Description
If you’re tired of bland, dry turkey ruining your Thanksgiving dinner, learning How to Spatchcock a Turkey is the miracle you’ve been waiting for!
By laying flat (aka butterflied), a spatchcock turkey cooks evenly, giving you the juiciest, most flavorful turkey you’ve ever tasted—all with less effort and in half the cooking time of a traditional oven-roasted bird.
This easy 3-step method saved my first Thanksgiving 10+ years ago, and I’ve never looked back. Get ready for your best holiday dinner yet!
Ingredients
Scale
- one whole turkey, defrosted if frozen (see Recipe Notes)
Other useful equipment:
- sharp kitchen shears
- sharp chef’s knife
- rolling pin
- rimmed XL baking sheet fitted with wire baking rack
Instructions
- Prep: If present, remove the neck and giblets from the cavity of the turkey. Discard or set aside for turkey stock or gravy. Transfer the turkey to a large cutting board or baking sheet, positioning the bird breast side facing down.
- Remove the back bone: Using very sharp kitchen shears, carefully snip along each side of the turkey’s backbone until it’s completely detached. If it’s too difficult to snip the shears through the rib bones or near the hip bones, switch to a sharp chef’s knife and rolling pin—place the center of the blade along the joint(s), then gently tap the rolling pin against the spine of the blade to drive the knife through. Once the backbone is completely detached, discard or set aside for turkey stock or gravy.
- Split the breast bone: If needed, carefully stretch open the ribs to reveal the turkey’s inner cavity. Locate the top of the turkey’s breast plate directly behind the turkey breasts—place the knife’s blade on the center of the bone, then gently tap the rolling pin against the spine of the blade to drive the knife through.
- Finish spatchcocking: Flip the turkey such that the breasts are facing up. Place your hands on the center of the breasts. Press down, using your body weight to crack the bone all the way through such that the turkey lays flat. Your turkey is spatchcocked and ready for roasting—great job!
Notes
Easy Roasted Spatchcock Turkey Recipes:
Once spatchcocked, your turkey is ready to roast or smoke. Use your recipe of choice to season and cook. I have 2 tried and true roasted spatchcock turkey recipes that PWWB readers have made about over the years with rave reviews:
- Lemon Herb Butter Roast Spatchcock Turkey—perfect you love the flavor of garlic, rosemary, sage, and thyme!
- Maple Glazed Spatchcock Turkey—a little cozier thanks to a beautiful maple glaze.
- Easy Turkey Gravy From Dripping—It’s not turkey dinner without gravy! This recipe makes use of a roast spatchcock turkey’s flavorful drippings to create the easiest, best turkey gravy you’ll ever make!
Other Tips and Tricks:
- What size Thanksgiving turkey should I use? If roasting, I suggest using a turkey between 12-16 pounds—when butterflied flat, larger birds don’t quite fit on a baking sheet (or in a shallow roasting pan). If smoking or grilling, you may have room to use a larger 18-20 pound turkey depending on size of the cooking grates in your smoker/grill. Note, the general rule of thumb is to prep one pound of turkey per person—if you’re feeding a larger crowd you may want to prepare 2 smaller turkeys rather than one large bird. Bonus—this also helps keep the turkey extra-juicy!
- *REMINDER: If frozen, be sure to thaw your turkey well before the day you plan to roast it! The safest way to thaw a frozen turkey is by placing it in the coolest section of your refrigerator. As a general rule of thumb, plan for 24 hours of refrigerated thawing for every 4 pounds of turkey (e.g. a 12-14 pound turkey requires 3-4 days refrigerated thawing).