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An overhead shot of a roasted maple glazed spatchcock turkey on a white oval platter garnished with herbs and cranberries atop a white marble surface. The platter is surrounded by stuffing muffins, green beans, a bowl of gravy, a bowl of cranberries, and autumn flowers and gourds.

Sticky-Sweet Maple Glazed Spatchcock Turkey (Guaranteed Juicy!)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 6 reviews
  • Author: Jess Larson
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 90 minutes
  • Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
  • Yield: serves 10-12 1x
  • Category: Main Dishes, Poultry & Turkey Recipes, Thanksgiving Recipes
  • Method: Spatchcock, Butterflied, Roasted
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Description

Shake up your Thanksgiving dinner with this Maple Glazed Spatchcock Turkey!

It’s the perfect blend of classic holiday flavors with a cozy fall twist, thanks to a garlic herb compound butter, a sticky-sweet maple glaze, and spatchcocking (aka butterflying)—my go-to method for an insanely juicy bird.

The result is a super-flavorful, perfectly roasted turkey ready in 2 hours or less—guaranteed to be the star of your holiday table!

August 2024 Recipe Update: Based on reader feedback, I’ve retested and slightly adjusted this recipe for even better results. You’ll notice a couple of updates: I’ve swapped the roasting pan for a baking sheet fitted with a wire rack, which promotes quicker, more even cooking. (If you don’t have a baking sheet, a shallow roasting pan is the best alternative.) I’ve also added a step to inject butter directly into the turkey meat to ensure it stays juicy and flavorful throughout. Happy cooking!

Ingredients

Scale
  • maple herb butter (below)
  • one 12–14 pound turkey, spatchcocked (see Recipe Notes)
  • 2 stalks celery, roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces
  • 3 carrots, roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 yellow onions, roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces
  • 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
  • kosher salt and ground black pepper, to season
  • ¼ cup pure maple syrup, divided

for the maple herb butter:

  • 1 ½ cups (3 sticks) very soft unsalted butter
  • 1 ounce hardy fresh herbs (approx. 3 sprigs rosemary, 20 sage leaves, 20 sprigs thyme; see Recipe Notes)
  • 10 cloves garlic
  • ¼ cup pure maple syrup
  • kosher salt and ground black pepper, to season

Instructions

  1. Prep: About 1 hour before roasting, remove the turkey from the refrigerator. If needed, remove from the packaging and spatchcock—for more guidance, check out my step-by-step How to Spatchcock a Turkey guide. Set aside to warm slightly at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F, ensuring a rack is in the center position.An overhead shot of ingredients displayed on a white marbled surface: a raw butterflied turkey, fresh herbs, butter, maple syrup, salt and pepper, olive oil, garlic, and onions.
  2. Prepare the maple herb butter: Remove the fresh herbs from the stems and place the leaves in a food processor with the garlic. Pulse to roughly chop, then let the food processor run for 1-2 minutes, until the mixture is very finely chopped. Add the butter and maple syrup to the food processor. Season with 1 tablespoon kosher salt and ground black pepper as desired. Pulse to combine well. Transfer to a microwave-safe bowl and set aside.An overhead shot of lemon garlic herb butter in the bowl of a food processor atop a white marbled surface. Fresh herbs, garlic cloves and maple syrup sit alongside it.
  3. Butter the turkey meat: First, separate the turkey skin from the meat: carefully work your hand under the skin and sweep side to side to separate the skin from the meat—for the breasts, lift the skin from the bottom of the breasts near the groin and work your way up; for the legs, lift the skin on the outside of the thigh and work your way to the drumstick. Be careful not to tear the skin. Next, spread ⅓ of the maple butter between the skin and meat: Grab some of the butter with your hand, then use the same motions to work the butter between the skin and meat.An overhead shot of a woman's hands rubbing maple herb butter under the skin of a raw spatchcock turkey sitting atop parchment paper on a white marbled surface. An overhead shot of a woman's hands rubbing maple herb butter under the skin of a raw spatchcock turkey sitting atop parchment paper on a white marbled surface.
  4. Inject the turkey with the remaining butter: Melt the remaining maple butter in the microwave. Working in batches, draw the butter into a meat injector and inject the butter directly into the breasts and legs. For best results, pierce through the skin as few times as possible, but rotate and shift the needle as you inject to ensure the meat is seasoned thoroughly. See blog post above, for more guidance.An overhead shot of a woman's hand injecting melted herb butter into the meat of a raw turkey atop parchment paper on a white marbled surface. An overhead shot of a woman's hand injecting melted herb butter into the meat of a raw turkey atop parchment paper on a white marbled surface.
  5. Prepare for roasting: Arrange the celery, carrots, and onions on a rimmed full baking sheet. (For an extra-flavorful gravy, place the turkey neck and spine on the baking sheet too.) Place a wire rack over top. Set the seasoned spatchcock turkey on the rack, breast side facing up. Gently tuck the wing tips behind the breasts to prevent burning. Pat the surface of the turkey dry with paper towel. Drizzle olive oil over the turkey, then season with 1 tablespoon kosher salt.An overhead shot of a butterflied raw turkey on a rimmed baking sheet fitted with a wire baking rack atop a white marbled surface. Chopped celery, carrots and onions sit under the baking rack on the baking sheet. Oil and a bowl of salt sit alongside it.
  6. Roast the turkey: Transfer the turkey to the oven. Roast at 450 degrees F for 30 minutes. After the first 30 minutes, reduce the heat to 400 degrees F and remove the turkey. Baste the turkey by carefully spoon or brush the drippings in the bottom of the pan all over the skin, then use a pastry brush to lightly glaze the turkey with maple syrup. Return to the oven, rotating the pan 180 degrees for even browning. Roast the turkey 1 hour longer, basting and glazing the turkey and rotating the pan every 20 minutes, until your desired doneness is reached (see Recipe Notes).An overhead shot of roasted maple glazed turkey on a rimmed baking sheet fitted with a wire baking rack atop a white marbled surface. Carrots, celery and onion sit on the sheet under the rack. A woman's hand uses a brush to baste the turkey.
  7. Rest: Carefully transfer the roasted turkey to a cutting board. Tent with foil and set aside to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before carving. This is a great time to make homemade gravy using the roasted turkey drippings—check out my Easy Turkey Gravy recipe.An overhead shot of roasted maple glazed turkey on a rimmed baking sheet fitted with a wire baking rack atop a white marbled surface. Carrots, celery and onion sit on the sheet under the rack.
  8. Carve and serve: Once the turkey is rested, carve as desired. I like to remove the legs first, slicing the thigh meat and shredding the drumstick. Remove the breasts from the bone then slice against the grain. Enjoy! An overhead shot of a roasted maple glazed spatchcock turkey on a white oval platter garnished with herbs and cranberries atop a white marble surface. The platter is surrounded by stuffing muffins, green beans, a bowl of gravy, a bowl of cranberries, and autumn flowers and gourds.

