Spatchcock Turkey
Garlic and Herb Spatchcock Turkey will dazzle your guests with its amazing flavor. Juicy meat with perfectly crisp skin, and evenly cooks the entire bird in a fraction of the time compared to traditional roasting.
Servings: 8
Calories: 560kcal
Ingredients
For the Turkey:
- 1 whole turkey thawed with giblets removed
- ½ cup salted butter room temperature
- ½ Tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup turkey borth or chicken broth
Instructions
- Prepare your oven. Preheat your oven to 375°F and move your oven rack to the middle level of your oven.
- Make the compound butter. In a small bowl, combine the butter, salt, pepper, lemon zest, roasted minced garlic, and Italian seasoning until well combined.
- Remove the backbone. Place your turkey, breast side down, backbone towards you, on a large cutting board. Using heavy-duty kitchen shears, cut the bird from tail to neck opening, along both sides of the backbone. You'll be cutting through rib bones, so make sure your shears are sharp and your fingers are well out of the way!
- Crack the breastbone. Remove the backbone and flip the bird breast side up. With both hands, make a fist and press down firmly on the breastbone until the bird has flattened. The legs will point outward and both breasts will be flat. Place your turkey breast side up in your roasting pan.
- Create a pocket. With clean hands or a long spatula, separate the skin from the meat to create a pocket between the meat and the skin.
- Butter the turkey. Place half of your butter equally on each side and then smooth it out as much as you can over the breast muscle. Rub your remaining butter over the skin of the bird. make sure to get the skin on the legs and wings as well as the breast to ensure even browning and crispness.
- Add broth to the bottom of the pan. At the bottom of the pan, add a cup of broth and the remaining brine herbs and fruits.
- Bake. Bake your turkey uncovered for 5-6 minutes per pound. Check the color of the turkey frequently using the oven light so you don’t keep opening the oven. If it is starting to brown too quickly, you can tent aluminum foil over the top of the turkey to slow the browning. My 11 pound turkey took about an hour to cook. Before removing from the oven, check the internal temperature of the turkey in the thickest part of the breast and along the thigh bone at the thickest part of the thigh. Once it reaches 165°F you know your turkey is done.
- Rest and carve. Remove the turkey from the roasting pan aand set it on your serving tray uncovered and let it rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
Directions on how to Brine Spatchock Turkey (optional):
- Prepare the brine. In a large pot or if you have one, a brining bin large enough to submerge your turkey, add 1 cup salt to each gallon of water, 1 chopped onion, 8 peeled and crushed garlic cloves, 1 sliced lemon, 4 bay leaves, fresh sage, fresh thyme, and fresh rosemary.
- Add the turkey. Add your whole turkey to the brine, and then fill the brining bin or bucket with enough cold water to cover the turkey. (If the turkey floats, turn it upward until bubbles come out of the body cavity and it is filled with brine.)
- Refrigerate. Refrigerate overnight or about 8-24 hours. The turkey may swell a little as it absorbs the brine, so make sure your brine isn’t going to overflow when you fill it.
- Rinse. Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse it well, if you don’t, it will remain too salty. Save the herbs and brine ingredients to place inside the turkey while cooking!
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 560kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 70g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 263mg | Sodium: 852mg | Potassium: 739mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 0.4g | Vitamin A: 541IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 3mg