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A spatchcocked Roast turkey on a cutting board

Spatchcocked Turkey Recipe

The fastest and easiest way to cook a moist and delicious turkey is to spatchcock or butterfly it. Dad will show you how to spatchcock, inject and roast your turkey to perfection.
4.50 from 4 votes
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: holiday recipes, how to
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Resting Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 8
Calories: 757kcal
Author: Dad

Equipment

  • Knife
  • Heavy Duty Kitchen Shears
  • Full Sheet Pan
  • Wire Cooling Racks
  • Injector
  • Digital Instant Read Thermometer
  • Spice Shaker (Optional)
  • Aluminum Foil

Ingredients

  • 1 Turkey 8-12 Pound
  • 1 Onion
  • 6 Celery Stalks
  • 2 tablespoon Garlic Powder
  • 2 tablespoon Onion Powder
  • 1 tablespoon Sea Salt
  • 2 tablespoon Dried Basil
  • 1 stick Butter For Butter Injection
  • ¼ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil For Butter Injection
  • 3 tablespoon Minced Garlic For Butter Injection
  • 1 tablespoon Whole Black Peppercorns For Butter Injection
  • 2 Bay Leaves For Butter Injection

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
  • Spatchcock the Turkey as per the instructions above.
  • Put the butter, olive oil, minced garlic, black peppercorns and bay leaves in a small pot and place it over medium heat. Once the butter has melted reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes strain it into a new container and discard the spices. Let the mixture cool.
  • Using an injector inject the butter mixture into the turkey. Make sure you hit the breasts, thighs and legs well. It is ok that some will run out.
  • Rub the butter mixture that has seeped out all over the turkey. This will allow your spices to stick better.
  • Mix the garlic powder, onion powder, salt and dried basil into a spice shaker and shake all over the bird on both sides. If you do not have a spice shaker you can just sprinkle or shake out of the individual containers.
  • Rough chop up the onion and celery.
  • Line a full sheet pan with aluminum foil (for easy clean up) and spread the chopped veggies out in the center.
  • Place the wire cooling racks on top of the veggies. This will allow more separation and air flow and also make removing the bird easier when it is cooked.
  • Place the spatchcocked turkey on top of the wire racks, breast side up. Tuck the tips of the wings under the bird, or they will most likely burn.
  • Cook on the middle rack of the over for 60-80 minutes. Times will vary depending on the size of the bird, your oven and the celestial tides. The point is to make sure you have a reliable instant read thermometer. In about 40-50 minutes pull the turkey out and check it. It will be done when the breast is 150 and the thighs are 165.
  • When the correct temps are reached pull it out and let it rest tented with foil for at least 30 minutes. The resting will make sure that all the juices don't just run out when you carve it.

Video

Notes

How to Spatchcock a Turkey

For detailed pictures please refer to the main post or to the video.

Step 1

Make sure your turkey is thawed. This will be near impossible to do on a frozen bird. Remove anything on the inside of the bird and place it with the breasts down on a cutting board.
Feel for the backbone of the turkey. Make a cut along the sides of the backbone from one end of the bird to the other. This will serve as a guide for cutting with the kitchen shears.

Step 2

Take your kitchen shears and cut along where you made your cuts with the knife. It will be difficult and you will need to use some strength and pressure.
This is why you need a heavy duty and sharp set of Kitchen Shears. Continue until you have removed the entire backbone from the turkey.
SAVE the backbone! You can roast it and then make a fantastic turkey stock to start your gravy with.

Step 3

Flip the bird over and spread it out as flat as you can get it. Now, with both hands in a CPR type motion push down on the breasts until you hear a crack.
Once you do continue to push down and get the bird to lay as flat as possible.
That is it! You just spatchcocked a turkey.

Nutrition

Calories: 757kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 88g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 320mg | Sodium: 1431mg | Potassium: 1026mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 606IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 5mg
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