Nicholas Gavin is the Culinary Creative Director of ChefSteps, where he develops recipes and is responsible for making all the food look beautiful. Nick has worked at ChefSteps for over a decade; he and ChefSteps co-founder Grant Crilly worked together at Modernist Cuisine. Nick has worked in professional kitchens both in the United States and abroad, most notably at Mugaritz in San Sebastian, Spain.

Nicholas Gavin

Kyl Haselbauer has 20 years of experience working in fine-dining and modernist kitchens, including Bar Cotto and Anchovies &amp; Olives in Seattle. He is also the owner of Bright Spot, a café and coffee shop in Seattle.

Kyl Haselbauer

3-quart Saucepan

9-inch by 13-inch Baking dish

Breville Joule® Oven Air Fryer Pro

1/2 Sheet pan(s)

Pastry brush

Digital instant-read thermometer

Soy sauce

Mirin

Water

Sugar

Fresh ginger root

Garlic clove(s)

Chicken

Rice wine vinegar

Kosher salt

White pepper

Mayonnaise

Iceberg lettuce

White rice

In a 3-quart saucepan, combine soy sauce, 125 g mirin, water, 100 g sugar, ginger, and garlic, and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally to ensure sugar is fully dissolved. Remove from heat.

Transfer teriyaki sauce to a 13- by 9-inch baking dish and refrigerate, uncovered, until marinade is cooled to at least room temperature, about 20 minutes. Set saucepan aside (no need to clean it).

Start teriyaki sauce

Using a sharp knife, make incisions along each side of wishbone. Using your fingers, pry wishbone from chicken; discard wishbone. Remove any fat deposits within cavity. Tuck wing tips behind wing joints.

Place chicken breast–side down on a cutting board. Using kitchen shears, cut through thigh and wing joints on either side of the spine; remove spine and discard or reserve for <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/pressure-cooked-brown-chicken-stock">stock</a>.

Press down on chicken breast to flatten the bird. Using a sharp knife, cut away rib bones. Using tip of your knife, cut flesh away from breastbone and remove bone; discard or reserve for stock. Using tip of your knife, make incisions on either side of drumsticks and thigh bones to expose bones, then make light incisions on exposed underside of breasts.

Flip chicken breast–side up. Score skin at 1/2-inch intervals.

Spatchcock chicken

Transfer chicken, skin-side down, to baking dish with teriyaki sauce. Spoon marinade over chicken to evenly coat. Transfer chicken to refrigerator and marinate chicken for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours, flipping chicken skin-side up halfway through.

Marinate chicken

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to [f 375] if using a conventional oven, or [f 350] with fan on high if using a convection oven.

Wrap baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and transfer to oven.

Cook until skin tightens up slightly and thickest part of breast registers [f 145] on an instant-read thermometer and thighs register [f 160], 50 minutes to 1 hour.

Remove from oven. Increase oven temperature to [f 475] if using a conventional oven, or [f 450] with fan on high if using a convection oven.

Roast chicken

Carefully transfer chicken, skin-side up, to a 1/2 sheet pan. Transfer sauce back to 3-quart saucepan, and return chicken, skin-side up, to baking dish.

Return saucepan to stovetop and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is reduced to about 300 g (1 cup) and coats the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Reduce sauce to a glaze

Using a pastry brush, brush surface of chicken with reduced glaze. Return to oven and cook until surface of chicken appears dry, about 2 minutes.

Remove from oven, brush chicken again with glaze, and cook until surface of chicken once again appears dry, about 2 minutes.

Remove from oven, brush chicken one last time with glaze (reserve leftover glaze for serving), rotate pan 180 degrees and continue to cook until skin is lightly charred in spots, and thickest part of breast registers [f 155] and legs register [f 165] on an instant-read thermometer, 2 to 5 minutes longer (6 to 11 minutes total roasting time).

If you want an extra charred glaze, after the final roasting step remove chicken from oven, adjust oven rack to upper middle position, and switch oven to broil mode on high. Broil chicken until glaze is well charred in spots, 1 to 2 minutes.

Remove chicken from oven and let rest in baking dish for 10 minutes.

Glaze and char chicken

While chicken is resting, in a small bowl whisk together vinegar, remaining 20 g mirin, remaining 20 g sugar, salt, and white pepper until sugar is fully dissolved. Add mayonnaise and whisk until well combined. Taste and season with additional salt if needed.

Make salad dressing

Season wedges of iceberg lettuce lightly with salt and white pepper and transfer to a serving platter. Dress each wedge generously with prepared dressing (about 2 tablespoons per wedge).

Transfer rested chicken to cutting board and carve into serving pieces. Transfer to platter and serve immediately with white rice, iceberg salad, and reserved teriyaki glaze.

