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For a quicker turkey preparation that’s easy to serve, cook a spatchcock turkey this Thanksgiving! Dry brined and roasted, this turkey couldn’t be easier.
When we first started hosting our own Thanksgivings, cooking a turkey sounded like the most daunting part of the whole process. Thankfully, after years of making turkey at home, we’ve now got a few methods for serving up the showcase bird, and spatchcocking might be my favorite.
When you spatchcock a turkey (or a chicken), you remove the backbone and flatten it, so the bird can cook much quicker and more evenly. And when you’ve got a dozen guests and eight other dishes to make, time is of the essence!
With this method, even a 16-pound turkey cooks in just 90 minutes. For an evenly cooked bird with juicy, flavorful meat and crispy skin, you’ve got to give this method a try!
Ingredients for spatchcock turkey
Full list of ingredients including quantities is located in the recipe card.
You’ll need:
Whole turkey – You’ll need a whole, thawed turkey for this recipe. Depending on the size of your turkey, it will need at least a few days to thaw, so plan ahead!
Kosher salt – For dry brining the turkey, use kosher salt. Brining is an important step to lock in the juices. No one wants a dry turkey! Note that kosher salt is larger in size than table salt or fine sea salt.
Veggies – Vegetables are roasted right under the turkey to add flavor to the drippings for your gravy.
Butter – Since we’ve already brined the turkey, use unsalted butter for the rub on the outside of the turkey.
Lemon – Citrus adds brightness to any poultry dish.
Herbs –ย This recipe uses a mix of rosemary, sage, and thyme. These are often sold pre-bundled in stores as “poultry herb mix.”ย
Thawing your turkey
Because whole turkeys are generally quite large, they take a long time to thaw. The safest way to thaw your turkey is in the refrigerator, which means it might take even longer than you expect!
Plan ahead for thawing your turkey, making sure there is room in your fridge. You should allow for 1 day of thawing for every 4-5 pounds of turkey. That means a 12-pound turkey will take (at minimum) 3 days to thaw.
Set your turkey in a roasting pan or baking dish before placing in the fridge. This will prevent any juices from getting all over your fridge and other food!
How to make this recipe
After you’ve ensured your turkey is completely thawed, remove the giblets from the cavity (they are usually packaged in a bag). The giblets can be discarded or used to make gravy or stuffing.
Pat the turkey dry all over with paper towels, then place it on a large cutting board breast-side down.
Feel for the backbone, and using a pair of sharp kitchen shears, cut down along one side, then the other, to remove the backbone. Save to make turkey stock or gravy, if you like.
Turn the turkey over so the breast is now facing up. Lay your hands over each other and press down hard on the middle of the turkey until it rests flat on the board. You might need some assistance if your turkey is a bit stubborn!
Set a wire rack into a rimmed baking sheet and place the turkey on top. Rub kosher salt liberally all over the turkey, including under the skin, if you like. This is called a dry brine.
Place the turkey in the refrigerator and let rest overnight, or about 1 hour per pound of turkey. (It’s OK if it goes a bit longer, but try to not go longer than 24 hours.)
After brining, let the turkey come to room temperature for about 1 hour on a cutting board.
While the turkey rests, clean the baking sheet and wire rack, and prep your veggies. Place the chopped veggies onto the baking sheet, then set the wire rack on top. Preheat the oven to 400ยฐF.
In a bowl, combine the softened butter, lemon zest, and chopped herbs with a pinch of salt. Mix until herbs are evenly distributed in the butter.
Pat the turkey dry with paper towels, then rub the turkey all over with the herb butter, making sure to get some in underneath the skin. Season with fine sea salt and black pepper.
Place the turkey into the oven and roast until the thigh meat reaches 165ยฐF on an instant-read thermometer. This will take approximately 80-100 minutes, depending on the size of your turkey. For our 16-pound turkey, it took 90 minutes.
Remove the turkey from the oven and tent with foil. Let it rest for 30 minutes before carving and serving. This allows the juices to settle and redistribute through the turkey.
Recipe tips
If your turkey skin is darkening too quickly, you can either tent the area with foil, or reduce the oven by 25 to 50 degrees. Keep in mind that reducing the temperature will increase the cook time.
You will need about 2 teaspoons of kosher salt for each pound of turkey, for your dry brine. Different brands of kosher salt are slightly different in size โ Diamond Crystal kosher salt is larger than Morton kosher salt โ so keep this in mind when measuring.
Serve the roasted veggies as a side dish or save for later to add to turkey stock. Strain out the drippings to use for homemade gravy.ย
An instant-read thermometer is essential when it comes to roasting large meats like this. If yours has a long cord that allows you to monitor the turkey outside of the oven, even better! The breast should reach 150ยฐF while the thigh needs to reach 165ยฐF. Remember that the turkey will continue to cook on the inside after removing it from the oven.
For any leftovers, be sure to use them within 3 days. I recommend freezing any leftover meat you know you will not eat immediately. The bones can also be frozen until you are ready to make homemade stock.
Spatchcock turkey is such an easy, flavorful way to roast turkey. Give it a try!
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Spatchcock Turkey
Ingredients
- 15 to 18 pound whole turkey
- 4 to 6 tablespoons kosher salt, see note
- 1 cup peeled and chopped carrots
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 lemon, zested
- 1 tablespoon poultry herbs blend, finely chopped (rosemary, sage, thyme)
- Fine sea salt and ground black pepper
Instructions
- Make sure your turkey is fully thawed before starting. Generally, allow for 1 day of thawing per 5 pounds of turkey.
Day 1: Brining
- Remove the giblets from the turkey cavity. Dry off the turkey all over using paper towels.
- Place the turkey on a cutting board with the breast side down. Locate the backbone and cut along one side of it using sharp kitchen shears. Next, cut along the other side of the backbone and then remove it. You can save this bone to make stock or gravy.
- Flip the turkey over so the breast side is facing up. Using both hands, press down on the turkey until it rests flat on the board. Transfer to a rimmed sheet pan with a wire rack inserted.
- Rub kosher salt all over the turkey. You can optionally rub some of it under the skin. Place the turkey, uncovered, in the refrigerator and let sit overnight, or approximately one hour per pound.
Day 2: Cooking
- The next day, let the turkey come to room temperature for one hour. While the turkey is resting, rinse out the sheet pan.
- After rinsing out the pan, add the carrot, celery and onion. Top with the wire rack.
- Place the softened butter in a bowl. Stir in the chopped herbs, zest, and a pinch of salt until evenly combined.
- Pat the turkey dry again, then rub the herb butter all over. Season with fine sea salt and ground black pepper.
- Roast the turkey at 400ยฐF until the breast meat reads 150 degrees F on an instant thermometer, and the thigh meat reads 165 degrees F (approximately 80-100 minutes). If the skin starts browning too quickly, you can reduce the oven temperature to 350 or 375 degrees, which will increase the cooking time but prevent the skin from darkening too much.
- Remove from the oven and let rest, tented with foil, for 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
- For brining, use approximately 2 teaspoons of kosher salt per pound of turkey.
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate based on online calculators. Any nutritional information found on Stetted should be used as a general guideline only.
About Megan
I learned how to cook by exploring seasonal ingredients, and you can too! Meal time shouldn’t be stressful or complicated, and with fresh ingredients and easy methods, Iโm here to help you enjoy the time spent in the kitchen.ย Read moreโฆ
