It’s a bit of a tradition at CCRcorp to post lighthearted blogs immediately before a holiday (Thanksgiving in the US). John, Meredith, Julie and I had quite the conversation last week about John’s spatchcock turkey recipe. I’m not much in the kitchen and had never heard of that before. Being a Texan, I mused about how that might work for beef but we’ll leave that for now. So if you are still looking for a new way to cook your Thanksgiving turkey – here is John’s recipe.
A few years ago, I finally stumbled upon a better way to prepare my turkey. No, it’s not the deep fried thing. I’ve had deep fried turkey, and it tastes like chicken wings. I like chicken wings, but not for Thanksgiving. Also, I’m not comfortable with what seems to be about a 1-in-4 chance of having flames engulf everything I own that goes along with deep frying a turkey. [Ed. note: If you do plan on frying your turkey – PLEASE make sure it is thoroughly thawed first and your fryer is outside at least 25 feet away from structures and combustible materials. Also take personal safety precautions against being splashed by hot oil. Okay – safety lecture is now over.]
Anyway, here’s the big reveal – if you spatchcock your turkey, you will achieve true Thanksgiving bliss. What’s “spatchcocking” a turkey all about? It’s simple really, you butterfly the bird by cutting out the backbone with poultry shears, and then flip it over and press down on it until the wishbone breaks. Then season it & toss it breast side up into a preheated oven – or do as I do, and throw it onto your grill – and prepare to be amazed.
The first thing you’re going to notice about this method is how fast it is. I cooked an 18 lb. turkey on my “Big Green Egg” grill last year & it took just about 80 minutes at 400 degrees. For those of you for whom my description of spending an afternoon with a baster in hand struck a cord, that may sound absurd – but no kidding, it really is that fast.
The other thing is that the bird turns out really juicy with nice, crispy skin. Because it’s flattened out, it cooks more evenly and you don’t end up drying out the white meat in order to avoid poisoning the folks who like dark meat. The backbone also will help you make a richer stock for your gravy, if you’re so inclined.
So, if you want to simplify cooking Thanksgiving dinner & end up with a much better result, give this method a try. Here’s the recipe from the “Serious Eats” website that I use (although I find a 400 degree temperature works better on my grill). Finally, regardless of how you how you cook your bird (or your Tofurky), have a great holiday!
We wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. We will closed Thursday and Friday, but will resume our blogs next Tuesday.
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