Equipment

Notes

Turkey Prep Tricks:

  • *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).
  • To brine, or not to brine? After testing this recipe both with and without a brine numerous times, I don’t think brining is entirely necessary for a roasted spatchcock turkey. One of the benefits of spatchcocking turkey is the quicker roasting time, which helps keep the meat moist and juicy. Injecting the turkey meat with butter also helps ensure a flavorful result. That said, a few details to keep in mind:
    • Many store-bought turkeys (from brands like Jennie-O, Butterball, Honeysuckle White, etc.) are injected with a salt solution—effectively, they’re already brined! If the package indicates that the turkey is treated with a salt solution, I don’t suggest extra brining—doing so may make your turkey too salty.
    • If using a fresh or farm turkey (i.e. one not pre-treated with a salt solution), dry brining 12-24 hours before roasting is a simple step that helps ensure a juicier result. To dry brine, mix ¼ cup kosher salt and 2 tablespoons brown sugar. Separate the skin from the meat as described in Step 3, above. Sprinkle the dry brine mix over the surface of the turkey (above the skin, not directly on the meat)—use just enough dry brine to lightly cover the surface of the turkey, discarding any excess dry brine. Place the seasoned turkey on a rimmed baking sheet and transfer to the refrigerator. Refrigerate, uncovered, for 12-24 hours prior to roasting. To roast, proceed as described in Steps 1-6, above, omitting any extra salt on the surface of the turkey in Step 5.

Roasting time and determining doneness:

  • To what temperature do you roast turkey? The food safe temperature for turkey breast is 165 degrees F. For juiciest results, I like to pull the turkey from the oven when the thickest part of the breast registers 150 degrees F and let its carry-over heat continue to cook it to doneness as it rests. This article does a great job of explaining the science behind turkey doneness and food safety.
  • Roasting time varies based on the size of your turkey, the temperature of your oven, and the depth of your roasting pan. In my oven, a 12-14 pound turkey is typically ready after roasting for a total of 1 hour and 30 minutes. A larger turkey and/or deeper roasting pan require longer cook time – adjust as needed to reach desired doneness.

Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Prep Tips:

  • Prep the maple herb butter up to 1 week in advance. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The morning of your holiday meal, pull the butter from the fridge to soften to room temperature.
  • Spatchcock the turkey up to 1 day in advance. Dry brine if desired (see above), then place the turkey on a rimmed baking sheet and store in the refrigerator, uncovered, overnight. The turkey skin loses some of excess moisture, resulting in an even crispier, golden brown turkey!

Storage and Freezing:

  • Storage and Reheating: Leftover turkey will keep, stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until warmed through.
  • Freezer Instructions: Leftover turkey is also very freezer-friendly. Transfer cooled leftover turkey to a freezer container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and use as desired.

Find it online: https://playswellwithbutter.com/maple-glazed-spatchcock-turkey/