Thanksgiving 2009: Roast Spatchcocked Turkey

Martha Stewart Living (November 2009)

>>UPDATE: Check out our video demo on how to spatchcock a turkey!

We have a love/hate relationship with Thanksgiving turkey. On the one hand, a golden-skinned roast turkey is the classic centerpiece of the Thanksgiving dinner. Done right, the meat is tender and juicy, the skin perfectly crisp.

But getting the bird on the table can be so much work! Do you brine it ahead of time or not? If you do brine, should you do a wet brine or a dry brine? Should you rub the skin with butter? Should you stuff the bird or cook the stuffing separately? Should you baste it while it's roasting?

And then, on the day of the big dinner, the bird sits there, taking up the majority of your oven space for three hours while the clock ticks closer to dinnertime.

Well, forget all that!

Reader, we'd like to have a word with you. Just one word, actually. This word is your key to a Thanksgiving turkey that takes just 70 minutes (!) from start to finish. No brining, no stuffing, no nothing.

That word is "spatchcocking."

Really, "spatchcocking" is just a fancy term for cooking a whole turkey or chicken by removing the backbone and splaying the bird out flat.

       
                                      Spatchcocked!

And it's that simple. Really! Just cut along the both sides of the turkey's backbone to remove it (we used simple, sturdy kitchen scissors). Flip the bird over and flatten it by breaking the breast bone. Brush the bird with olive oil, salt and pepper.

And, um, that's essentially it. Just 70 minutes later (you'll want to baste it halfway through), you'll have a perfectly cooked bird.

There are actually a few additional benefits to spatchcocking, in addition to the quick cooking time:

--Space. Flattening the turkey out like this makes a lot more room in your crowded Thanksgiving Day oven.

--Carving. With the backbone out of the way, it's much, much simpler to carve the bird when it's time to serve it.

--Taste. We actually thought the meat turned out better tasting and more moist than with a traditional roast turkey. And the skin crisped up to golden perfection.

So say it with us: "spatchcocking." It's a funny little word that just might forever change your relationship with your Thanksgiving bird.

More Thanksgiving Suggestions From The Bitten Word >>

Roast Spatchcocked Turkey
Martha Stewart Living (2009)
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(Photos: Martha Stewart Living) 

Serves 8 TO 10

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 whole fresh turkey (about 12 pounds)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 450°. Stir together oil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
2. Rinse inside and outside of turkey; pat dry with paper towels. Spatchcock turkey*. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet, breast side up. Let stand for 30 minutes.
3. Brush or rub turkey all over with oil mixture. Roast, rotating sheet halfway through and basting twice, until an instant-read thermometer inserted
into the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165°, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let stand for 20 minutes before carving.

*SPATCHCOCKING

1. Cut out the backbone. Start with the turkey breast side down. Use poultry shears to cut along both sides of the backbone, beginning at the tail end. If you hit a tough spot, try cutting with just the tip of the shears.

2. Open the turkey. Set aside backbone (and giblets) for stock. Take hold of both newly cut edges, and open the turkey. Remove any large pieces of fat. Turn the turkey, breast side up.

3. Break the breastbone. Place your hand on one side of the breast, close to the breastbone, and push down firmly until you hear a crack. Repeat on the other side. (For better leverage as you work, stand on a step stool.)

4. Flatten the turkey. Pull the thighs outward so the turkey lies flat, with the wings facing inward. Tuck the wing tips under to secure.

5. Brush with oil. Place the turkey on a rimmed baking sheet. Let stand for 30 minutes. Use a basting brush to apply oil mixture.

HOW TO CARVE

A spatchcocked turkey requires a slightly different carving technique than a bird cooked the traditional way, but the basic approach remains
the same: Remove the legs and wings, and then slice the breast meat.

1. Cut legs from breast. With a sharp chef's knife, remove each leg by cutting through the turkey where the thigh connects to the breast.

2. Separate drumsticks and thighs. At the joint of each leg, cut drumstick from thigh. Transfer thighs and drumsticks to a warm platter. Tent with foil.

3. Cut wings and breast. On one side, find the joint connecting wing and breast, and cut through it (not shown). Repeat to cut off other wing. Cut  breast meat into two pieces, slicing along either side of breastbone.

