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    🏠Home » Recipes » Chicken Recipes

    Grilled Butterflied Chicken AKA Spatchcocked

    Jun 23, 2013 · Modified: Aug 15, 2021 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan · 3 Comments

    Recipe Table of Contents    
    4.53 from 19 votes

    Butterflied chicken is a classic method of flattening a whole chicken to allow more even cooking. AKA spatchcock chicken, it produces impressive results but is so easy to do. Now you can grill a whole chicken that is moist with crispy skin.

    BBQ Butterflied Chicken on white plate

    Jump To:
    • 🐓The Chicken
    • 👨‍🍳Butterflying
    • ♨️Grill Setup
    • 👨‍🍳How to Grill
    • 🧂Seasoning
    • 📖Chicken Recipes
    • 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
    • 📝Recipe

    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    Introduction

    Butterflying, AKA spatchcocking a whole chicken, is a traditional way to even out a whole chicken to assist in even cooking. The term butterflying can apply to any meat to prepare it for cooking, while spatchcocking is butterflying chicken or other poultry.

    By flattening, it is generally easier to get all parts of the chicken cooked correctly in a reasonable amount of time.

    Why not just throw the whole chicken on the grill? Actually, you can with the right technique—it is not that hard when you get your technique down. Please see Grilled Whole Chicken on a Gas Grill.

    There are many articles about grilling a butterflied chicken, but most grill amateurs won't try it. I'm here to tell you it is easy, and it works.

    Start with a medium-size whole chicken 4-5 pounds. Cut out the backbone with kitchen scissors. Split the breastbone a little, so it will lay flat—season with a dry rub, a little BBQ sauce, or just salt and pepper. The results are impressive.

    My Rating

    My rating system of a 4 out of 5 so very nice.

    A nice solid 4.

    🐓The Chicken

    This recipe is for a small to medium size whole chicken. I suggest a 4 to 5-pound range. Remember that whole chickens usually come with about half a pound plus of neck, gizzard, heart, etc., inside. I'm talking about the actual weight of the chicken.

    We no longer wash chicken. Please see Chicken... To Rinse or Not To Rinse? for a more complete discussion.

    👨‍🍳Butterflying

    First, pat dry, so it is not slippery. Again, we do not rinse chicken anymore.

    Remove the backbone with sturdy scissors or kitchen shears by cutting up one side of the backbone from tail to neck, then down the other side of the backbone. Discard the backbone.

    I like to use a knife at this point. I make a good size cut at the front of the breast bone in the long direction of the breast bone. This helps the chicken flatten in the next step.

    Flip the chicken with the breast side up. Pull out on the sides at the bottom and then put your palm over the breast bone and press down hard and it will flatten. Fold the win tips back under the wing to lock them in place if you can.

    ♨️Grill Setup

    Get to 350°-400° grill surface temperature, which is a bit under medium for me. On most grills, that is about medium. DO NOT TRUST the built-in thermometer on the lid. You must use a grill surface thermometer.

    For help on grill surface temperature, please see my A Beginners Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas Grill.

    The charcoal grill setup is a little harder getting the right surface temperature to not burn the chicken while still getting the chicken cooked to the minimum temperature.

    👨‍🍳How to Grill

    There are some general goals in cooking this butterflied chicken.

    The first is to get to the right internal temperatures for safety and texture. That is 165° in the thickest part of the breast and about 185° in the thighs. The darker meat will be closer to the heat by cooking longer with the skin side up and should cook faster.

    The second is not to burn the skin. The same cooking technique also helps with the skin side up longer. But fighting this will be the grill that can vary both in temperature and radiant heat. Also, the weight and thickness of the chicken is a huge variable.

    So as always, we are cooking to final results and NEVER BY TIME ALONE. I give times to estimate how long something will take, but in this recipe, you should cook to the final temperatures and the skin results.

    🧂Seasoning

    The chicken can be seasoned any way you want. Just salt and pepper will do, but it is a bit boring.

    I had a wife longing for BBQ, so the sauce was the primary method in the pictures.

    I have included an alternative spice rub I believe most people will love.

    Sauce Suggestions

    Memphis Barbecue Sauce - A Wonderful Thing

    Alabama BBQ Chicken with White BBQ Sauce - The sauce is meant for this recipe.

    📖Chicken Recipes

    Grilled Whole Chicken on a Gas Grill

    Simple Everyday Roast Chicken with Gravy

    Alabama BBQ Chicken with White BBQ Sauce

    This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

    BBQ Recipes, Chicken Recipes, Grill Recipes
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    🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

    clean and oil grill crates.

    Preheat grill to a grill surface temperature of 350°-400°.  Clean and oil well.

    As always, we are cooking to final results and NEVER BY TIME ALONE. I give times to estimate how long something will take, but in this recipe, you should cook to the final temperatures and the skin results.

    cutting back out of chicken.

    Pat dry the chicken. Cut the backbone out of the chicken with sharp kitchen scissors. You could use a knife, but the scissors are much safer and work great.

    notching breast bone with knife.

    With a large knife, give the breastbone a large nick in the front of the chicken to help the bird lay flat. Flip over and push down to flatten.

    seasoning butterfied chcken with salt.

    Give all sides of the chicken a brush of oil and a good sprinkle of coarse salt and pepper. The spice rub in the recipe card is a great choice instead of just the salt and pepper. The BBQ sauce later is optional.

    browning chicken an a grill.

