Grilled ── Yakitori
Tebamoto
chicken drumette — a wing-shaped cut closer to the breast
The wing section nearest the body, also called "tulip meat" for its shape once trimmed. Milder than the wing tip, and the meat falls easily off the bone after long simmering in hot pot or braises.
Lineage
What it's made of
The wing section nearest the body, also called "tulip meat" for its shape once trimmed. Milder than the tip, it carries the thickest layer of meat of any part of the wing, wrapped firmly around the bone. A moderate amount of fat under the skin still gives its plainer flavor some backbone. The thick meat wrapped around the bone gives it a heartiness few other wing cuts can match.
How it's made
Long simmering lets the meat fall easily off the bone, which is why it turns up so often in hot pot and braises. With meat sitting thick around the bone, prep often involves scoring the skin to let seasoning in, or trimming the base of the bone into that tulip shape. Exposing one end of the bone is said to make it easier to hold and eat by hand. For hot pot, pulling it out partway through simmering and letting residual heat finish it is said to keep the meat from tightening up too much.
Why it took this shape
Where the wing tip earns its keep through fat and gelatin, the drumette earns it through sheer volume of meat. A bone shaped for easy handheld eating, paired with meat that holds together through long cooking, is what makes it so suited to home braises and stews. Within the wing, it's the piece reached for when heartiness matters more than richness. It holds its own fried too, and its heartiness makes it an easy cut to portion out for a table of diners.
Before you go
- Otoshi and how to payAt izakaya, a small dish called otoshi often arrives without being ordered, tipping isn't customary, and how you pay depends on the shop.
- Izakaya customsFrom the small starter dish called otoshi, the classic "for now, a draft beer" first order, ordering a little at a time, choosing tare or shio for yakitori, soy sauce dishes, a closing course, and last orders and smoking rules.
- Dining with kids, a wheelchair, or big luggagePractical notes on eating out with children, getting around with a wheelchair, and what to do with a suitcase or large bags.
Dishes in the same style
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Related lineage
- FurisodeThe part of the wing nearest the shoulder, its name said to come from a resemblance to a furisode kimono sleeve. Leaner than thigh meat but juicier than breast, and yielded in only small amounts per bird.
- TebanakaThe middle section between the wing tip and the drumette. Split lengthwise it is called a "chicken spare rib", commonly served skewered or deep-fried, and smaller and easier to handle than the wing tip.