If you've ever been to a Korean BBQ place, you know the smells and noises surrounding it. While randomly walking one day, we found this place where instead of having an indoor BBQ, they give you a whole tent for yourself. You are outside while actually being inside the tent. I was hooked and knew I had to bring the whole family here ASAP!
I wish I took more pictures of the outside part since they have around 12 of these tents next to each other, with seating for 10 and 2 grills to use. The coolest thing about this was that you can bring your own food and cook it here, while they do offer meat for sale, you don't have to buy their meat.
While I love treating my family, especially my mother-in-law, I knew this could be a good chance for a fun time.
I knew I had to get some special food for the family. I went with chicken. Okay, you might think that is kind of boring... but not the parts of chicken I had prepared for us.
- Chicken neck meat (boneless | a little fatty | loads of flavor)
- Chicken necks with bones
- Chicken cartilage (that weird, chewy part between the breast meat)
- Prawns (not actually chicken, but who doesn't love some BBQ prawns?)
My Korean family likes the stranger things I can prepare for them, so while I knew this was a bit of a risk, I had high hopes that they would like it. I have made things in the past that they tasted once and then avoided for the rest of the meal, so I am still getting tuned in to their tastes.
I got all the meat ordered in large quantities, and these parts are actually quite cheap compared to other meat. The price per kilogram is actually very reasonable and enough to feed everyone easily. I ended up ordering way too much and used only half of what we ordered.
The boneless chicken necks and the cartilage had to be put on skewers. That took some time, but it was worth it. Butterflying and cleaning the prawns also took some time. Overall, I spent about 2 hours getting everything ready for the coals. That way, as soon as we get there, we can just get our hot coals and start grilling right away.
We started with the boneless chicken neck meat, soft and a little fatty, bursting with flavor!
While the coals were still a little too hot, we got a nice char on the chicken and cooked them to tender perfection. These did not last long; as soon as they got off the BBQ, everyone devoured them.
Next up was the cartilage. I knew this was a bit risky because of the texture. There is some meat around the cartilage, so it did make for a meaty, chewy treat. Round two got knocked out almost as quickly as the first round; everybody loved it. Slowly, we were getting full...
The main star of the show was meant for my sister-in-law. Whenever we buy chicken, which is one of the most famous dishes in Korea, we always pass the neck on to her. Little did I know it was my mother-in-law's favorite part. So I went all out with marinated chicken necks. Bones and all! I am actually also a big fan, so I did get them for myself as well.
While most might find this weird or gross, the flavor of these, and the fun of eating the little bones, make for a really good experience.
My sister-in-law got so excited and offered to help cook as well, so not only did she have fun eating it, but she also had a great time cooking. Notice her daughter looking on in awe, as if to say, "What on earth are you doing?...."
We ended the night with some prawns brushed with loads of garlic and butter. Korean garlic is not as potent as what I am used to; not sure why, though. I can eat a whole clove of garlic, no problem. So we normally load our prawns with garlic.
Overall, it was perhaps one of the best dinners I had with my family, and I felt really proud of treating everyone to a good meal. Everyone was full, and we packed our own doggy bags that we finished the next day.
I wish I took more pictures, but I was too busy prepping and grilling up some great grub!
Thanks for reading, catch ya in the next one!
