Its really similar to butterflying, but they term spatchcock is used when it relates to poultry. The basics for butterflying a turkey couldnt be simpler. Spatchcocked drybrined turkey with makeahead gravy. Stepbystep instructions and recipe on how to spatchcock a turkey for quick. There is no general formula to relate cooking time for an intact bird to a spatchcocked or butterflied. The dark meat cooks perfectly alongside the breast meat without it drying out. Line a large rimmed sheet pan with aluminum foil, extending foil 3 inches past pan on both long sides. Kick traditional to the curb with this woodfired take on turkey.
Ingredients 1 fresh turkey 14 lbs shown here 3 tablespoons kosher salt 2 tablespoons freshly cracked pepper olive oil. Use poultry shears or a good set of kitchen shears. How to spatchcock a turkey for thanksgiving martha stewart. On a spatchcocked bird, all of the skin is facing up and fully exposed. Place the whole turkey on a cutting board with the breastside down. Simply place the bird on its breast and locate the spine. Faster and hotter cooking is one significant advantage of spatchcocking. Not only will spatchcocking turkey ensure plenty of crisp skin since virtually all of it is out in the open, it makes it much easier to cook the white and dark meat evenlymeaning the breast will stay juicy. To spatchcock a whole turkey first remove the tail. Looking to cook a turkey thats tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. Glistening skin and juicy meat come easily to a spatchcocked turkey.
Turn the turkey skin side up and press down strongly with the heel of your hand on the center of the breast. Its a faster, more even cook, which yields wonderfully moist meat and crisp skin. What is the roasting time per pound for a spatchcock turkey breast. Using a pair of sharp heavyduty kitchen shears, cut along one side of the backbone. How to spatchcock and roast a turkey without smoking up. Or perhaps you just have a taste for turkey, but no use for a twenty pound bird. How to spatchcock and carve a turkey hostess at heart. Carefully slide your fingers under skin over breast. A miracle method for roasting your thanksgiving, friendsgiving, or holiday dinner turkey. Starting at the tail, use a sharp pair of kitchen shears to cut alongside the spine. Spatchcock ranch turkey recipe katie lee food network. Lay the turkey on top of the vegetables, breast side up. Read the spatchcocked turkey breast on the grill discussion from the chowhound home cooking, turkey food community. Spatchcocked turkey breast and roasted cranberries for.
Breast meat is very lean, so if you take the breast. You can safely cook the turkey breast until it reaches 160 degrees and let carryover cooking take it up the rest of the way. Remove the breast meat by cutting down both sides of the breast bone. As soon as that breast is at 150f, you can pull it out of the oven and let it rest. It works great for a chicken and it definitely works great for a turkey, too. Maybe youre going to serve a small ham and some turkey, so a breast is plenty. Place turkey with its breast side down and tail end facing you on a work surface. Spatchcock is a funny word, but its a seriously smart way to cook a large bird. This is great because the dark meat needs to reach a higher temperature than the light meat in the breast. Try it for the bestever thanksgiving turkey or at your next big holiday.
It takes time and spatchcocking a frozen turkey will not work. In a little more than an hour, you can have a perfectly roasted 12pound turkey. In a spatchcocked turkey, the legs will be far more exposed than a turkey in its natural shape. The usda minimum recommended temperature for turkey and chicken is 165 degrees f. Spatchcock turkey foolproof, easy, super juicy sweet. To spatchcock a turkey, you need a pair of sharp kitchen shears, big knife, possibly a small paring knife and, of course, your turkey. In this smoked turkey recipe, i will show you how to speed up the process of smoking a turkey by butterflying it, commonly called spatchcocking the turkey. Roast turkey breast for a small gathering the food lab serious. Spread the ranch butter all over and underneath the skin. How to smoke a turkey spatchcock style meadow creek. Cooking a simply turkey breast is far easier than cooking a whole turkey, since you only have a single final target temperature in mind, instead of having to worry about legs and breasts cooking at different rates. Spatchcocking or removing the backbone is great for larger birds.