4. Slice breast meat. Slice the breast meat across the grain. Arrange on the platter with the dark meat, and add the wings.

Comments

[Ariana from Chicago]

I love "spatchcocked" chicken. And I can see this being a great idea for a day other than turkey day. But thanksgiving is all about that wonderful smell in the house as the turkey cooks for hours. And that "wow" factor when that golden bird makes its grand entrance.

[Shaw Girl]

Could it really be that simple? No extra herbs or brining? Really? I'm cooking my first turkey for my first time as Thanksgiving hostess and am terrified. This seems like a great alternative but will it really be as moist and flavorful as brining and slow roasting (and all the tears associated with it)?

[Brenda]

I was there. I ate the bird. I saw it go into the oven and come out in barely over an hour. It was fabulous! Maybe one of the best turkeys I've ever had. Be bold and try it.

[monika]

Yes, but... and this is a big *BUT*... what about the stuffing?!

I am one of those people who loves stuffing made inside the bird; "stuffing" cooked outside ("dressing"?) is not as flavourful, not as moist, and not nearly as good, as the stuff cooked inside the bird.

Any thoughts or ideas on how to have your spatchcocked turkey and stuffing too?

(and really, for me the stuffing is the thing -- the turkey is almost secondary)

[Alta]

I've spatchcocked chickens many a time and they always come out moist and flavorful. Never thought to do a turkey the same way. How simple!

[Zach @ The Bitten Word]

Ariana -- it's true that you don't get the same "wow" factor as with a whole roast turkey. But for us, that always has seemed kind of like a pain in the neck anyway. You present the whole turkey to the guests, only to then whisk it back into the kitchen to carve it, while your guests sit there waiting on you.

And Monika -- You're also right that you can't stuff a spatchcocked bird. Again, though, neither of us ever grew up with stuffing actually cooked inside the turkey. So it wasn't a big loss for us. We just cook our dressing in a casserole dish in the oven.

For what it's worth, Alton Brown agrees that stuffing is a no-no:
http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/11/alton-brown-says-no-to-stuffing-the-turkey-dressing-thanksgiving.html

[JudiAU]

We are hosting Tday for the first time this year and gave this method a try for our test bird. It was wonderful. Cooked super quickly and came out wonderfully. Really pleased. Probably add a bit of herbage but other than that- perfection.

I was nervous because I thought I overcooked - 180! -- but it was wonderful and not overcooked.

I prefer the flavor of stuffing cooked in the bird but won't risk it given our guests.

Oh-- and we did a Zuni dry brine with two days of air drying time.

[monika]

Re: Stuffing Safety

I'm afraid that I don't know who Alton Brown is, so he's not an authority for me!

We've been stuffing turkeys (and chickens, and ducks and geese, and...) my entire life, and no on has ever gotten sick.

If you check the USDA site, you'll see that they give tips for safely stuffing a turkey. Besides the matter of the internal temperature, they say not pack it in too tight, and to not put raw meat or shellfish into the cavity.

We use a simple bread stuffing inside, and then stuff the neck "cavity" (which is really pulling skin around the stuffing) with a sausage stuffing.

I think it helps if you start with a healthy non-stressed bird too, which we always try to (free-range, organic).

Because we often don't like turkey legs, I've made just a stuffed turkey breast (which has quite a number of servings in it!), and that has worked out wonderfully. (turkey legs for soups, etc.)

[Jamie]

Can you put stuffing under the turkey? If so should I cook it longer?? Thank you.

[Zach @ The Bitten Word]

Jamie -- I actually don't know! I want to say yes. It SEEMS like that would work.

If you try it, let us know!

[Ariana from Chicago]

I second the notion that the stuffing can be placed under the bird. I am pretty sure I saw a recipe either by Cooks Illustrated (ie, "High Roast Chicken Perfected") or maybe Pam Anderson where they placed potatoes or some other veggie under a butterflied chicken. I would think stuffing would work the same.

[Glenna]

Here's a link to the recipe for the "Crisp Skin High-Roast Butterflied Turkey with Sausage Dressing" from Cook's Illustrated. The recipe formatting is kind of goofy for some reason, but you could copy and paste it into a Word doc to make it easier to read.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6518611

[John Scoles]

I'm having 15 people for dinner on Thanksgiving. How big a turkey can you have (I ordered a 22 pounder.) and still use this recipe?