Carve and serve

Step 1: Start teriyaki sauce
In a 3-quart saucepan, combine soy sauce, 125 g mirin, water, 100 g sugar, ginger, and garlic, and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes.

Transfer teriyaki sauce to a 13- by 9-inch baking dish; set saucepan aside (no need to clean it).

Step 2: Spatchcock chicken
Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to [f 375] if using a conventional oven, or [f 350] with fan on high if using a convection oven.

Place chicken breast–side down on a cutting board. Using kitchen shears, cut through thigh and wing joints on either side of the spine; remove spine and discard or reserve for stock.

Press down on chicken breast to flatten the bird. Using a sharp knife, cut away rib bones. Using tip of your knife, cut flesh away from breastbone and remove it; discard or reserve for stock. Using tip of your knife, make incisions on either side of drumsticks and thigh bones to expose bones, then make light incisions on exposed underside of breasts.

Flip chicken breast–side up. Using tip of your knife, score skin at 1/4-inch intervals.

Step 3: Par-cook chicken
Transfer chicken, skin-side down, to baking dish with teriyaki sauce. Spoon teriyaki sauce over flesh. Wrap baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and transfer to oven.

Cook until skin tightens up slightly and takes on a caramel color from the sauce, about 25 minutes.

Remove from oven. Increase oven temperature to [f 425] if using a conventional oven, or [f 400] with fan on high if using a convection oven.

Step 4: Strain sauce and flip chicken
Carefully transfer chicken, skin-side up, to a 1/2 sheet pan.

Strain teriyaki sauce through a fine-mesh strainer into the reserved, now-empty saucepan; discard solids.

Transfer chicken, skin-side up, back to baking dish, and tuck wing tips under the breast. Set aside.

Step 5: Reduce sauce to a glaze
Return saucepan to stovetop and bring sauce to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is reduced to about 300 g (1 cup) and coats the back of a cold spoon, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Step 6: Glaze and roast chicken
Using a pastry brush, brush surface of chicken with reduced glaze. Transfer chicken to oven and cook until surface of chicken appears dry, about 5 minutes.

Remove from oven, brush chicken again with glaze, and continue to cook until surface of chicken once again appears dry, about 5 minutes longer.

Remove from oven, brush chicken one last time with glaze (reserve leftover glaze for serving), and continue to cook until skin is burnished and lightly charred in spots and thickest part of breast registers [f 155] and legs register [f 165] on an instant-read thermometer, 5 to 10 minutes longer (15 to 20 minutes total roasting time).

If you want an extra charred glaze, after the final roasting step remove chicken from oven, adjust oven rack to upper middle position, and switch oven to broil mode on high. Broil chicken until glaze is well charred in spots, 1 to 2 minutes.

Remove chicken from oven and let rest in baking dish for 10 minutes.

Step 7: Make dressing
While chicken is resting, in a small bowl whisk together vinegar, remaining 20 g mirin, remaining 20 g sugar, salt, and white pepper until sugar is fully dissolved. Add mayonnaise and whisk until well combined. Taste and season with additional salt if needed.

Step 8: Carve and serve
Season wedges of iceberg lettuce lightly with salt and white pepper and transfer to a serving platter. Dress each wedge generously with prepared dressing (about 2 tablespoons per wedge).

Once chicken has rested, transfer to cutting board and carve into serving pieces. Transfer to platter and serve immediately with white rice, iceberg salad, and reserved teriyaki glaze.

The original recipe

Chicken is best enjoyed immediately, but leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Teriyaki sauce can be made in advance and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Salad dressing can be made in advance and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Make-ahead and storage

Move over <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/air-fried-teriyaki-wings">air-fried teriyaki chicken wings</a>, it’s whole roasted teriyaki chicken’s time to shine! The problem with a lot of teriyaki chicken out there is that it’s grilled hard to get the char, which often results in dry, stringy meat. Our goal with this recipe for a whole bird was to pair the best part of the teriyaki eating experience—the sauce!—with succulent, nicely cooked meat. A two-step braise-and-roast process (borrowed from our teriyaki wings) is the key. The chicken is thoroughly seasoned by the brief braise, even as the tough connective tissue in the bird starts to convert to gelatin, thanks to the wet cooking environment. And as that happens, gelatin dissolves in the sauce, making it more viscous, stickier, and more delicious once you reduce it to a glaze. Brush the glaze over the bird and finish it in a ripping hot oven to give it that signature char without hammering the meat. Serve it up with steamed rice, iceberg wedges dressed with a bright and creamy dressing, and you’ve got an improved, at-home version of one of Seattle’s iconic dishes. EDITORS’ NOTE: We’ve updated this recipe to add a marination step for more deeply flavored chicken; we increased the oven temperature for the charring step and adjusted the cooking times accordingly. If you prefer to use the original recipe, we’ve included it as a tip at the end of the recipe before the make-ahead and storage instructions.

Teriyaki Roast Chicken