What does butterflied mean?
Butterflied describes meat, poultry, or seafood that has been split open and spread flat before cooking. The name comes from the supposed resemblance of the opened piece to a butterfly with its wings outstretched. The technique is beloved by cooks because it serves two practical purposes at once: it dramatically reduces cooking time by thinning the flesh, and it creates a broad, even surface that takes on marinades, rubs, and char beautifully. A butterflied leg of lamb, butterflied chicken, or butterflied shrimp are all familiar sights on grills and in recipes, and the term appears constantly on restaurant menus. As a verb form, it is simply the past tense of "to butterfly," meaning to perform this cut. Though firmly rooted in the kitchen, the word carries no figurative senses and remains a specialist but widely understood culinary term.
(Of meat, poultry, or seafood) split open lengthwise and spread flat, especially for faster, more even cooking.
"Grill the butterflied chicken breast for about six minutes per side."
Used attributively in recipes and menus; almost always followed by the type of food being described.
Past tense and past participle of "butterfly": to have cut food open and flattened it in this way.
"He butterflied the prawns before threading them onto skewers."
Standard inflection of the culinary verb.
A butterflied chicken lies completely flat on the grill — named after the insect because the opened meat supposedly resembles a butterfly with its wings spread.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of butterflied
The word derives from "butterfly," which traces back to Old English "buttorfleoge," literally "butter-fly," though the original motivation for the name is uncertain. The culinary verb "to butterfly" emerged in English in the twentieth century, describing a cut that opens food flat like the insect's spread wings, and "butterflied" arose as its past-tense and adjectival form. It shares its root with other compounds built from "butter" and "fly."
Related word forms
How butterflied is actually used
Almost exclusively used in culinary contexts. Common in recipes and menus, especially for grilling and barbecuing, where flattening speeds cooking and increases surface area for marinades and charring.
Easily confused with butterflied
"Butterflied" is the completed state or past-tense form of the cutting technique, while "butterflying" refers to the ongoing act of performing it.