Spatchcocked Turkey: The newest trend for Thanksgiving

As with everything worth doing, there is an easy, somewhat workable way of doing a spatchcocked bird... and then there is the proper way. I'll give you both in a moment.

I would recommend that before you try it on a turkey that you experiment on chickens for a few months. The procedure is exactly the same, although the turkey is just a little different in anatomy along the shoulder joints. Once you see how great it makes the chicken you won't be able to wait to try it on the big bird.

I have successfully accomplished this with a 20 lb turkey at the biggest, but keep in mind that a turkey laying flat is going to take up almost twice the space that you're used to.

Spatchcocking at its easiest is nothing more than removing the backbone and, after flipping the bird over so that the inside is downward, pressing down to break the breastbone sufficiently enough so that the bird lays flat.

It takes a very strong kitchen shears to cut the backbone closely along each side to remove it. Some people have even been known to have a pair of tinsnips dedicated for kitchen duty to handle this part. Four hands have been known to make this part easier, two to hold the bird still, and the other two to cut with the shears.

The idea is that roasting a flattened bird will enable the heat to be consistent over the meat itself, unlike the rounded bird which is like trying to cook a football where some parts are closer or farther from the heat.

It truly, really works. Combined with a brined bird, it will come out the juiciest, tastiest, bird you can imagine.

However, a dedicated spatchcocker doesn't rest with that simple way.

First to also come off the bird is the tip wing joint. It's not needed for anything, and is usually just burnt by overcooking anyway. When I am spatchcocking a chicken I normally go ahead and cut off the top inch of the leg bone also, but a turkey really would not be a turkey without someone walking around chewing on a roasted leg.

Then comes the part that requires artistry and a mastery of the knife.

The breastbone is not "broken" but carefully and surgically removed from the bird. Again, practicing several times with a large chicken helps to gain the necessary skill to do this. One major slip and you don't have a spatchcocked bird, you have one cut in half. Which works... but you can't brag too much about just cutting a bird in half.

You MUST be careful to remove the breastkeel without slicing through and separating the two breast halves "completely." Gradually work a small knife between the keel and the breast on each side, keeping as close to the keel as you can. You may wind up using your fingers to work part of the keep loose from the meat. The two sides of the breast will be pretty floppy where they come together, but proper care will keep them together.

You can stop at that point but I have always found it much better to continue and remove the ribs up to and including the big bone which I think is the shoulder joint. A boning knife works best for this, but any very sharp, thin bladed knife will do it for you.

What this does for you is to give you several pounds of pure, uninterrupted meat on both sides of the bird. It also means that now you have a really, really floppy bird on the cutting board, There is basically nothing holding it together which means you have to be very careful in removing it and placing it back down with the skin side now up after you season that side..

Of course, all the removed ingredients go into the stock pot for gravy and after-Thanksgiving soup.

Season both sides, butter or olive oil the skin side, put it on a hot grill over a roasting pan filled with wine, and away you go. Indoors in the oven or out on the grill it is a wonderful way to cook the bird.

You have to be careful about getting it from the chopping board to the grill -- remember it is very floppy. Also, there really is no need to do anything to it once it's on the grill or in the oven unless you want to baste it now and then. Do NOT attempt to turn it over once it is down.

Please note that if you go for the full breast/ribs removal the bird will lay really, really flat.

A note of warning though, it takes about a third LESS time to cook the bird when it is spatchcocked. Practice makes perfect.

When you pull it off it looks beautiful, but not quite traditional. But I've never heard any complaints so far. And carving... there are no bones to carve around... it's all just pure meat for the breast and most of the thigh. Imagine no wasted meat trapped in the rib cage.

If you like this recipe I invite you to take a look at