This method also solves one of the biggest turkey roasting problemseven cooking. Heres a stepbystep guide, plus roasting tips, and advice on how to carve a spatchcocked. Im a huge fan of spatchocked chickens, which is the process of removing the back bone, cracking the breast bone, and grilling the entire bird flat. I have a 8 12 pound bone in turkey breast that i am spatching and cooking indirect at 350, any thoughts on time to get it to 160165 i know it will cook faster than leaving it round. Spatchcocked turkey breast on the grill home cooking. Its not too hard to do with a chicken, but a turkey is a whole different story. Learn how to spatchcock a turkey aired november 25, 2014. Place your hand on one side of the breast, close to the breastbone, and push. Spatchcocking your birdthat is, cutting out the backbone and laying it flatsolve all of these problems, and some. With a regular turkey, the breast is totally exposed, while the legs are relatively protected. At times you may have to use both hands to power your scissors through rib bones. Smoked spatchcocked turkey grilling inspiration weber. To spatchcock, you remove the backbone of a whole bird and lay it flat to cook. Open up the turkey and use the tip of a knife to score alongside the keel bone the dark oblong bone in the middle of the breast.
Ask a butcher to remove both the back and breast bones from your turkey. This drybrined spatchcocked turkey recipe is both easier and results in crispier skin than a classic wet brined turkey. But if you are only having thanksgiving dinner for a few people i would suggest making sous vide turkey breast or a turkey roulade. There are three things everyone wants in a thanksgiving turkey crispy skin, juicy. Spatchcocking a turkey seems a little intimidating, but it is surprisingly easy and worth the effort. Its also great if youre limited on shelf space in your smoker. Place the spatchcocked turkey directly on your grill grates underside down, and let it smoke for 2 hours. I have found cooking time per pound for a whole turkey. Flip the turkey breast side down and turn the neck side towards you. After two hours adjust the temperature up on your smoker to 350 degrees. Stuff the jerk butter evenly under the skin of each breast, creating a thick even layer. While its perfect for thanksgiving, this spatchcock turkey is quick and easy enough that it can be made any time of year. Spatchcocking, or butterflying, a whole turkey is the best way to get the juiciest meat and the crispiest skin in half the time of traditional turkey roasting methods.
Slide the baking dish with the turkey gravy ingredients onto the bottom rack of the oven. For juicy, evenlycooked turkey with a crisp, golden brown skin, spatchcocking is the answer. Using kitchen shears, cut along each side of backbone. You should hear a couple of cracks and the turkey should be flatter. All you do is cut out the backbone, press the turkey to flatten, and brush with a mix of olive. The typical thanksgiving turkey tends to roast unevenly, with the breast cooking more quickly than the rest of the bird, and often drying out as a result. Herbroasted spatchcock turkey recipe a sprinkling of. Using a pair of kitchen shears, cut down the back of the turkey. The taste of home test kitchen has discovered the secret to a perfectly cooked bird. What is the roasting time per pound for a spatchcock.
Reduce the temperature to 375 degrees and continue roasting until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast. Bake for 20 minutes to brown the top of the turkey. This flatter shape ensures that the meat cooks more evenly and more quickly, allowing the legs to reach a safe temperature without overcooking the breast. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour 30 minutes, rotating baking sheet every 30 minutes. Also called butterfly, spatchcocking is when you slice. How to spatchcock and carve a turkey is a step by step tutorial that will help you get a deliciously juicy turkey with crispy skin on your table in a fraction of the time it takes to bake one in your oven. This opens up the turkey allowing it to cook a lot more evenly, makes it easier to carve and often helps the skin to get more crispy especially if you are able to cook it a little. The bones of the turkey are much thicker and the whole thing can be a bit of a.