    Start with the skin side up for 10 minutes. Then flip to skin side down for 8-10 minutes. Watch the color and don't over-brown the skin. Flip back to the skin side up and cook until about 160° in the breast and about 175°-180° in the thighs. (not done yet)

    These times are ESTIMATES due to variability in grills and chicken size. So we are cooking some, flipping to get the skin mostly done, flip back to skin up to finish.

    If one of the internal temperatures is not high enough, turn off part of the grill and rotate to cook that area over the active heat until it catches up, then continue with the sauce if using.

    give a nice brush of BBQ sauce near end of grilling.

    If doing BBQ, give the chicken a good brushing of BBQ sauce of your choice. Now finish grilling another 3-4 minutes until the sauce is browning well, and the temperature is 165°, and the thighs should be about 180°-185°.

    cooked butterflied chicken on white plate

    Let sit for 5 minutes, then cut and serve.

    cooked chicken leg on white plate with sauce
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    📝Recipe

    BBQ Butterflied Chicken on white plate

    Grilled Butterflied Chicken AKA Spatchcocked

    From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
    Butterflied chicken is a classic method of flattening a whole chicken to allow more even cooking. AKA spatchcock chicken, it produces impressive results but is so easy to do. Now you can grill a whole chicken that is moist with crispy skin.
    Tap to leave a Rating
    4.53 from 19 votes
    Print Email CollectionCollected
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 40 minutes
    Total Time: 50 minutes
    Servings #/Adjust if desired 4

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Convert to Metric
    • 1 whole chicken - 4-5 pounds
    • Seasoning of choice or BBQ sauce

    Alternative Spice Rub

    • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
    • 2 teaspoons paprika
    • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 1 teaspoon onion powder
    • ½ teaspoon cumin
    • ¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper - optional
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Preheat grill to a grill surface temperature of 350°-400°.  Clean and oil well.
      clean and oil grill crates
    • Pat dry the chicken. Cut the backbone out of the chicken with sharp kitchen scissors. You could use a knife, but the scissors are much safer and work great.
      whole chicken with scissors being cut
    • With a large knife, give the breastbone a large nick in the front of the chicken to help the bird lay flat. Flip over and push down to flatten.
      notching breast bone with knife
    • Give all sides of the chicken a brush of oil and season to taste. The spice rub in the recipe card is a great choice OR just the salt and pepper. The BBQ sauce later is optional.
      salting the chicken
    • Start with the skin side up for 10 minutes. Then flip to skin side down for 8-10 minutes. Watch the color and don't over-brown the skin. Flip back to the skin side up and cook until about 160° in the breast and about 175°-180° in the thighs. (Not done yet.)
      Browning chicken on grill
    • These times are ESTIMATES due to variability in grills and chicken size. So we are cooking some, flipping to get the skin mostly done, flip back to skin up to finish.
    • If one of the internal temperatures is not high enough, turn off part of the grill and rotate to cook that area over the active heat until it catches up then continue with the sauce.
    • If doing BBQ, give the chicken a good brushing of BBQ sauce of your choice. Now finish grilling another 3-4 minutes until the sauce is browning well, and the temperature is 165°, and the thighs should be about 180°-185°.
      BBQ Butterflied Chicken on white plate
    • Let sit for 5 minutes then cut and serve.
    See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

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    Recipe Notes

     

    Pro Tips

    1. Remember times are estimates, please cook to a final temperature and NEVER by time only.
    2. I’m suggesting a 4-5 pound whole chicken to decrease variability some. You can do bigger as long as you watch the endpoints. In addition to the chicken being a variable, the grill's exact temperature, the flow of air, and the radiant heat all affect cooking time.
    3. As always, we are cooking to final results and NEVER BY TIME ALONE. I give times so you have some estimates of how long something will take but in this recipe, you should cook to the final temperatures and the skin results.
    4. I suggest BBQ sauce or the alternative spice rub, but this can be seasoned any way you want.
    5. Preheat grill to a grill surface temperature of 350°-400°.  If you need help with that, please check A Beginners Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas Grill.
    6. If either the breasts or thighs are lagging behind the other, turn off one side and rotate to chicken to help the side that is behind.

    To adjust the recipe size:

    You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

    Nutrition Estimate

    Nutrition Facts
    Grilled Butterflied Chicken AKA Spatchcocked
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 691 Calories from Fat 360
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 40g62%
    Saturated Fat 12g60%
    Polyunsaturated Fat 16g
    Monounsaturated Fat 8g
    Cholesterol 240mg80%
    Sodium 3278mg137%
    Carbohydrates 3g1%
    Sugar 3g3%
    Protein 40g80%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
    Course : Main Course
    Cuisine : American

    © 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.

    Originally Published June 23, 2013. Updated with refreshed photo along with updated options, discussion, and instructions to reflect current technique.

    Jake waiting for chicken

    More Chicken Recipes

    • Grilled Whole Chicken without Spatchcocking
    • Super Moist Grilled Reversed Seared Chicken Breast with Marinade
    • Extra Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Wings
    • Baked Split Chicken Breasts (Bone-in)

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    1. Mike Y.

      September 03, 2016 at 5:39 pm

      This is my third time using your recipe and my wife and I love it. Thanks!

      Reply
    2. Chris

      June 28, 2013 at 1:34 pm

      That is one nice looking bird you've cooked there! Great color.

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell

        June 28, 2013 at 9:55 pm

        It tasted great but the pictures had issues. My DSLR was in for repair and I only had a compact so only a few "OK" photos.

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