Spatchcock Ranch 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.)

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.

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.

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.

CAJUN BUTTER SPATCHCOCK TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Combine the butter, wine, celery, bell pepper, onion, Cajun seasoning, brown sugar, hot sauce and salt in a food processor or blender. Process until very smooth. Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and keep warm over low heat.
• Remove the giblets and neck from the turkey and save for stock or discard. Place the turkey breast-side down on a cutting board. Cut along one side of the backbone from the tail to the neck with a chef's knife or kitchen shears. Repeat with the other side and remove the backbone. (Save for stock!)
• Turn the turkey over, and press down on the breastbone with the heel of your hand until it cracks. Tuck the wing tips up and over the back of the turkey. (This prevents them from burning.) Place the turkey on a wire rack in a roasting pan.
• Fill a flavor injector with the butter mixture and inject as much of the butter into the turkey at different angles. Pour any remaining butter over the top of the turkey, then sprinkle with additional Cajun seasoning, if desired. Place the roasting pan on the middle rack in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, undisturbed.
• Baste the turkey with the pan juices and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Continue to bake, basting occasionally, until a meat thermometer reaches 165 degrees F when inserted in the thickest portion of the breast and thigh (avoiding bone), 45 minutes to 1 hour. (Add the chicken stock to the roasting pan if it starts to dry out.) Let rest before slicing. Serve with the pan drippings.

ROAST SPATCHCOCK TURKEY

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Put turkey on a stable cutting board breast side down and cut out backbone. Turn turkey over, and press on it to flatten. Put it, breast side up, in a roasting pan. Wings should partly cover breasts, and legs should protrude a bit.
• Tuck garlic and tarragon under the bird and in the nooks of the wings and legs. Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
• Roast for 20 minutes, undisturbed. Turkey should be browning. Remove from oven, baste with pan juices, and return to oven. Reduce heat to 400 degrees (if turkey browns too quickly, reduce temperature to 350 degrees).
• Begin to check turkey's temperature about 15 minutes later (10 minutes if bird is on the small side). It is done when thigh meat registers 165 degrees on an instant-read meat thermometer. Check it in a couple of places.
• Let turkey rest for a few minutes before carving, then serve with garlic cloves and pan juices.