My initial thought was that since i already have a great method for spatchcocked roast turkey, and a roast turkey breast is essentially a. Read the spatchcocked turkey breast on the grill discussion from the chowhound home cooking, turkey food. Set the backbone aside to make gravy or freeze it to add to homemade chicken stock cut along the breast bone in the centre. Spatchcock turkey not only saves a ton of baking time, it allows the turkey to cook as evenly as possible, resulting in a perfectly juicy bird with a deliciously crisp skin. Spatchcocking is a method of removing the turkey s backbone to flatten its body prior to putting in the oven. Traditional spatchcocking means cutting out the backbone with scissors or a knife. So bottom line, what is the roasting time per pound for a spatchcock turkey breast. Next, gently stick your hand under the skin, releasing it from the breast and creating a pocket. If your breast is frozen youll need to thaw it, obviously. Have you tried everything you can think of to make your roasted turkey tender and juicy, only to get dry breast meat yet again. Spatchcocking, usually refers to cutting out the backbone of a. I also show how to spatchcock the turkey as well as dry brine it so its amazingly juicy and full of flavor inside and out with fantastically crisp skin. Reserve the backbone for making turkey stock for gravy.
It involves removing the backbone of the bird and flattening it to create an even cooking surface. It allows the turkey to lay flat on the cooking grate and helps the meat cook more evenly. The only problem is that, given their size, it can sometimes be hard to cook a turkey evenly by smoking or even fit it into your smoker, certainly more difficult than cooking turkey breast there are plenty of ways to get around that problem, though, one method being spatchcocking. Spatchcocked smoked turkey simple and delicious recipe.
Spatchcocking is a type of meat preparation thats used to cook poultry faster, leading to less driedout breast meat. Spatchcock comes from the phrase dispatch the cock, or split a bird open and grill it. This is why i hate spatchcocking chicken epicurious. Place the turkey in the oven and roast for 20 minutes.
My initial thought was that since i already have a great method for spatchcocked roast turkey, and a roast turkey breast is essentially a spatchcocked breast without the legs, i should just be able to use the exact same technique, throwing the breast on top of a casserole dish full of stuffing to catch the drippings. Spatchcocked herbroasted turkey recipe taste of home. With a spatchcocked turkey, youll be treated to meat thats tender and moist. When ready to cook, set temperature to high and preheat, lid closed for 15 minutes. I thought roasting a turkey breast was less time per pound vs. It does, however, make for a very unattractive meal. Spatchcocked turkey is rubbed down generously with our citrus turkey rub, given an aromatic kick with a parsley, rosemary, thyme and herb paste and slow roasted for some beautiful, rich color.
Press firmly down onto both sides of turkey to flatten. A sharp knife can also help get through the tougher spots. With turkey breast side down, use poultry shears and some force to cut along both sides of the backbone. Place the spatchcock turkey, breast side up over the veggies, on the top rack of the oven. Follow these instructions with a fresh or thawed turkey and free up your oven space. Learn how to spatchcock a turkey for an evenly cooked, crispy turkey, that takes less time to cook than traditional roasting. Try to cut as close as you can to the backbone so you dont risk cutting any other joints. Tuck the wing tips under the turkey and place on the roasting rack. I am using the spatchcock method of roasting a turkey breast. On either side of the backbone cut down the length of the spine.
If you want to take your turkey game to the next level, be sure to use a turkey brine recipe ahead of starting to butterfly the turkey. Roast spatchcocked turkey breast serves 810 6 to 614pound turkey breast with bones and skin attached. Place a temp probe in the thickest part of the turkey breast to monitor temps, and let the turkey cook until the internal temp hits 160. How to spatchcock a turkey bon appetit bon appetit. Crispskinned spatchcocked butterflied roast turkey with. It cuts down on the total cooking time too, always a plus. Spatchcocked turkey with jerk butter by dennis the. See how to spatchcock the turkey in a small bowl, combine oil, orange zest, salt, sage, fennel and pepper. Heres how to cook a five pound bonein turkey breast on a weber charcoal grill.