Grilled Spatchcocked Turkey Recipes

SPATCHCOCKED GRILLED TURKEY

Steps:

• Note: If you would rather use an oven instead of a grill, process is the same except have the rack with the turkey sitting over a sheet tray lined with foil.
• Unpackage the turkey and set the neck aside but discard the giblet package or use it for some other recipe. Rinse the turkey under cold water inside and out and set aside.
• Place all brine ingredients (except ice water) in a pot larger than 2 gallons and bring to a boil and boil for five minutes.
• Add one gallon of ice water and set aside to cool. I take an additional step by placing the pot full of brine in a sink full of cold water to bring the temperature down even faster.
• Using a very sharp knife and a pair of kitchen shears, remove the backbone. To do this, place the turkey gently on a cutting board, breast down and run the sharp knife along both sides of the backbone as deep as you can, cutting through a few rib bones. Use the kitchen shears to cut through the remaining connections including the more difficult bones at the end. Set the backbone aside with the neck.
• Take the sharp knife and make a small cut into the cartilage in the center that holds the two breasts together and then using a little pressure, press the left and right breasts down until it splits in the center and the bird now lays flat. The cartilage is the white triangle piece connected to the keel bone which is the bone that separates the two breasts.
• In a food safe bag laid out in a roasting pan (or you can skip the bag), place in turkey and cover with the brine and seal the bag. (We had a little brine leftover which we discarded but that will depend on the size of your roasting pan. Just make sure the turkey is covered with brine).
• Place in refrigerator overnight and up to 12 hours.
• Place the back and neck in a large sauce pan with some onion, celery, carrot, parsley, salt, bay leaf and black pepper corns and cover with water. Bring to boil and simmer for two hours. Use this liquid when making gravy the next day since there will be no pan drippings if cooking on a grill.
• 3 hours before serving, heat grill by placing left and right burners on medium high and center burner off. If using charcoal, move hot coals to left and right and leave none in center.
• Remove turkey from brine and discard brine then place turkey on a paper towel lined counter or cutting board and pat the entire top dry.
• Pull off a 3-foot-long sheet of foil and crumble in a bunch and place inside the arch of a V-Rack (the kind of rack that comes with most roasting pans. If you don't have one, just use foil). Place this V-Rack with arch up and foil down on a sheet tray and drape turkey over it so that the breast portion is over the foil part, skin up. Basically, what we are doing is letting the dark meat cook longer than the white meat by defusing the heat under the breasts. This process works extremely well.
• Oil the entire top of the turkey with a brush and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and set temperature to alarm at 160 degrees.
• Lift the entire rack and turkey onto the center of the grill and close the lid. If your grill has a temperature gage or if you are doing this in the oven, adjust temperature to 425 degrees F and cook uncovered for 30 minutes (but lid to grill on). After 30 minutes, the turkey should be nice and browned, or close to it.
• After 30 minutes, lower temperature to 325 degrees F, loosely cover with a large piece of foil and cook for about 90 minutes, (with grill lid closed), or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F.
• Remove to a sheet tray, keep loosely covered with foil and let rest 30 minutes (no less) before carving.

GRILLED SPATCHCOCK TURKEY WITH MAPLE BUTTER AND APPLE CIDER BRINE

Steps:

• Place brine mix and apple cider in an extra large soup pot.
• Bring mixture to a boil, cooking until salt has dissolved.
• Turn off heat and add cold water.
• Let brine cool to room temperature and then add spatchcock turkey. (See above post for instructions on how to spatchcock a turkey)
• Refrigerate overnight, up to 12 hours.
• Bring all of the maple butter ingredients to room temperature.
• Juice and zest the orange.
• In the bowl of a mixer, soften the butter.
• Slowly add the remaining ingredients to the butter, mixing thoroughly with each addition.
• Cover your mixer with a clean tea towel and turn up to high. Be patient, the butter will eventually whip to a fluffy consistency.
• Season butter with salt and pepper to taste.
• Divide butter into two portions: one to serve on the table and one for basting the turkey.
• Preheat grill to 300-350F using indirect heat (see above post for more details).
• Remove turkey from brine and pat dry with paper towels.
• Melt a portion of the maple butter and baste the turkey with it.
• Place turkey on the grill, breast side up and tuck the wings under the breast.
• Cover the grill and let cook for 30 minutes.
• At the 30 minute mark, start basting the turkey every 15 minutes until it is almost done (about 140-145F).
• When the turkey reaches 160F, remove from the grill, cover and let rest 15 minutes before carving.
• While the turkey rests. line the platter with greens.
• After you've carved the turkey, place fruit around the turkey and serve.

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.)

ROAST SPATCHCOCKED TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Stir together oil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
• Rinse inside and outside of turkey; pat dry with paper towels. Spatchcock turkey (see our how-to). Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet, breast side up. Let stand for 30 minutes.
• 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 degrees, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let stand for 20 minutes before carving (see our how-to).

SPATCHCOCK'D ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Four days before cooking, make the rub mixture and season the turkey: Coarsely grind the peppercorns and allspice berries by pulsing 3 to 4 times in a blade-style coffee/spice grinder. Add the dried thyme and pulse 3 more times. Combine the salt, rubbed sage and ground spices in a small bowl and set aside.
• Position the turkey, breast-side down with the tail facing you, on a silicone mat or other stable surface set inside a large sheet pan. Use heavy-duty kitchen shears to cut up one side of the backbone. Turn the bird and cut back down the other side of the spine. Reserve the backbone for stock or gravy. Discard any fat pockets or excess skin found inside the bird. Flip breast-side up and use the heel of your hands to press down on both breasts, until you hear a cracking sound and the bird flattens.
• Place the turkey breast-side up on a rack (I use a standard cooling or cake rack) set inside a sheet pan, and turn the wings backwards, tucking the tips under the forewings. Flip the turkey breast-side down and season with half of the rub mixture. Then flip the bird back breast-side up and season with the remaining mixture.
• Store, uncovered, on the lowest level of your refrigerator for 4 days.
• When ready to cook, allow the turkey to sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Place one oven rack in the center of the oven and a second one just below it. Place an empty roasting pan or large rimmed sheet pan on the lower rack. Crank the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Place the turkey, still on the cooling rack, directly on the center oven rack. Add a cup of water to the pan below to prevent any drippings from smoking. Roast for 30 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and continue to roast the bird until a probe thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 155 degrees F, an additional 40 to 50 minutes.
• Remove the turkey and its rack and rest for 15 minutes before carving. Carryover heat will take the final temperature close to 165 degrees.

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.

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.

ROAST SPATCHCOCK TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place a roasting rack on a baking sheet.
• Turn the turkey over, breast-side down. Using a pair of sharp heavy-duty kitchen shears, cut along one side of the backbone. Repeat on the other side of the backbone. Reserve the backbone for making turkey stock for gravy. Press firmly down onto both sides of turkey to flatten.
• Tuck the wing tips under the turkey and place on the roasting rack. Pat skin dry and rub olive oil over the entire turkey; season with salt, sage, thyme, rosemary, and black pepper.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour 30 minutes, rotating baking sheet every 30 minutes. Increase temperature to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and roast until skin is crisp, about 15 minutes more. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove turkey from the oven, cover loosely with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.