Spatchcock Turkey

Spatchcock turkey is the answer to simpler holidays! It cooks so much faster, which frees you up in the kitchen to enjoy more time with the ones you love. I have a couple of tips for crispy, golden, evenly cooked skin and roasting the juiciest turkey. One of the most important tips is to have a good pair of kitchen shears, this makes spatchcocking turkey super simple. Pair that with a simple dry brine, my Herb Butter, and you have a juicy Thanksgiving turkey in a fraction of the time.

I’m going to be honest with you… I stopped roasting turkey for Thanksgiving a few years back. It just took too many hours out of the day and cut into fun time on the holidays.

Instead I would roast a chicken to go with all the side dishes I made ahead. That way, we could go skiing, or for a winter hike and still come home to enjoy dinner.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Turkey – a fresh whole turkey, or frozen turkey (10-14 lbs) without a brine solution is the best option. I did roast one Jennie-O turkey and it turned out fine, but not as great as an unbrined turkey. When you go to buy a turkey, it should have 1-ingredient listed: turkey. That way you can do your own dry brine with much better results.
• Kosher salt – is key for dry brining, do not use table salt! I used Baleine kosher sea salt and it works great on any meat from poultry to pork and beef.
• Herb butter – you can make my herb butter recipe with fresh herbs and garlic ahead to have ready. Soften it at room temperature first so it’s easier to spread under the turkey skin. My herb butter uses rosemary, sage, and thyme. You can usually find all 3 in the fresh herb section in little boxes labeled ‘poultry mix’ so you don’t have to buy them separately. If you want to choose just one herb, try sage or rosemary. I find thyme to be too strong on it’s own.
• Onions, carrots, celery – a little of each goes into the bottom the the pan to add extra flavor to the broth as the turkey roasts.
• Broth – or water added to the bottom of the pan with the onions, carrots, and celery will give you a great base for your gravy combined with the drippings. Also this helps to keep the turkey juicier as it roasts.

Step 1: To spatchcock a turkey, (also called butterflying) start by removing the backbone. You need a pair of strong kitchen shears or poultry shears for this. I have a detailed step-by-step post coming soon.

Remove the spine starting from the bottom end (tail end) of the turkey. Starting from the neck is harder, in my experience.

I had Tyler spatchcock one turkey and he was able to cut all the way through one side before cutting the other. But my hand strength isn’t nearly as good.

I find it best to make a cut up the right side and then the left side of the backbone until I start to meet resistance in the middle. Then turn the bird around and cut from the neck side until you get to the middle.

Step 2: Place the knife in the center of the breastbone, breast side down, on a cutting board, as seen in the upper left corner of the above photo. Use a mallet or a rolling pin to hit the top of the knife until it cracks the breastbone by about 1/2 inch.

From there, turn the turkey breast side up and, using both of your hands in the middle, press down like you’re doing CPR until you hear the turkey breastbone crack.

Use your hands to loosen the turkey skin and dry brine it with the kosher salt. From there, refrigerate uncovered overnight to let the skin dry out.

The next day, add the onions, carrots, and celery to a large baking sheet and top with a metal (non-coated) rack. Tuck the wings behind the breast, you will find this much easier to do by cracking the joints of the wings.

Finally rub the herb butter under the skin of the turkey. Evenly coat the turkey skin with avocado oil

Step 4: Put the turkey in the oven and add the chicken broth or water to the sheet pan, being careful that the liquid doesn’t splash. Roast at 425ºF for 30 minutes.

Step 5: Lower the oven temperature to 350ºF and roast until the turkey reads 150 to 155 on an instant meat thermometer.  Remove the turkey from the oven, cover it, and let the turkey rest until it reaches 165, about 20 minutes.

Carve the turkey and serve with your choice of sides.

Ways to serve this

• Start with my Antipasto Platter and Cranberry Kombucha Mocktails for snacking before dinner.
• Serve this turkey with all the classic Thanksgiving sides. My Best Mashed Potatoes or Cheesy Mashed Potatoes (coming soon), Gluten-Free Gravy, Butternut Squash Stuffing, Cranberry Orange Sauce, Green Beans with Bacon and Mushrooms, and Honey Glazed Carrots.
• Finish your Thanksgiving meal with my Gluten-Free Apple Crisp, Pumpkin Crisp, and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. These crisp recipes are also good with my Maple Ice Cream or Honey Ice Cream.

Storing leftovers

• To store – store any leftover turkey in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
• Reheating – Add any leftover turkey to a small skillet along with some gravy or 1-2 tablespoons of water. Cook partially covered for one to two minutes, then remove the lid and cook until the turkey is heated through or the water evaporates. If you use gravy and find it starting to stick add a touch of water.
• To freeze – place any leftover turkey meat in an airtight container and freeze for 3 to 6 months. Defrost the turkey in the fridge overnight before reheating.

Dietary Options & Substitutions

• Dairy-free—I don’t recommend using dairy-free butter in this case. Refer to my herb butter recipe, which has a dairy-free option. I find the best results are using olive oil instead of butter, but I use half the amount.
• Paleo – use ghee instead of butter.

More Thanksgiving Recipe Inspiration

• Maple Sage Carrots
• Sweet Potato Casserole
• Winter Fruit Salad
• Apple Spinach Salad
• Mashed Sweet Potatoes