Spatchcock Turkey

5 from 8 votes

This spatchcock Turkey recipe yields the juiciest, flavor packed turkey and the crispiest skin in only a fraction of the time! A must for those in need of extra time around the holidays!

Prep Time20

Cook Time1 20

Dry brine time1

Total Time1 2 10

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Author: James Delmage and Tara

Ingredients

For the brine

1 12 pound natural or organic turkey (no salt added) see notes below
6 tablespoons Diamond Crystal Kosher salt or 4 tablespoons Morton's kosher salt

Remaining ingredients

2 large carrots chopped
3 ribs celery chopped
2 large onions chopped
2 teaspoons black pepper

For the herb butter

1 tablespoon thyme leaves
10 large sage leaves minced
8 tablespoons unsalted butter softened

Instructions

Brining the turkey

Place the turkey on a large cutting board, breast side down and with the tail side facing you. Pat it dry with paper towels.
Using kitchen shears, begin cutting from the tail end on one side of the backbone all the way to the neck. Repeat the same cut on the other side of the backbone. You can cut away any loose overhanging skin by the neck opening. Save the backbone for gravy or stock.
Flip the turkey over and with two hands press the breast bone down until the turkey is splayed or flattened. You should hear a couple of cracks during this process. The goal is to flatten the turkey for even cooking.
Place the turkey on a baking sheet and sprinkle the salt all over the bird on both sides and underneath parts of the skin if possible. Don't worry about using every bit of the salt, just make sure to cover the bird in all areas. Refrigerate overnight uncovered.

Roasting the turkey

Remove the turkey 1 hour before roasting. Preheat the oven to 450f and set the rack to the middle level.
Mix the butter with the thyme and sage to form a paste.
Place all of the vegetables on a baking sheet and then place a wire rack on top of them.
Dry off the turkey with paper towels and season with pepper. Place the turkey on top of the baking sheet/wire rack and tuck the wings underneath to prevent burning. Spread the herb butter on top and underneath the skin.
Place a probe into the thickest part of the breast and set the alarm to go off at 150f. Roast turkey, rotating the pan 180 degrees at halfway point.
Once the alarm goes off, remove it from the oven and let rest for 30 minutes before carving. See notes below for more info on optimally cooking dark meat.
The vegetables, drippings, and backbone can be saved for making turkey gravy if desired. Enjoy!

Notes

Cook the turkey until the breast reaches 150f and let rest until it reaches 165f. Dark meat is best cooked to 185-190f but that is hard to achieve without overcooking the white meat. If desired, after carving, place the dark meat back into the oven and cook until 185f while tenting the white meat with foil to keep warm.
Only dry brine the turkey if it is a natural no-salt-added turkey. Many turkeys are sold in a brined solution so pay attention to not oversalt the turkey.
Brine at a 1-1.25% ratio of salt to turkey weight for a delicious but not overly salty bird. A 12-pound turkey weighs 5448 grams so it needs 54-68 grams of salt which equals roughly 2 3/4-3 1/2 tablespoons of table salt. When using kosher salt you will need to use more tablespoons because a tablespoon of kosher salt weighs less than a tablespoon of table salt. See table below:
- 1 Tablespoon of Table salt = ~19 grams
- 1 Tablespoon Morton kosher salt = ~15 grams
- 1 Tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt = ~10 grams
Leftovers can be saved for up to 3 days in the fridge.
For larger turkeys that may overhang a standard baking sheet, line the bottom rack of the oven with foil to catch any butter and drippings and help prevent smoking.

Nutrition