I do two completely different process for chicken versus beef. They vary both in that I do not marinade the beef, and in that I feel the flavor profiles are a little different at the glaze level.
For beef:
My personal taste leans towards tasting the beef and not a sweet glaze on beef. But, when I want to do teriyaki on beef, I use it more as a glaze. This might sound a little different, but, I have sold literlally thousand upon thousands of beef teriyaki skewers this way.
I cook the beef as if I am normally grilling it, except I use a good rub, something along the lines of Oakridge Black Ops, Simply Marvelous Sweet and Spicy (my favorite) or Dizzy Pig Pineapple Head. Rub the meat, let it sweat and grill it. Cook the meat until it is almost done, dunk it into the teriyaki dip and return to fire to set glaze. A couple minutes at most.The dunking once the meat is nearly cooked gives it plenty of teriyaki flavor while still allowing the beef to come through. You can plate with table teriyaki sauce (we'll get to that is a bit).
Teriyaki Beef Marinade:
2 cups Shoyu (I used Yamasa Brewed, but, Tamari is great too)
2 tablespoons quality fish sauce (or 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce)
1/2 cup agave syrup (adjust for sweetness desired)
1/4 cup sake or dry sherry
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon grated garlic
1/2 teaspoon togarashi sesame oil (optional, I like a little touch of heat)
Blend all ingredients. Stir before use.
For chicken:
I like to use a long soak for chicken, this acts a lot like a brine, not so much a marinade. But, it does impart better flavor and the texture of the chicken comes out so much better. I will soak the chicken in the marinade for 8 to 12 hours. When I am done with the soak, I remove the chicken and cook at a lower heat, say 300F (lots of sugar on there) until done. I do baste, and to prepare the baste, I take the leftover marinade (yeah, yeah, Safe-serv...I have never poisoned anyone) and will simmer the marinade, removing the scum that surfaces. I add 1/4 cup of honey and remove. This is basted onto the chicken during the last 15 to 20 minutes of the cook, I do this twice or three times. Remove from cooker and let sit for 10 minutes before serving. It should look like this...
This chicken actually tastes great served at room temperature as well. I rarely serve sauce on the side with this preparation (although I will drizzle the dripping over white rice when nobody is looking).
Chicken Teriyaki:
Teriyaki Marinade:
2 cups Shoyu (I used Yamasa Brewed, but, Tamari is great too)
1/2 cup reduced dashi (you can use 1/2 scant cup, with 2 tablespoon fish sauce, or 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce)
1/2 cup agave syrup (adjust for sweetness desired, honey works as well, or 3/4 cup fine sugar)
1/4 cup sake (or dry sherry)
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon grated garlic
1/2 teaspoon togarashi sesame oil
Mix all ingredients, and toss in with chicken in a marinading bag