[Zach @ The Bitten Word]

John -- 22 pounds! Woah!

Obviously, that's about double the size of the turkey this recipe is based on. But I think you should be fine, as long as you have a roasting pan big enough to fit the flattened-out turkey.

A couple thoughts:

--I'd definitely think it would take longer to cook than 70 minutes

--I'm a little concerned that the meat might take so long to cook that the skin might get too browned. Keep an eye on it. If the skin starts getting too brown, I would either turn the temperature down, or tent it with foil (or both)

--Actually, here's my (amateur) opinion: I think you should start the turkey tented with foil. Cook it for about 35 minutes, and then remove the foil. I'm totally guessing, but I think your turkey is going to take more like an hour and 40 minutes. So I'd cook it for about a third of the time with foil, and then the remaining 2/3rds without, to get the skin nice and brown.

Let us know if you try it, and how it goes!

[Cheryl Ann]

Thanks so much for posting this, I saw this recipe when I was magazine browsing at BAM the other day, but couldn't remember where it was. THANKS, I'm going to try it (I have made every kind of turkey, but I think this is a winner, I'll let you know.)

[Jessamin]

I want to try this this Thanksgiving, but I had a hard time understanding how the spatchcocking process actually works. I looked on YouTube (why not?) and there are some great instructional videos for how to spatchcock both turkey and chicken.

[two coast table]

I read this in Martha Stewart magazine and knew I had to do it, so I am glad to see that you tried it and it came out so well! I am really looking forward to doing this thanks for all your extra tips. and I love telling people I am spatchcocking my turkey!
(steven)

[C. Jackson]

This was bad...not the turkey but I must warn everyone. If you are a recent veteran suffering from PTSD, THIS MAY BRING ON A SEVERE EPISODE! I was shaking all day, if it wasn't for my companion dog I would probably have been in the fetal position on the floor.

[Bob]

What are the dimensions of a spatchcocked turkey - 12 to 15 lbs.?

[Amy]

This will be my first thanksgiving as the host. Not quite sure what I signed up for...I've been hearing a lot about this method, and I'm sold. LOVE this post.

Everyone seems to be set on brining first. What's the result without doing that step? Because, personally, that seems like you're adding all the extra work back in.

[Zach @ The Bitten Word]

Amy -- We've done all different kinds of brining in the past. We've done a simple salt-water brine, a complicated brine with a dozen ingredients, and a dry-salt brine.

We didn't brine this bird at all, and to be quite honest, we didn't miss it at all. We found this turkey to be quite flavorful and moist, and we literally didn't touch it until 5 minutes before we put it in the oven.

If you DO want to brine, we really recommend the dry-brining method. It has worked really nicely for us in the past, and we find it a lot easier than a wet-brine. (http://thebittenword.typepad.com/thebittenword/2008/12/thanksgiving-recap-turkey-dressing-roasted-cranberry-sauce.html)

[Amy]

Hi Zach - thanks SO much for answering. I appreciate it.

I actually tried the spatchcock method out on a chicken this past weekend, just to see what I'm in for. As written about (and demonstrated in your recent video), it was so easy. And moist. I decided against a brine, but I did make an herb butter that I spread out underneath the skin. YUMMY.

I'll be repeating it all on Thursday. I hope my kitchen shears will work on the bigger bird.

Have a wonderful holiday.

[Vicki]

My mother recently sent me the November issue of Martha Stewart Living and my husband and I have been obsessed with this idea of spatchcocking our turkey, only I've been wary of the execution. Thank you so much for this article (and video!) to help alleviate my fears. I'm only cooking for my small family of five, but I will still appreciate the time saved. I can use it to play a game with my kids instead. :)

[erisgrrrl]

aagghhhh why!?!? why didn't i find this article BEFORE cooking my feast!?

great idea! we'll be trying this next year for sure! :D

[Allison]

Did this for my first t'giving in Amsterdam last night (and the first turkey I've ever cooked). You guys are INCREDIBLE. I dry-brined the turkey with salt, pepper, and bay leaves for 3 days, and then spatchcocked it and dotted it with butter. 90 minutes later, out comes the most insanely moist, rich, and actually-turkey-flavored turkey I've ever had. All 20 guests were amazed.