Ok, the name is funny, but this is serious cooking. Spatchcocking poultry is the process of flattening the bird to allow for quicker cooking time and a more tender result.
Spatchcocked Turkey
Servings
8 Servings
Ingredients
- 1 12- pound turkey
- 3 tablespoon chopped thyme
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 3 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium onions rough chopped
- 2 large carrots rough chopped
- 3 celery ribs rough chopped
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450.
- Place the turkey breast side down on a sturdy cutting board. I like to put a couple of paper towels under the turkey so it does not slide while I am cutting it.
- Cut along either side of the backbone from the neck to the tail. Remove the back bone and spread open the turkey. Cut a small slit in the cartilage along the breast bone. With both hands, crack open the turkey by opening it like a book.
- This will reveal the keel bone, (cartilage that runs in the middle of the breast.) Pull up on the keel bone to remove it. The turkey is now ready to cook. This whole procedure is very simple, only involves cutting one bone and should only take a couple of minutes.
- Place the chopped vegetables in a large roasting pan. Season the turkey on both sides with salt and pepper. Rub the bird with olive oil and the chopped herbs.
- Place the turkey on the vegetables, breast side up. (The vegetables will keep the turkey from sitting in its juices and getting soggy. The vegetables also scent the turkey drippings)
- Roast the turkey for 20 minutes, lower the heat to 325 and continue roasting, brushing with pan juices occasionally for 1 hour.
- Brush the turkey with the your favorite glaze (try my Concord Grape Glaze in the Joy of Kosher Magazine) and continue roasting for another 15 minutes, brushing with the glaze 2 more times.
- Remove the turkey and tent with foil and allow to rest for 20 minutes before cutting.
- Discard the vegetables and reserve the turkey drippings. Skim off the fat and set aside.
- Serve the turkey with extra glaze.
From Laura: Haha…..good question. You need a large
Pan. But you can scatter mire pois (aromatic veggies: onions, leeks, carrots, celery or fennel) on the bottom of a jelly roll pan and place the turkey (skin side up) on top of that and roast, occasionally gathering the pan juices so they don’t overflow.
What size pan do you need for this boned 12 pound turkey
Great, thanks so much.
Message from Laura: It would work really well and leave you extra time to watch football! By spatchcocking your turkey, you are evening out the “mass” of the meat and that makes the cooking time shorter and more efficient. You are less likely to end up with a dried out breast by spatchcocking it.
Have a wonderful holiday!
Every year I smoke an18lb turkey over charcoal on a Weber type grill and everyone loves it. It is usually done in 2 1/2 hours or so. Would spatchcocking it work for the grill?
Yay, so glad we could help.
I do this with chicken all the time and was wondering if you can do it with turkey… thanks for reading me mind and saving me 4-6 hours. Much appreciated.
I WOULD LOVE TO DO THE VIDEO OF SPATCHCOCKING AND MANY OTHER BUTCHERING AND CUTTING VIDEOS YOU MIGHT WANT. I HAVE EXCELLENT KNIFE SKILLS AND TEACH CLASSES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
COME ON TAMAR…LET’S SET THIS UP!
the time it takes to cut the bird is about 15-20 minutes, depending upon your skill level.
the time to cook a spatchcocked bird is 1/2 the time to roast a whole turkey.
once the bird is leveled out in thickness by removing the bones, the cook time is very fast.
chef’s hint*
roast the bones separately to make stock!
Sorry, some recipes are missing the info, there I will update it.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could do a video showing us exactly how to spatchcock? Someone watching it be done, is better than reading how to do it. Most cooking sites do have demonstrations now. How about it?
What do you mean by Ready Time 0 ? According to the recipe given here it would take close to 2 hours to prepare and cook the bird ! Please answer me, in case this “zero sign” means something else.
hi Levana!
the directions for spatchcocking start right at the beginning of the recipe instructions!
grab a knife and go get’um.
Sounds great: so: how do you spatchcock the bird? I don’t see any instructions. Am I missing something?