The two main reasons why turkey is better than other types of poultry are protein and the meat. Turkey contains a bit more turkey than chicken or other types of poultry. Turkey, especially wild turkey, also tends to have more dark meat than other varieties of poultry which can be a major incentive for some people when it comes to smoked turkey. In this article we’re cooking smoked spatchcock turkey!
Spatchcocking is also known as butterflying but the former term is funnier to say and worth more points in a game of “Scrabble;” there is also the minor quibble that, when referring to small poultry, spatchcocking involves the removal of both the backbone and sternum. While spatchcocking is more a means of preparing a cut than cooking it, the technique does have its benefits. The main reason why you might consider spatchcocking your game in any turkey recipe is that it allows you to reduce the dimensions of your bird to the point that it can be cooked more evenly and over a shorter period of time.
A Step-By-Step Recipe for Smoked Spatchcock Turkey
Rather than provide one single recipe, we have presented two different takes so that we can better inspire your own approach to preparing a smoked spatchcock turkey.
Turkey Recipe #1: Basic Smoked Turkey
Ingredients for the Bird
- One whole turkey sans neck and gizzards, 10 lbs.
- Oil, olive, 2 tbsp
- Salt and pepper, to taste.Ingredients for the Herb Butter
- Butter, unsalted, softened, 8 tbsp (one stick)
- Sage, fresh and finely minced, 1 tbsp
- Rosemary leaves, fresh, 1 tbsp
- Thyme leaves, fresh, 1 tbsp
- Salt, kosher, 2 tsp
- Pepper, black, coarse, 2 tsp
Directions
- Preheat your smoker to 450°F.
- Flip your turkey so that it is breast-side down on your cutting board. Starting on one side of the backbone, use some shears to cut straight across the bird in a vertial direction, starting at the tailbone and stopping at the neck. Most of the bones will be easy to slice through with some good scissors.
- Repeat this step along the other side of the backbone, cutting all the way until you can remove the backbone.
- Place the turkey on its back and turn the thighs outward so they can also lay flat on your board. Use both hands to firmly press against the breastbone until it snaps and the breast is pressing against the board. Reposition the wing tips behind the turkey’s back.
- Blend the herb butter ingredients together in a small bowl. Once your butter is properly blended, use your fingers to massage the it under the turkey’s entire skin.
- Drizzle the bird with olive oil and add your salt and pepper. Move the turkey to your grill grate, close the lid and let it roast 45 minutes or until you can read an internal temperature of at least 165°F in the breasts and thighs; the thighs might be a bit hotter than the breasts by the time the latter is fully cooked through.
- Pull the turkey out of the grill and give it at least 15 minutes of rest before carving into it.
Smoked Spatchcock Turkey Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Bird
- 1 whole turkey sans neck and gizzards, 10 lbs
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Ingredients for the Herb Butter
- 8 tbsp Butter, unsalted, softened
- 1 tbsp Sage, fresh and finely minced
- 1 tbsp Rosemary leaves, fresh
- 1 tbsp Thyme leaves, fresh
- 2 tsp Salt, kosher
- 2 tsp Pepper, black, coarse
Instructions
- Preheat your smoker to 450°F.
- Flip your turkey so that it is breast-side down on your cutting board. Starting on one side of the backbone, use some shears to cut straight across the bird in a vertial direction, starting at the tailbone and stopping at the neck. Most of the bones will be easy to slice through with some good scissors.
- Repeat this step along the other side of the backbone, cutting all the way until you can remove the backbone.
- Place the turkey on its back and turn the thighs outward so they can also lay flat on your board. Use both hands to firmly press against the breastbone until it snaps and the breast is pressing against the board. Reposition the wing tips behind the turkey’s back.
- Blend the herb butter ingredients together in a small bowl. Once your butter is properly blended, use your fingers to massage the it under the turkey’s entire skin.
- Drizzle the bird with olive oil and add your salt and pepper. Move the turkey to your grill grate, close the lid and let it roast 45 minutes or until you can read an internal temperature of at least 165°F in the breasts and thighs; the thighs might be a bit hotter than the breasts by the time the latter is fully cooked through.
- Pull the turkey out of the grill and give it at least 15 minutes of rest before carving into it.
Nutrition
Turkey Recipe #2: Savory Dry-Rubbed and Sauced Smoked Spatchcock Turkey
- One whole turkey sans giblets, 12-14 lbs.
Ingredients for the Dry Rub
- Salt, kosher, 1/4 cup
- Pepper, black, 2 tbsp
- Paprika, 2 tbsp
- Powder, chili, 2 tbsp
- Sugar, brown, light, 2 tbsp
- Powder, garlic, 1 tsp
- Powder, onion, 1 tsp
- Pepper, cayenne, 1/4 tsp
Ingredients for the Mopping Sauce
- Vinegar, white, 3.75 cups
- Sugar, brown, light, 1/2 cup packed
- Pepper, cayenne, 1/4 cup
- Pepper, black, 2 tbsp
- Juice, lemon, fresh, 1 tbsp
- Pepper, red, crushed, tsp
Directions
- Make the dry rub by stirring all of those ingredients into a bowl and set it aside. Note that this can be made up to one week in advance.
- Make the vinegar-cayenne mopping sauce by whisking all of those ingredients together within a large bowl and set it aside as well. Much like with the dry rub, you can complete this step up to one week before you are ready to smoke your bird.
- Dry your turkey off with some paper towels and perform the same spatchcocing technique as described in the first recipe, working the carcass to dislodge the relevant bones, using paper towels to pay the interior dry. Coat all sides of the turkey with your dry rub.
- Transfer your turkey, skin-up, to a rimmed baking sheet and allow it to rest at room temperature for up to two hours or until your grill reaches the ideal temperature.
- Prep your smoker according to the instructions prepping a charcoal fire and place oak chunks over the coals. fit your grill with a foil-lined diffuser. Keep the internal temperature around 225°F for 15-20 minutes.
- Smoke the turkey with its skin still facing up but with the lid covered on the grill. You want to loo for the meat of the drumsticks to begin to pull back, showing off the “socks.” Your bird will be done when the thickest portion of the breast reads a temperature of 145°F; this should take around 2 hours.
- Use a grilling mop to apply 1.5 cups of the sauce on the skin side of the turkey, then flip the bird over using caution and some long tongs. Mop the remainder of the sauce onto this side. Once the sauce starts to pool within the cavity, press the tips of your tongs into the breast and give it a twist so the sauce can saturate the meat. Keep mopping until the sauce has fully absorbed into the bird.
- Close the grill and allow it to smoke until the skin develops a light char; you should get a reading of about 155°F in the thickest portion of the breast. This should take anywhere from half an hour to 45 minutes.
- Move the turkey from the smoker to an appropriately-sized cutting board. You can either carve the meat up immediately, if you are somehow in a hurry, or give it up to two hours of time to rest before carving.
In Conclusion
If you want to provide a flavorful bird for your guests but do not want to wait the usual amount of time it takes for a turkey to cook, spatchcocking is just the technique for your needs. By spatchcocking your turkey, you not only make it easier to season, you also make that bird flat enough to better season and impart flavor as it cooks. Furthermore, the flattening out means that the overall shape of your bird is thinner, meaning that it will cook all the more quickly. Honestly, anything you can do to improve the flavor and lessen the cooking time of any featured protein source like a turkey is a good decision. The recipes presented in this article are intended to guide and inspire, maybe you have a particular flavor blend you love to give your turkey recipes that could be improved by spatchcocking the bird. Try things out and see if the technique does not overtake your preferred way of preparing a turkey for Thanksgiving or any other occasion.
