Spatchcocked Turkey
Spatchcocking your turkey is great. It cuts the cooking time by hours and makes it so much easier to fit other things in the oven at the same time as the turkey. There is no need to be scared, your butcher can easily spatchcock the bird for you. Just make sure you get the backbone to take home with you, you want to be able to use it to make stock later, just stick it in the freezer until you need some stock.
Ingredients
- 1 turkey
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 whole onion, quartered
- 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
- 1 whole orange, quartered
- 3 thyme sprigs
- 2 Rosemary sprig
- Salt and pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup white wine
Instructions
1. Prep the Turkey (1–2 Days Before Thanksgiving)
Rinse the turkey under cold water and scrub with kosher salt to clean. Rinse again and pat completely dry.
Place the turkey on a baking sheet and season generously on all sides with salt.
Leave uncovered in the fridge until Thanksgiving Day.
2. Bring to Room Temperature
On Thanksgiving Day, remove the turkey from the fridge 1.5 hours before roasting to allow it to come to room temperature.
3. Preheat and Prep
Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C).
Place the turkey breast side up on a clean baking sheet. Surround it with garlic cloves, onion, celery, orange wedges, thyme, and rosemary.
Pour the white wine around the base of the turkey.
In a small pan, melt the butter with the olive oil and brush the mixture over the turkey. Season with pepper and additional salt if needed.
4. Roast the Turkey
Place the turkey in the oven and roast at 450°F for 20 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (175°C) and continue to roast for about 1 hour, or until the skin is golden brown and the thickest part of the breast reaches 165°F with an instant-read thermometer.
5. Rest and Carve
Remove the turkey from the oven and let it rest for 30 minutes before carving.
Tip: Carving too soon will release the juices and result in dry meat.