Spatchcock a Turkey – Learning how to spatchcock a turkey will result in the juiciest, crispiest turkey cooked in a fraction. My 14-lb turkey took 1 hour 45 minutes to bake versus the standard 4+ hours. If you’ve never tried to spatchcock a turkey is is honestly much easier than you might think. All you will be doing is removing the backbone and flattening out the bird. Then, you’ll reduce cooking time by up to 2+ hours. Once you give it a try, you will likely never go back to standard turkey recipes.
What You’ll Need to Spatchcock a Turkey
These are the ingredients and tools that you’ll need to spatchcock a turkey for roasting the most delicious and easiest bird ever:
- Turkey: We’ve used this recipe for a 10-lb to 14 lb turkey and the only difference is adjust the time for the right internal temperature.
- Extra Virgin Cold-Pressed Olive Oil: Olive oil is rubbed all over the turkey before cooking to keep the meat moist and juicy.
- Fresh Herbs: Use sage, rosemary and thyme for a classic holiday bird flavor.
- Fresh-ground Seasonings: Just a little sea salt and black pepper makes the perfect round of flavor.
- Large Baking Sheet + Rack: This ensures the bird is lifted off the the surface and the sheet will collect all of the drippings.
- Kitchen Shears: The sharper the better — for cutting the backbone.
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How to Spatchcock a Turkey
Learning how to spatchcock a turkey will result in the juiciest, crispiest turkey cooked in a fraction. My 14-lb turkey took 1 hour 45 mins.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 90 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 12–14 1x
Ingredients
- 1 whole turkey, (10lb-14lb), thawed, rinsed and dried
- 1/2 cup extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place a roasting rack on a baking sheet.
- Place the turkey, breast-side down, on a cutting board. Using a pair of sharp kitchen shears, cut along one side of the backbone. Repeat on the other side of the backbone and remove.
- Flip turkey breast-side up and press firmly to flatten the turkey and place on the roasting rack. Tuck wing tips under turkey, behind the breast. Pat the skin dry and rub olive oil over entire turkey. Season with sage, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Check out this YouTube Tutorial.
- Make a parchment paper lined foil tent to cover the turkey. Roast in thhe oven for 1 hour 30 minutes – 2 hours. When the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees, increase the oven temp to 400, remove the foil to allow the skin to crisp and become golden brown.
- Remove turkey from the oven and allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.
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Keywords: How to Spatchcock a Turkey
