Teriyaki Roast Chicken Recipe (Butterflied & Glazed)
If you like sweet, spicy, orange, garlic, ginger and soy flavors, you will love this glazed and butterflied teriyaki roast 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 – also called spatchcocked chicken or flattened chicken – 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: Any roasting chicken will work well. Buy an unseasoned flattened chicken if you don’t want to butterfly it yourself. I love to use kosher chicken, which is already brined. It’s more flavorful and juicy, especially with the added marinade.
- 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).
Substitutions
- Replace the orange juice with pineapple juice if you’re not an orange fan.
- Substitute honey or maple syrup for the brown sugar.
Variations
- Use your favorite chicken pieces instead – thighs, breasts, wings.
- Skip the orange zest if you don’t want the orange flavor as intense.
- Skip the sriracha if you don’t want any heat.
Step by step instructions
Tips
- Pat the chicken dry before it goes in the oven. Wiping off the marinade and excess moisture helps the skin crisp properly and gives the glaze something to cling to and caramelize under the broiler.
- Watch it closely during the broil step. The sugar in the glaze browns fast – usually within 4-6 minutes (or even faster if your oven rack is in a higher position). It can go from perfectly caramelized to burnt quickly.
- Go by temperature, not the clock. Chicken size varies, so it’s best to use a meat thermometer. Remove the chicken at 150F/66C before broiling, then look for 155F/68C in the breast and 165F/74C in the thigh once it’s done.
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: If you’re short on time, skip the marinating. 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 🙂
- 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 of garlic powder in place of 2 teaspoons of minced garlic.
What to serve with chicken teriyaki
Starch sides: Butterflied teriyaki chicken is delicious with roasted root vegetables, a side of white rice, brown rice, or cauliflower rice (a lighter option).
Add some greens: roasted bok choy and broccoli, microwave green beans, simple roasted Brussels sprouts, or creamed spinach.
Salad options: citrus salad with greens or a 5-minute spicy Asian coleslaw.
Recipe FAQs
Butterflying – also called spatchcocking or flattening – means removing the backbone so the chicken opens up flat like a book. It cooks faster and more evenly than a whole roast, and it’s much easier to carve once it’s done. If you’d rather skip the prep, most supermarkets now sell chicken already butterflied, or ask your butcher to do it for you.
Yes — this teriyaki marinade is one option, but any citrus- or soy-based marinade works well here since the flattened shape absorbs flavor faster than a whole chicken does. For best flavor, marinate 4-6 hours or overnight in the fridge. Short on time? Even 30-45 minutes at room temperature can still make a difference – or skip it altogether if you have to.
The broil step is what caramelizes the glaze and gives it that glossy, slightly charred finish, so I wouldn’t skip it. If your oven’s broiler isn’t reliable, roast a few extra minutes at a higher temperature (425°F) to help the glaze set, though the color won’t be quite the same.
More spatchcock chicken recipes
If you make this recipe, let us know how it went! A rating & comment below mean a lot to us.
Teriyaki Roast Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken 3-4 lbs, spatchcocked/butterflied/flattened Note 1 & 2
- 2 tablespoons 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
- ⅓ cup soy sauce low sodium is fine
- ½ 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
- ½ cup brown sugar, Note 5
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 ½ 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 over 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.
- Buy a kosher chicken if you can as it is already brined (more flavorful and juicy), but any roasting chicken will do fine.
- Teriyaki sauce shortcut: If you’re too lazy to make your own teriyaki sauce, use a store-bought teriyaki sauce!
- 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.
- 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.
From Sydney. Not bad, just lacking in flavour. Next time less water more soy. Used apple juice as allergic to orange. Cooking times etc ok.
Website frustrating, keeps reverting to original in spite of setting number of serves slider to 3.
Will tinker with quantities. We shall see.
Thanks very much for bringing the serving slider to our attention. I thought I had disabled it. It’s a great tool in theory, but some ingredients don’t scale well (or at all), so it doesn’t work well. I just turned it off.
As for the flavour, the orange juice and zest definitely add intensity, which you weren’t able to use with the mild apple juice. You might want to try pineapple juice instead of apple juice, as it has more acidity, or try reducing the water a little as you suggested. Instead of adding more soy, you might try adding a couple of teaspoons of rice vinegar to brighten the sauce. Let us know how it works out next time with your tinkering.
Bloody great chicken full of flavour ??
Glad you liked it Brett!! 🙂
This is the only way I cook whole chickens or turkeys now! I’ve always just roasted them but I’m 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.