Here’s How To Cut Down On Cooking Time By ‘Spatchcocking’ Your Turkey
Have you heard of “Spatchcocking” your turkey? That sounds kinda like a dirty word, huh!!
To Spatchcock a turkey — pronounced spach·kaak — simply means that you remove the backbone of the bird, and flatten the breast. The bird will butterfly out, if you will, and it will cut your cooking time down — like by HALF!!
This is an old technique that dates back to the 18th century, but it has seen a resurgence in popularity — for good reason!!
This way of cooking your turkey makes the meat cook much more evenly, and you will get a nice golden, crispy skin all over the bird.
Now, you can do this with ANY poultry that you are trying to cook: chicken, turkey, cornish hens, whatever.
Once flattened, many people like to grill the bird, but you can also roast your turkey in an oven. I tend to cook it in the oven. That way I don’t have to worry with getting the grill ready, cleaning it, messing with charcoal, ect. It’s just quicker, to me.
Here Is How To Spatchcock Your Turkey
1) Put your turkey (or chicken, cornish hen, or other poultry) on a clean, flat surface.
2) Turn the bird over, and remove the backbone.
3) Turn the bird right side up, and press firmly on the breast bone, until it snaps. This part gives me the heebie-jeebies, but it is necessary to properly spatchcock the bird.
4) Season your bird however you want, and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.
5) Butterfly the bird. If you don’t know how to do this, it’s pretty easy. Just grab some kitchen sheers, your turkey, and watch this YouTube video on how to butterfly the bird.
6) Preheat your oven to 450 degrees fahrenheit. Place your bird on a roasting pan, and roast for 30 minutes.
7) Turn the oven heat down to 350 degrees, and continue to cook until the internal temperature of the bird reaches 165 degrees. This is usually about an hour, but will depend on the size of your bird.
8) This part is IMPORTANT. Don’t skip this step. Let the bird rest outside of the oven for about 30 minutes. This gives the juices time to be reabsorbed into the bird, and makes it super moist.
9) VOILA! You just spatchcocked your turkey!! See, it was pretty easy, wasn’t it!!
If you are looking for a DELICIOUS side to go with your spatchcocked turkey, you can check out this Super Easy Macaroni or this Homemade Cranberry Sauce recipe that is the best ever!!
