Grilled Spatchcock Turkey Recipes

SPATCHCOCK SMOKED TURKEY

Steps:

• Pat the turkey dry and turn it breast-side down on a cutting board. Using sharp kitchen shears or a knife, cut the backbone out of the turkey, reserving it for stock. Flip the turkey so it's breast-side up, then press down on it with your hands to flatten the bird.
• Whisk together the orange juice, oil, maple syrup and garlic in a large bowl. Reserve half of the marinade and set aside. Season the turkey on both sides with salt and pepper and place the turkey into the bowl with the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours. Remove the turkey from the refrigerator an hour before grilling, so it can come to room temperature.
• Prepare a grill for indirect heat. If using a charcoal grill, build the hot coals on one side only. If using a gas grill, heat one side only on medium-high heat.
• Place the turkey skin-side up over indirect heat and cover the grill. Maintaining a temperature of 375 to 400 degrees F, smoke the turkey until it reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F, about 90 minutes. Baste the turkey with the reserved marinade every 30 minutes during cooking.
• Remove the turkey from the grill and rest, tented with aluminum foil, for at least 20 minutes before carving.
• (Alternatively, you can bake the turkey on a rimmed baking sheet in a 375 to 400 degrees F oven for 90 minutes.)

SPATCHCOCKED GRILLED TURKEY

Steps:

• The day before roasting, combine the sugar, 1/4 cup salt and 2 teaspoons pepper in a small bowl. Rub the turkey all over with the salt mixture. Refrigerate on a baking sheet, uncovered, at least 8 hours and up to overnight.
• The next day, rinse the turkey and pat dry. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Prepare a grill for medium indirect heat: For gas grills (with 3 or more burners), turn all the burners to medium-high heat; after about 15 minutes, turn off one of the middle burners and turn the remaining burners down to medium. For charcoal grills, bank one chimney starter full of lit and ashed-over charcoal briquettes to one side of the grill. Set up a drip pan on the other side to avoid flare-ups. (Be sure to consult the grill manufacturer's guide for best results.)
• Place the turkey breast-side up over the drip pan and grill, covered, until the meat is cooked about halfway through, about 50 minutes. Turn and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the deepest part of the thigh registers 170 degrees F, about 50 minutes more. Move the turkey to direct heat and rotate to evenly brown the skin in the last 10 minutes of cooking. Transfer to a cutting board, cover and let rest 10 minutes before carving.

SPATCHCOCKED TURKEY WITH SAGE BUTTER AND GRAVY

Steps:

• For the turkey: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Remove and reserve the heart and giblets from the turkey cavity; remove and discard the liver. Flip the turkey upside down so the breast is on your cutting board. Using kitchen shears, cut along both sides of the backbone to remove it. Using your fingers, gently separate the skin from the breast meat while keeping it attached. (You want to create a pocket for the sage butter without tearing the skin.)
• Push the Sage Butter under the skin of the turkey, being careful not to puncture it. Rub the skin with olive oil, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• For the gravy: Put the bay leaves, garlic, apples, celery, carrots, onions, cinnamon stick and thyme in a roasting pan and sprinkle with salt. Add 2 cups of the chicken stock and 1 cup of the apple cider, as well as the heart, giblets and backbone of the turkey.
• Roast the turkey: Place a roasting rack on top of the vegetables and set the turkey on the rack. Roast for 1 hour 15 minutes. Tent the turkey with foil and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the leg (without touching bone) registers 175 degrees F. Let the turkey rest for 15 minutes before carving.
• Meanwhile, finish the gravy: Strain all the veggies over a bowl; discard the veggies. Skim the fat from the pan juices and add it to the roasting pan; this is the fat for the roux.
• Set the roasting pan over 2 burners over low heat and whisk in the flour. Cook until the mixture looks like wet sand, 4 to 5 minutes. Slowly whisk in the remaining 1 cup apple cider and 2 cups chicken stock, as well as the strained pan juices from the bowl. Cook until the mixture has thickened and reached a gravy consistency. Taste and adjust with additional salt and pepper as needed. Pour into a serving pitcher or bowl and serve with the turkey.
• Mix the butter with the sage and some salt and pepper until well blended. Set aside.