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    Home » Recipes by Type » Grilling

    Grilled Butterflied Chicken with Garlic Butter

    Published: May 9, 2013 · Modified: Feb 28, 2017 by Mike Vrobel · This post may contain affiliate links · 8 Comments

    Grilled Butterflied Chicken with Garlic Butter
    Grilled Butterflied Chicken with Garlic Butter

    How do I grill a chicken if I don’t have a rotisserie?

    Friends and family ask me this all the time. They enjoy their grilling, but they’re not fanatics like me. They don’t want to spend time futzing around with a rotisserie.

    When I need a quick roast chicken, I butterfly. A few snips with poultry shears and the backbone is out. Then I live out my comic book fantasies, mutter “It’s Clobbering Time” under my breath, and squash the chicken flat.2My little brother was more of a Hulk fan. He says he only quit stomping around the house, growling “Hulk Smash!”, because I sat on him and refused to get up until he stopped. Yes, I was an evil older brother.

    Why butterfly, if I want to save time? Why not just throw the whole chicken on the grill? Because removing the backbone cuts fifteen minutes from the cooking time. A butterflied chicken is opened up to the heat of the grill, which cooks the breast and (more importantly) the thighs quicker.

    I love a straightforward roast chicken; this one is based on a recipe from Julia Child, where she rubs the chicken with butter before roasting it. I add a clove of garlic to the butter because, well, because I love garlic butter.

    Recipe: Grilled Butterflied Chicken with Garlic Butter

    Inspired By: Julia Child, Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home

    Equipment:

    • Grill (I use a Weber Summit. Here is the current version of my grill.)
    • Poultry shears
    • Instant Read Thermometer

     

    Print
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    Grilled Butterflied Chicken with Garlic Butter


    ★★★★★

    5 from 2 reviews

    • Author: Mike Vrobel
    • Total Time: 8 hours 50 minutes
    • Yield: 4-6 1x
    Print Recipe
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    Description

    Grilled Butterflied Chicken with Garlic Butter recipe - tender meat, crispy skin, and a butter baste on the grill.


    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 4-pound chicken
    • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
    • ½ teaspoon fresh ground peppercorn mix (or black pepper)
    • 2 tablespoons butter
    • 1 clove garlic, crushed

    Instructions

    1. Butterfly, salt, and pepper the chicken: Butterfly the chicken: remove the backbone with poultry shears by cutting up one side of the backbone, then down the other side of the backbone. Flip the chicken skin side up, and flatten the breastbone by pressing down hard with the back of your hand. Fold the wing tips back under the wing to lock them in place. Sprinkle the chicken with the salt and pepper, and refrigerate for 8 hours to 24 hours. (If you don't have time to salt early, salt the chicken right before it goes on the grill.)
    2. Set the grill for indirect high heat: Set up the grill to cook on indirect high heat (450°F or higher internal temperature). For my Weber Summit, I preheat the grill with all burners on high for 15 minutes. Then I brush the grates clean, leave burners #1, #2, and #6 on, and turn off the other burners.
    3. Melt the butter, sizzle the garlic: While the grill is heating, microwave the butter and garlic until the butter is melted and you hear the garlic sizzling, about 1 minute.
    4. Grill the chicken over indirect high heat Summary:
    5. Brush the skin side of the chicken with half the garlic butter. Put the chicken on the grill, skin side down, so it is not directly over the fire - we’re cooking with indirect heat. (If your grill setup allows it, place the chicken so the drumsticks are close to the fire, and the breasts farther away.) Brush the fleshy side of the chicken with the other half of the garlic butter, then close the lid. Grill, covered, for 30 minutes. Flip the chicken skin side up and cook, covered, until the chicken reaches 160°F in the thickest part of the breast, about 15 more minutes.
    6. Crisp the skin over direct heat: At this point, you should have nice, crispy skin. If you don’t, move the chicken directly over the fire and sear, turning often, until the skin is crisped up, about 4 minutes. Watch out - dripping chicken fat causes flare-ups, and you don’t want to burn the chicken at the last minute.
    7. Serve: Let the chicken rest for ten minutes, then cut into pieces and serve.

    Notes

    For butterflying instructions, see my How to Butterfly A Chicken video.

    • Prep Time: 8 hours
    • Cook Time: 50 minutes
    • Category: Grilling
    • Cuisine: American

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @DadCooksDinner on Instagram and hashtag it #DadCooksDinner

     

    Butterflied and salted
    Butterflied and salted
    Brushing with garlic butter
    Brushing with garlic butter
    Indirect heat - lit burners are on the right
    Indirect heat - lit burners are on the right
    Cooked through, but not browned enough...
    Cooked through, but not browned enough...
    ...so I move it to the direct heat part of the grill to crisp it up.
    ...so I move it to the direct heat part of the grill to crisp it up.
    Resting...
    Resting...
    ...and cut into pieces.
    ...and cut into pieces.

    Notes

    • Have a charcoal grill? Here’s a similar recipe using my Weber Kettle: Grilled Butterflied Chicken, Dry Brined
    • I suggest pointing the chicken so the legs are towards the heat, so they cook quicker. You want the dark meat to cook more than the breast meat; the legs should register 170°F or higher when the breast reaches 160°F. Butterflying helps cook the dark meat faster by by exposing the thighs to the heat - if you leave the chicken whole, the cavity is shielding the inside of the thighs.
    • Writing the phrase “exposing thighs to the heat” makes me worry I’m going to get blocked by a mature content filter. I’m cooking over here, OK? Over a live fire? Darn…I’m not helping my cause.
    • Save that backbone in the freezer, you’ll want to use it with Homemade Chicken Stock

    What do you think? Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

    Related Posts:

    Grilled Butterflied Chicken with Dry Brine
    Grilled Butterflied Chicken with Thai Marinade

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    Comments

    1. Pierre says

      May 29, 2022 at 1:27 pm

      I made one change. I put a ceramic pizza stone in the middle of my Weber grill and rested the split chicken on the stone. I also remove the breast bone while I butterfly the chicken.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    2. Nick W says

      April 01, 2020 at 8:00 pm

      This was fantastic. Even though my grill wouldn’t maintain over 300F with some burners off.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    3. Goliano says

      June 28, 2015 at 2:28 pm

      Came out great! Thanks.

      Reply
      • Mike V says

        June 28, 2015 at 2:36 pm

        You're welcome! Glad it worked for you.

        Reply
    4. Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says

      May 21, 2013 at 10:30 am

      Thanks, Stephanie. I'll see what I can do about a Pinterest button.

      Reply
    5. Stephanie says

      May 21, 2013 at 4:00 am

      Great recipe, Mike. We made it tonight - added lemon zest and dried oregano to the brine, hard cider and half a lemon to the drip pan. Plus cooked over charcoal with a small chunk of applewood and a small handful of pecan wood chips. Easily the best bird we've eaten in a long time. Thanks for another great recipe!

      On another note - would love to see buttons for Pinterest in your posts. I keep pinning your recipes but they'll get passed around more with your own button. Cheers!

      Reply
    6. Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says

      May 09, 2013 at 1:14 pm

      I know - appetizing, right?

      Reply
    7. Chris Lukowski says

      May 09, 2013 at 12:52 pm

      Way to make that raw butterflied chicken look like a de-tailed Xenomorph face hugger. 😀

      Reply

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