Spatchcock Turkey: The Best Turkey You'll Ever Make
To be honest, every Thanksgiving I end up drowning my turkey in gravy or cranberry sauce as its either dry or lacks flavor. So this year, I set out to make the juiciest and most flavorful turkey that’s not only really easy to make, but takes half the time as a traditional turkey - mission accomplished!
First and foremost, what the heck is a spatchcock turkey?!
Its a turkey that has the backbone taken out and is flattened by breaking the breast bone. Seems intimidating, but actually really easy to do. All you need are some good cooking shears (linked here) and a little effort to break the breast bone (think giving CPR).
I recommend getting a fresh thawed turkey, although if you get a frozen one I found a great template for how many days to defrost by Williams-Sonoma (linked here).
When using a fresh turkey, pick it up two-three days days before Thanksgiving and adding it to a brine on Tuesday morning for 24 hours. You can make your own brine or use this amazing brine that I used from Traeger (linked here). Brining your turkey is an absolute game-changer! It retains so much flavor and won’t dry out as easily if you don’t brine it.
To Brine:
Bring the brine with a quart of water to a boil for 5 minutes, then remove from heat and add a gallon of cold water. Once the water is at room temperature, you can either place your turkey in a brining bag or in a large bowl like I did (make sure to remove the neck, giblets, etc and save for making fresh bone broth). Place the turkey breast side down for 18 hours and then flip to thigh side down for 6 hours.
After 24 hours, remove from the brine - pat dry and place on a baking sheet or in the roasting pan uncovered back in the fridge for up to 24 hours with your seasoning before cooking. This will help get the outside skin crispy while retaining the inside of the turkey juicy when cooking.
How To Spatchcock Your Turkey:
Once the turkey has ready to roll after brining - it’s time to spatchcock your turkey. Using a good pair of cooking shears, cut along both sides of the backbone of the turkey. Once its removed save it for the gravy and/or making fresh bone broth. Then, flip over the turkey so the breast side is up. I recommend either placing the turkey on the ground or on a low table as you’re going to have to put your body weight into breaking the breast bone - especially if its a large turkey. The best analogy here is think that you’re giving CPR but with much more force. Place your hands over one breast bone and put your bodyweight into breaking the bone. Repeat on the other side. Once complete, arrange your turkey on either a roasting pan or baking sheet by tucking the wings underneath with a bed of onions, oranges, carrots, potatoes or anything else your heart desires. I rubbed in olive oil, a maple herb butter (you can just use butter) under and over the skin. Then finished with a little more seasoning and freshly diced rosemary + thyme on top.
How To Cook:
Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees then place your turkey inside the oven on a roasting pan with veggies and fresh herbs for 15 minutes.
Open up the oven and bring the temperature down to 350 degrees and cook for 6-8 minutes per pound.
Place a thermometer in the thickest part of the breast after you’ve cooked it for 6 minutes per pound. You want it to read an internal temperature of 165 degrees. If it does remove from the oven, if not cook an additional minute or two a pound OR until the turkey reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Remove from the oven and let rest uncovered for 45 minutes before carving.
Plate your turkey and enjoy the juiciest turkey you’ll ever have!
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below or DM me @sweatspace on Instagram. I hope you enjoy and be sure to tag me in your creations!
All the Best,
Mike