If butter makes everything better, logic follows that twice the butter makes a recipe twice as better. And I’m here to tell you that this butter stuffed chicken, with two preparations of butter and slathered in both Cowboy Butter and Cowboy Candy Seasoning, delivers. Like a full 10 out of 10 on the freakin’ delicious chicken dish scale.
I based this butter stuffed chicken on the viral butter stuffed turkey from Benjamin Kendrick. His turkey preparations are absolutely off the charts! Plus, using chicken in the recipe makes the whole scale of the original recipe a little more manageable. I love smoking a monster bird, but I also love a chicken recipe that you can make for a smaller crowd or a weeknight meal. With simple ingredients and easy prep, you’ve got your chicken dinner for tonight.
Why You’ll Love Butter Stuffed Chicken
Double the spices and butter, double the fun. We’ll use both melted and unmelted butter in this recipe, with the melted butter injected into the chicken itself and the unmelted butter stuffed under the skin. Everything just tastes better when it’s oozing with butter.
You can even make some unique butters for stuffing the chicken. Think garlic for a garlic butter stuffed chicken, or sauteeing up some mushrooms and topping with melted Swiss for a cheesy garlic butter mushroom stuffed chicken. You could also add herbs like parsley or cilantro, or spices like coriander, cumin, chili powder and more. I bet a jalapeño-lime butter stuffed chicken would be so freakin’ delicious. Whatever you want to put into a compound butter recipe, you can try out here!
My two cowboy rubs complement the preparation of this dish well, since Cowboy Butter is based on, well, a butter recipe, and Cowboy Candy has molasses and caramelized sugar to create a killer crust while the chicken smokes on the grill. The Cowboy Candy rub has fresh ground paprika, onion, garlic and mustard, so you could always consider those flavors when you’re mixing up your own creative butters.
Not enough butter for you? Check out my recipes for Butter Steak, Garlic Butter Burger, Cowboy Butter Arayes and The Best Butter Recipes.
Butter Stuffed Chicken Ingredients
- Chicken: We’re going to spatchcock the chicken, then slather with Cowboy Butter Seasoning and Cowboy Candy Seasoning. You’ll also need four sticks of butter for the recipe.
Why Spatchcock a Chicken?
There are a few reasons why we’re spatchcocking the butter stuffed chicken rather than cooking the bird whole:
- Faster, more even cooking: By spatchcocking the chicken, we’re cutting our cooking times way down. We’re talking in the 30-45 minute range. Also, when the chicken lays flat, the breast and thighs cook at a more uniform rate.
- Maximum butter: Laying the chicken flat creates more surface area under the skin for stuffing with butter.
- The crispiest skin: Since the entire chicken is exposed to direct heat rather than having the bottom sitting in a roasting pan, you get crispy, golden brown skin on all sides.
Bring the Flavor Home
How to Make Butter Stuffed Chicken
Spatchcocking the Chicken
Begin by flipping the chicken over so that the backbone is facing you. Starting at the top near the neck, carefully cut one side of the backbone out while not harming the breast on the other side.
Once you’ve freed one side, begin slicing the opposite side of the backbone out until it is completely free. Set the backbone aside to use for stock later.
Flip the chicken over and spread out so that it starts to lay flat. Press firmly down on the chicken breast until you feel a snap. The chicken should lay completely flat — that’s your spatchcocked chicken.
Stuffing the Chicken
Once you’ve spatchcocked the chicken, lay the chicken bone side down and begin to carefully separate the skin from the meat on the breast and thighs.
Insert one stick of butter under the skin of each breast. Then, using a food safe syringe, inject the chicken all over with your two sticks of melted butter. You want this bird oozing with butter. To finish our prep, season generously with both my Cowboy Butter and Cowboy Candy Seasoning all over the skin.
Smoking the Butter Stuffed Chicken
Preheat your smoker to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Place chicken on the smoker to cook until the internal temperature in the breast and thighs reaches 165 degrees F.
Pull off and let cool for 10 minutes. Then, slice, serve and enjoy!
What to Serve with Butter Stuffed Chicken
This butter stuffed chicken would be so freakin’ delicious with some roasted or mashed potatoes and a simple green salad or grilled asparagus. You could also serve the dish with lemon wedges on the side, since the lemon juice will be great to brighten up all the flavors.
Leftovers and Reheating
If you’ve got leftover butter stuffed chicken, store your cooked chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. You can reheat gently in a large skillet on your grill on medium-low heat, or on the stovetop.
For More Chicken
FAQs
If you’re in a pinch and don’t feel like spatchcocking, you can definitely go this route. Just keep in mind that the time and mess you don’t have to deal with at the beginning will be there at the end, since a whole chicken will take longer to cook and you will have to do a little more carving work.
It’s totally normal for some butter to leak out! And it’s actually OK, since it’ll baste the chicken and create juicy chicken breasts, tender dark meat and crispy skin.
For sure! You can get the spatchcocking process and the butter stuffing out of the way a day before you plan to cook. Refrigerate your chicken on a wire rack set inside a baking sheet (for good air circulation) until you’re ready to smoke your butter stuffed chicken.
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Butter Stuffed Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 1 Spatchcocked Chicken
- ¼ cup Cowboy Butter Rub
- ¼ cup Cowboy Candy Rub
- 2 sticks of Butter melted
- 2 sticks of Butter unmelted
Instructions
Spatchcock Chicken:
- Begin by flipping the chicken over so that the backbone is facing you. Starting at the top near the neck, carefully cut one side of the backbone out while not harming the breast on the other side.
- Once one side is free, begin slicing the opposite side of the backbone out until it is completely free. Set the backbone aside to use for stock later.
- Flip the chicken over and spread out so that it starts to lay flat. Press firmly down on the chicken breast until you feel a snap. The chicken should lay completely flat and be spatchcocked.
Stuffing & Smoking:
- Once spatchcocked, lay the chicken bone side down and begin to carefully separate the skin from the meat on the breast and thighs.
- Insert one stick of butter under the skin of each breast, then using a food safe syringe, inject the chicken all over with the melted butter. It should be oozing with butter…
- Season generously with both my Cowboy Butter and Cowboy Candy rubs all over the skin.
- Preheat your smoker to 300F. Place the chicken on to cook until 165F internal in the breast and thighs.
- Pull off and let cool for 10 minutes, then slice, serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Faster, more even cooking: By spatchcocking the chicken, we’re cutting our cooking times way down. We’re talking in the 30-45 minute range. Also, when the chicken lays flat, the breast and thighs cook at a more uniform rate.
- Maximum butter: Laying the chicken flat creates more surface area under the skin for stuffing with butter.
- The crispiest skin: Since the entire chicken is exposed to direct heat rather than having the bottom sitting in a roasting pan, you get crispy, golden brown skin on all sides.
The best of all
Great illustration and detailed directions