Teriyaki Chicken Recipe (Butterflied, Glazed & Baked)
If you like sweet, spicy, orange, garlic, ginger and soy flavors, you will love this glazed butterflied teriyaki chicken recipe. It makes a lovely weekend or holiday dinner.
If butterflying a chicken sounds a little intimidating, you will be surprised at how easy it is. Or use one of our shortcuts if you prefer.
What to expect
A butterflied chicken ā also called spatchcocked chicken or flattened chicken ā is a whole chicken with its backbone removed, opened like a book and flattened out. The big advantages compared to roasting a whole chicken are:
- more even cooking
- 30-40% less cooking time
- much easier to cut after cooking
The easy homemade teriyaki sauce gives it the perfect balance of sweet and savory, with a slight kick of heat and hints of orange. The recipe uses simple ingredients and makes plenty extra for drizzling on the chicken or sides.
Ingredients – tailored to your taste
Chicken: I love to use kosher chicken which is already brined. It’s more flavorful and juicy, especially with the added marinade. But any roasting chicken will do fine. Buy a flattened chicken if you don’t want to butterfly it yourself. Variation: Use your favorite chicken pieces instead – thighs, breasts, wings.
Teriyaki glaze: We’re using an orange teriyaki glaze made with ginger, garlic, orange, soy sauce, brown sugar, sriracha, honey and cornstarch (to thicken it). Variations and substitutes:
- Replace the orange juice with pineapple juice if you’re not an orange fan.
- Skip the orange zest if you don’t want the orange flavor as intense.
- Substitute honey or maple syrup for the brown sugar.
Step by step instructions
Shortcuts
- For the chicken: Instead of butterflying the chicken yourself, buy a flattened chicken, now available in most supermarkets (it may cost a bit more). Or ask the butcher to butterfly it for you. Alternatively, you can use bone-in thighs, breasts, and wings.
- For the marinade/glaze: The marinating deepens the flavors, but if youāre short on time, just skip it. Or, a trick I often use is marinating the chicken at room temperature for 30-45 minutes. And, yes, you can opt for a teriyaki store-bought sauce – but it’s not as good in my humble opinion š
- For the aromatics: Instead of mincing garlic and grating fresh ginger, you can use frozen cubes or buy them in jars. You can even use 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder for the two teaspoons minced garlic.
What to serve with chicken teriyaki
Butterflied teriyaki chicken is delicious with roasted root vegetables, a side of white rice, brown rice, or cauliflower rice (a lighter option).
I like to add some greens such as roasted bok choy and broccoli, microwave green beans, simple roasted brussels sprouts, or creamed spinach.
Try a citrus salad with greens for a nice side salad or a 5-minute spicy Asian coleslaw.
More spatchcock chicken recipes
Please leave a 5 star rating ***** with a comment in the recipe card below if you like the recipe, Thanks so much!
Teriyaki Chicken Recipe (Glazed & Baked)
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken 3-4 lbs, spatchcocked/butterflied/flattened Note 1 & 2
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch (added to marinade later to thicken the sauce)
- Optional garnish: chopped parsley, green onion, sesame seeds, pea shoots, grated orange zest
Teriyaki Marinade, Note 3
- 1/3 cup soy sauce low sodium is fine
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 2 oranges – for 1/2 cup/118 ml juice and 2 teaspoons zest (divided), Note 4 1 tsp zest for marinade; reserve other tsp for garnish
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, Note 5
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sriracha hot sauce (for mild spice) (or a pinch of red pepper flakes)
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- HEAT OVEN TO 400F/204C. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with olive oil or other cooking spray (for easy cleanup).
- MARINATE CHICKEN: Place all marinade sauce ingredients (except 1 teaspoon of orange zest) in a large ziploc bag and squish to combine. Add spatchcocked chicken, seal bag and massage to coat well. Marinate for 4-6 hours or overnight in fridge or, quicker, at room temperature for 30-45 minutes. If you don't have time, skip the marinating.
- ROAST CHICKEN: Remove chicken from marinade, pat dry with paper towels and place on roasting pan. Pour marinade from bag into a small saucepan and set aside. Lightly sprinkle the chicken with salt. Roast chicken in preheated oven, skin side up, for 30-40 minutes, depending on size of chicken. Internal temperature on an instant-read thermometer should read 150F/66C in thickest part of breast meat. You will finish cooking in broiler. Remove chicken from oven. Pour off grease from pan. (At this point, you can make the glaze and do the final steps just before you're ready to serve.)
- MAKE GLAZE: While chicken is roasting, whisk corn starch into marinade in saucepan. Bring marinade to a boil and boil for 2 minutes until sauce is thickened. Lower heat to medium heat and cook for another 2 minutes. If glaze is too thick, add a bit of water.
- BROIL CHICKEN: Brush some glaze overĀ roasted chicken. Reserve remaining 1/2 cup/118 ml (or more) to pass with the chicken later. Turn oven to Broil. Place oven rack 10-12 inches from broiler (top of the oven). Return glazed chicken to oven. Broil for 4-6 minutes until browned on top (be careful not to let it burn). Chicken should read 155F/68C in the breast or 165F/74C in the thigh with instant thermometer when done.
- CUT AND SERVE: Transfer chicken to cutting board. Brush with more glaze. Let chicken rest 5-7 minutes. Cut into quarters or eighths. Garnish with remaining orange zest if desired and other optional garnishes before serving. Drizzle on remaining sauce or pass it on the side. Serve from cutting board or move to a platter.
Recipe Notes
- To spatchcock/butterfly/flatten a chicken: Turn chicken breast side down. Use kitchen shears or a sharp knife to remove the backbone by cutting along one side of the backbone, then the other side. Turn chicken breast-side up and using the palm of your hand press down firmly on the top of the breastbone to flatten so that the chicken lies flat with breasts and legs all on one level. Discard backbone or use to make soup/broth. Here’s a video on how to spatchcock a chicken. Shortcut: Buy a chicken already flattened or ask the butcher to do it.Ā Ā
- Buy a kosher chicken if you can as it is already brined (more flavorful and juicy), but any roasting chicken will do fine.Ā
- Teriyaki sauce shortcut: If you’re too lazy to make your own teriyaki sauce, use a store-bought teriyaki sauce!Ā
- Orange juice substitute: use pineapple or apple juice. Skip the zest.
- Brown sugar substitute: You can use 6 tbsp honey or maple syrup instead.
- Make ahead:
- The chicken can be prepared and marinated a day ahead.
- You can also roast the chicken an hour ahead and cover it with foil to keep warm. Then just before serving, brush on the teriyaki glaze and broil for a few minutes.Ā
- Store leftover chicken for 2-3 days or freeze it for 2-3 months in an airtight container or sealed bag (try to get as much air out as possible). Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat on medium in the microwave or in a medium-hot oven.Ā
Bloody great chicken full of flavour ??
Glad you liked it Brett!! š
This is the only way I cook whole chickens or turkeys now! Iāve always just roasted them but Iām going to try this recipe now!
We would love to know how you like it when you make it Raegan. You can also try our Lemon and Herb Chicken (with a cool technique) or cedar plank chicken, both of which also use flattened chickens.
I cooked this at 300 for an hour and then 350 for 20 minutes then basted again and broiled. It was so juicy and flavorful.
Glad you like it Sarah! Thanks so much for rating the recipe and leaving a comment.