Spatchcocked Grilled 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.

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.)

GRILLED SPATCHCOCKED TURKEY RECIPE

Steps:

• Pat turkey dry with paper towels and season liberally all over with salt and black pepper. Tuck wing tips behind back. Place turkey on wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate 8 to 24 hours.
• Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and arrange the coals in a crescent moon shape on one side of the charcoal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate. Place wood chunk(s) directly on top of hot coals. Remove rack with turkey from sheet pan and place on grill, with turkey legs and thighs placed closer to the coals. Cover, situating top vent over cool side of grill, and cook until an instant-read thermometer registers between 165-170°F (74°C-77°C) in thickest part of the thigh and between 145-150°F (63°C-66°C) in thickest part of the breast, about 90 minutes, replenishing coals after an hour if needed.
• Remove rack with turkey from grill and place over a cutting board. Let rest at room temperature for 20 minutes, then remove wire rack and carve turkey. Serve immediately with gravy.

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.