History

Jingisukan came to Hokkaido in the 1930s as the Japanese government tried to encourage wool production by promoting lamb-eating. By the 1950s, Sapporo Brewery was serving the dish at its company picnics. Daruma opened in 1954 with the Sapporo atozuke (dip-after-grill) style; Matsuo Jingisukan, founded 1956 in Takikawa, runs the marinade-first style. The Sapporo Beer Garden opened to the public 1976, marrying jingisukan with the brewery's draft as the city's defining group meal. The two styles still split Sapporo: Daruma's plain-cut atozuke versus Matsuo's pre-marinated aizome.

Common allergens: Soy, Gluten (in tare sauce)

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 20 minTotal 40 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 600g lamb shoulder or leg, sliced thin (3-4 mm)
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 1 carrot, sliced thin on a bias
  • 1 small cabbage, cut into chunks
  • 100g bean sprouts
  • Sliced leek
  • For the tare dipping sauce: 4 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp mirin
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 grated Hokkaido apple
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • 1 grated garlic clove
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • Sesame seeds to finish
  • Rice and pickles to serve

Method

  1. Whisk all tare-sauce ingredients in a small bowl; let sit 15 minutes to bloom.
  2. Heat a dome grill (or a cast-iron skillet) over medium-high heat.
  3. Arrange sliced onion, carrot, cabbage, bean sprouts and leek around the edge of the grill where the juices will drip.
  4. Place lamb slices on the centre of the grill. Cook 90 seconds per side; lamb should be still slightly pink.
  5. Pick up a piece of cooked lamb with chopsticks, dip into the tare sauce, eat immediately.
  6. Add fresh batches of lamb and vegetables as you go; keep the grill moving.

Tip from the editors. The dome shape lets fat drip onto the surrounding vegetables, basting them as you cook. A cast-iron skillet works if you don't have the dome grill.

Where to eat jingisukan (genghis khan lamb)

Jingisukan (Genghis Khan Lamb) in Sapporo

Jingisukan Daruma Honten ★ 4.4

Japanese izakaya¥¥susukinoUntil 05:00Cash only

Daruma Honten's Susukino dome grill runs to 05:00. The post-izakaya jingisukan close: single-cut lamb, the tare sauce, and a beer at the small grill.

Try: Sapporo-cut jingisukan

Tip: Cash only; queue starts 17:30; after midnight is the local time.

Chuo-ku, Sapporo 064-0805, Japan

Jingisukan Daruma 4-4 Ten ★ 4.3

Yakiniku¥¥susukino

Daruma's 2009 spillover branch behind COCONO Susukino, one minute from Susukino subway. Same single-cut lamb, same dome grills, slightly fewer queues.

Signature: Sapporo-cut lamb, Lamb chop, Tare dipping sauce

Order: Sapporo-cut lamb plate at the dome grill; order another before you finish the first.

Tip: Opens 17:00 daily; queue forms early on weekends and after Susukino last-trains begin running.

Chuo-ku, Sapporo 064-0804, Japan

Matsuo Jingisukan Kita 19-jo Higashi ★ 4.3

Yakiniku¥¥¥higashi-ku

The Matsuo chain's flagship east-side branch in Sapporo, 10 minutes from Higashi-Kuyakushomae. Marinated lamb is the house style, opposite Daruma's atozuke.

Signature: Matsuo-style marinated lamb, Aizome marinade lamb, Hokkaido beef yakiniku

Order: Lamb-shoulder loin with the family aizome marinade and the trio comparison set.

Tip: Book the comparison set through byFood or Pelago in advance; popular with families.

Higashi-ku, Sapporo 065-0019, Japan Book →

Sapporo Beer Garden ★ 4.4

Yakiniku¥¥¥higashi-ku

The Sapporo Brewery's beer hall and Genghis Khan grill in an 1890 brick brewing house, with five themed halls and the all-you-can-eat lamb-and-beer course.

Signature: Jingisukan tabehoudai, Sapporo Classic draft, Lamb shabu

Order: 100-minute jingisukan tabehoudai with all-you-can-drink Sapporo Classic.

Tip: Trommel Hall in the original brewery is the room with the atmosphere; reserve ahead.

Higashi-ku, Sapporo 065-0007, Japan Book →

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