I’m going to be honest with you… I stopped roasting turkey for Thanksgiving a few years back. It just took too many hours out of the day and cut into fun time on the holidays. Instead I would roast a chicken to go with all the side dishes I made ahead. That way, we could go skiing, or for a winter hike and still come home to enjoy dinner. So I’ve been roasting turkey pretty much around the clock lately, and there have been a couple of key tips that I’ve come up with. First up we’re going to keep it simple with a dry brine, and then leave it uncovered overnight in the fridge. This allows the skin to dry out and it cooks into crispy golden deliciousness. The second tip for a perfectly golden turkey is to start with a slightly higher temperature and then lower it to bake until the turkey is done. This helps the skin render out evenly and gives the turkey a nice golden brown finish. Finally, I only put herb butter under the skin so it doesn’t burn and add a light coating of oil to the skin. These are super simple tips that require no work at all. But they have really elevated our Thanksgiving turkey.
How to make this recipe step by step
I really hope you enjoy this Spatchcock Turkey recipe! If you do get a chance to make it, I’d love to hear from you in the comments. Remove the spine starting from the bottom end (tail end) of the turkey. Starting from the neck is harder, in my experience. I had Tyler spatchcock one turkey and he was able to cut all the way through one side before cutting the other. But my hand strength isn’t nearly as good. I find it best to make a cut up the right side and then the left side of the backbone until I start to meet resistance in the middle. Then turn the bird around and cut from the neck side until you get to the middle. From there, turn the turkey breast side up and, using both of your hands in the middle, press down like you’re doing CPR until you hear the turkey breastbone crack. Use your hands to loosen the turkey skin and dry brine it with the kosher salt. From there, refrigerate uncovered overnight to let the skin dry out. The next day, add the onions, carrots, and celery to a large baking sheet and top with a metal (non-coated) rack. Tuck the wings behind the breast, you will find this much easier to do by cracking the joints of the wings. Finally rub the herb butter under the skin of the turkey. Evenly coat the turkey skin with avocado oil Step 4: Put the turkey in the oven and add the chicken broth or water to the sheet pan, being careful that the liquid doesn’t splash. Roast at 425ºF for 30 minutes. Step 5: Lower the oven temperature to 350ºF and roast until the turkey reads 150 to 155 on an instant meat thermometer. Remove the turkey from the oven, cover it, and let the turkey rest until it reaches 165, about 20 minutes. Carve the turkey and serve with your choice of sides.
