have several pros and cons with this purchase, first off the size is perfect the metal around the corners is a definite plus. However my first complaint is that on the FIRST use, the metal grate used to grill the meat- bent... Second; the grate you use to place whatever it is your grilling is very... Unstable, meaning; It warped the first time we used it as well, so it had this sort of dent in it now. So possibly try to find you a better grate some how? I haven't really looked into this yet because my Husband really doesn't care, and he takes very good care of it trust me, cleans it before and after every use and makes sure to put the proper amount of coals inside.
But all in all, seeing the light come back to my husbands face as he whined about how he...

United States on Oct 24, 2023

PZ Daisuki: I lived in Japan for many years, and it's great to be able to find an affordable version of what I preferred to use over there. After using it a few times I can say I find no flaws. Here's some information that might be useful:
1) DO NOT GET IT WET, or bang it around. It's made of diatome clay. Most of the 1* reviews I saw were because of user error. It will disintegrate in the rain, so don't wash it or leave it outside like they did.
2) I've noticed in some of the older reviews the charcoal vented grate was made out of a clay/brick material. Mine is metal, and it should last much longer. Looks like they fixed their one flaw.
3) In Japan I've only ever seen lump charcoal sold, no briquettes. I use lump charcoal in this grill and find it superior. If you have a good quality briquette you should be fine as well though.
4) In Japan it's less common to grill steaks/burgers than it is to grill small thinly sliced strips of meat. I cut my beef/pork to 1/8-1/4" thick, and 2-3" long. I cut up my chicken to stick on yakitori skewers.

If I take good care of this grill I expect it to last many many years. It came in a good box with no damage and I'll be storing it in that...

United States on Sep 04, 2023

L iguane: Je l ai acquis pour faire des cuissons sur le camping.
Ça chauffe très bien et le charbon dure assez longtemps pour se préparer un souper sans soucis.

Canada on Mar 08, 2023

SCSC: Yes, you could cook anything you want with it. It’s really just a charcoal heat source with a mesh grate. However it’s not really meant for a greasy pork chop or saucy ribs just as you wouldn’t try those in a toaster. It’s also not meant to be scrubbed clean or hosed down afterwards. It’s made of diatom clay so it’s pretty archaic and primal method of focusing the heat from a relatively small fuel area. That’s what makes it so good at cooking small bits of meat a few inches above the coals. I used a single layer of coals about 1”x1” in size and use good coals that don’t smoke up and catch on fire easily. Real bincho tan is expensive so Jealous Devil is a good alternative. The idea is not to rotate the meat too often. It should be able to sit long enough to get a nice Maillard reaction happening so no unnecessary sauces or sugars. Yakitori is usually just salt. I’ve also cut out a section of the grate so the meat doesn’t touch anything.

Canada on Dec 06, 2021

Tolwyn: I've been looking for a small grill that is suitable for use outdoors to do mixture of Korean BBQ and Japanese yakitori type cooking with others. This is perfect, it's not too high, retains heat extremely well, and solid!

The included instructions are good as well. Interestingly, it says not to use anything but briquettes which is a no-go for me based on content. I use hardwood lump charcoal, which was just fine. The entire thing is basically specialized clay, so don't get it wet or try to wash it. Once it's cooled, just a quick brush down with a medium bristle brush is helpful to dislodge any last bits. The stainless steel grill grid can go in the dishwasher without any problems.

Oddly, as mentioned by others, some of the side coverings and the two doors are 'stapled' on. I think it has to do with the fact that its made of fired specialized clay. Looks a bit cheap but it works. Just be gentle with the doors.

It was a very heavy package but everything arrived in perfect condition. Nothing broken or damaged. But the note inside said to contact them directly for any replacements.

Very happy with this!

Canada on Oct 06, 2021

WinterArcher: Update 5:

The good folks just sent a replacement cooking grid and another of the charcoal grid and we are ready for the Spring Grilling season while in lockdown.

The customer service has been fantastic and this grill continues to turn out AMAZING food with just a handful of charcoal.

This season I got Kamodo Joe big block charcoal and it already seems to be a whole lot better than briquettes or the Lazari mesquite.

Great to have this grill to add some variety to my cooking while we are awaiting release from lockdown

Update #4:

Fire Sense sent replacement grids!

Wonderful folks.

Update #3 STARTING TO FAIL

The ceramic "grates" that hold the charcoal are starting to break up. It cooks very well, but the quality of the materials is not great.

UPDATE #2

Still loving this little grill. Over the weekend I made a "riser" to get the grill a bit higher off the charcoal since if you cook fatty foods, the flare ups tend to singe things (or I could just LEARN something from the Japanese and stop cooking fatty food).

So far there have been no issues with the plastic edging melting or with the vent doors. I do...

United States on Apr 01, 2017

Kc1328: - original review written in 2016:
This is a fantastic yakatori grill, I love it.
This is not styrofoam painted with fireproof paint its cast diatom cement which is classic construction for a small yakatori grill like this. (Big would be restaurant size). This is a nice large size for a table top BBQ, Don't mistake this for a hibachi, yakatori is a different style of cooking and this is a different kind of grill. The body of of the BBQ is very thick and solid, it's designed for very hot burning binchotan or other hardwood charcoal and to hold in the heat. But I did knock off a star because the metal doors and trim is flimsy and just tacked on but even if they broke off or rusted out you would still have the functional core. It could last forever but I could imagine it would crack if you dropped it.

****** Update May 2022******
I did love this BBQ, I wanted to try to be authentic to yakatori BBQ by buying this BBQ and bichotan charcoal and it was delicious.
But his BBQ has a serious flaw. It says this made out of clay but when you think of clay as mud that has been kiln fired. This is more like mud and fine wood particles or some such material. The reason I know...

Canada on Oct 06, 2016