If you like roast chicken but not a fan of the stuffing or the long cooking time, then you need to try butterflied chicken! It's a quicker and easier alternative, and can be cooked in the oven, air fryer or BBQ making it a perfect recipe all year round.
I'm a very impatient cook and like a well-balanced chicken without any dry or parts that lack flavour. So for me, a butterflied chicken is a win/win.
I will run you through how to prepare, grill your butterfly chicken on the weber or BBQ, cook in the oven, or even cook in the air fryer. Whatever your preference is, I have you covered!
Jump to:
Cooking a whole butterflied chicken
- Butterfly the chicken
Use paper towels to pat the chicken try and then turn the chicken so the breast side faces down.
Starting at the tail, take strong chicken scissors or poultry scissors and cut either side of the backbone and remove.
Flip the chicken breast side up, then flatten by pressing the breast bone with the heal of your palm until you heart a snap. - Marinade the chicken
You can use whatever you like to flavour or marinade the butterflied chicken how you wish. My favourites include my Honey and Mustard Dressing Recipe.
- Grill butterflied chicken on the Weber or BBQ
Heat until the internal temperature of the BBQ or Weber is approximately 220C. Spray the grill well with olive oil and place the chicken breast side down on the grates until the marks begin to form (should be within 2-3 minutes). At this time, you can then move the chicken so the legs face a different direction (this will give you the criss-cross pattern on the butterflied chicken).
Remove from the heat and place in a heat safe pan, dutch oven, or cast-iron pan or post. Place on the grill (or if you have an oven safe grate on your BBQ, place it on this so the heat circulates more evenly. Close the lid and cook for approximately 30minutes @180C or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 74C. You can check this by using a meat thermometer.
You might need to lift the lid occasionally to ensure the BBQ temperature remains around the 180C.
- Cook in the oven
Add the chicken to a baking sheet. Place in a pre-heated oven at 200C for 10 minutes and then lower to 180C for another 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 74C.
- Cook butterflied chicken in the air fryer
You might only be able to do this with smaller chickens, in halves or if you have a really large airfryer. Add the chicken directly into the air fryer (or use a silicone liner). Cook for 10 minutes @180C and then lower for a further 20-30minutes @170C or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 74C.
Meal prep whole chicken
The benefit of cooking a whole chicken is that you will have lots of leftovers for a meal prep. Chicken is also extremely versatile so you can make a whole bunch of different meals from the one chicken if you use a basic marinade.
To keep the meat from drying out, let the chicken rest until it reaches room temperature and then quarter the chicken leaving the bones and skin on. If you want to portion the chicken into smaller pieces, you can, but sometimes it will dry out further as it continues to cook if the chicken isn't completely cooled.
Here are some of my favourite chicken recipes:
Or you can add some sauce to it like my Sweet BBQ Sauce or Honey Mustard Dressing.
Here are some ideas of what to serve with butterflied chicken:
Frequently Asked Questions
This will depend on the size of the chicken. As a rule of thumb, the chicken is cooked when the juices run clear and the internal temperature reaches 74C (165F).
A meat thermometer is a fantastic investment to make sure your meat is the right temperature each and every time. Since getting one, I no longer have dry chicken because I'm worried it's not cooked all the way through.
This depends. If you have a big enough air fryer or your chicken is relatively small you can cook an entire butterflied chicken in it. I have a regular sized air fryer and mine will fit an entire chicken (without it being butterflied). When I butterfly the chicken, I tend to use the oven or BBQ as I can cook it flattened out in the butterfly.
If you want to cook it in the air fryer, you could cut the butterflied chicken in half and cook half at a time.
Heat your BBQ or Weber until the internal temperature reaches approximately 220C. Give the grill a generous coating of olive oil, then position the chicken breast side down on the grates. Wait for grill marks to develop, which should happen within 2-3 minutes. Once the marks appear, reposition the chicken so that the legs face a different direction to create that appealing criss-cross pattern on the butterflied chicken.
Take the chicken off the heat and transfer it to a heat-resistant pan, dutch-oven, cast-iron pan, or suitable heat-safe container. If your BBQ has an oven-safe grate, utilize it to ensure even heat distribution. Close the lid and cook for around 30 minutes at 180C or until the chicken's internal temperature reaches 74C. Occasionally, lift the lid to monitor and maintain the BBQ temperature at around 180C.
Begin by patting the chicken dry using paper towels. After drying, turn the chicken so that the breast side is facing downwards.
Starting at the tail end, take a pair of sturdy kitchen scissors or poultry shears, and carefully cut along both sides of the backbone, removing it in the process.
Next, flip the chicken over so that the breast side is facing upwards. To flatten the chicken, gently press down on the breastbone using the heel of your palm until you hear a satisfying snap. This will help the chicken cook more evenly and create a butterfly shape.
Chicken is cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 74C (165F). This temperature ensures that the chicken is fully cooked and safe to eat. It's essential to use a meat thermometer to accurately measure the internal temperature of the chicken to ensure it has reached this safe level.
I'd love to hear from you! Sign up for my email list and follow along on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube or Pinterest. If you loved my recipe, please consider leaving a star rating and comment down below.
Recipe
Grilled Butterflied Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg whole free-range chicken
Instructions
Butterfly the chicken
- Use paper towels to pat the chicken try and then turn the chicken so the breast side faces down.
- Starting at the tail, take strong kitchen scissors or poultry scissors and cut either side of the backbone and remove.
- Flip the chicken breast side up, then flatten by pressing the breast bone with the heal of your palm until you heart a snap.
Marinade the chicken
- You can use whatever you like to flavour or marinade the butterflied chicken how you wish. My favourites include my Honey and Mustard Dressing Recipe.
Grill butterflied chicken on the Weber or BBQ
- Heat until the internal temperature of the BBQ or Weber is approximately 220C (430F). Spray the grill well with olive oil and place the chicken breast side down on the grates until the marks begin to form (should be within 2-3 minutes). At this time, you can then move the chicken so the legs face a different direction (this will give you the criss-cross pattern on the butterflied chicken).
- Remove from the heat and place in a heat safe pan, dutch oven or cast-iron pan or pot. Place on the grill (or if you have an oven safe grate on your BBQ, place it on this so the heat circulates more evenly. Close the lid and cook for approximately 30minutes @180C (350F) or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 74C (165F). You might need to lift the lid occasionally to ensure the BBQ temperature remains around the 180C (350F).
Cook butterflied chicken in the oven
- Add the chicken to a heat safe pan, dutch oven or cast-iron pan or pot. Place in a pre-heated oven at 200C (390F) for 10 minutes and then lower to 180C (350F) for another 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 74C (165F).
Cook butterflied chicken in the air fryer
- You might only be able to do this with smaller chickens, in halves or if you have a really large air fryer. Add the chicken directly into the air fryer (or use a silicone liner). Cook for 10 minutes @180C (350F) and then lower for a further 20-30minutes @170C (335F) or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 74C (165F).
Leave a Reply