Cooking a turkey can be intimidating. After all, it’s the centerpiece of important meals like Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. You want it to turn out tender, juicy and flavorful. Undercooking could lead to food poisoning, while overcooking results in a dried-out bird. High stakes for sure!
That’s why spatchcocking your turkey is a great option Spatchcocking (also called butterflying) speeds up cooking time significantly while also promoting even cooking But what temperature should you cook a spatchcocked turkey to perfection?
What Is Spatchcocking?
Spatchcocking is a method of preparing poultry or game birds for roasting or grilling. It involves removing the backbone and flattening the bird so it looks almost like a butterfly.
By laying the bird flat, the meat cooks more evenly since all portions are equally exposed to the heat source. Both the dark and white meat finish cooking at the same time, so no part is over or underdone.
Spatchcocking allows the turkey to roast much faster The increased surface area hastens cooking, Expect the bird to be ready in about half the usual time,
Benefits of a Spatchcock Turkey
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Shorter cooking time – A spatchcocked 10-12 lb turkey may cook in only 1-1.5 hours. You can put it in the oven after the appetizers are served.
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Evenly cooked – No undercooked thighs or dried out breast meat, All sections roast to ideal doneness
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Crispy skin – With the skin facing up, it’s easy to get every bit ultra crisp. No soggy underside either.
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Better flavor – The skin has more direct contact with seasonings, infusing the meat with more herbs and spices.
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Easier to carve – With the backbone removed and breastbone pressed flat, carving is a breeze.
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More space in the oven – A flattened bird takes up less room, leaving space for side dishes.
How to Spatchcock a Turkey
Butterflying a turkey requires just a few easy steps:
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Place turkey breast side down on a work surface. Using sharp kitchen shears, cut along both sides of the backbone to remove it.
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Make an incision in the cartilage attaching the breastbone.
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Open the turkey like a book and press firmly on the breastbone to flatten completely.
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Tuck the wing tips under the shoulders.
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Season as desired. The turkey is ready for roasting!
What Temp to Cook a Spatchcock Turkey?
Oven Roasting
To oven roast a spatchcocked turkey:
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Preheat the oven to 400°F.
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Place turkey skin side up on a rack set in a roasting pan.
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Roast for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 350°F.
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Continue roasting until the thickest part of the breast and thighs reach an internal temperature of 165°F. For a 10-12 lb turkey, this takes about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes.
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Let rest for 15 minutes before carving. The temperature will rise another 5°-10°F as it rests.
Grill Roasting
You can also roast your spatchcocked turkey on a gas or charcoal grill using indirect heat:
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Preheat grill to medium-high, around 375-400°F.
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Place turkey skin-side up over indirect heat, away from the heat source.
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Grill with the lid closed until breast and thighs reach 160°F, 1-1.5 hours.
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Move turkey over direct heat for the last few minutes to crisp the skin if needed.
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Let rest 15 minutes before serving.
Why 165°F?
Poultry needs to reach an internal temperature of 165°F throughout to be safe to eat. Salmonella and other pathogens are destroyed at this temperature.
For whole turkeys, the USDA used to recommend 180°F, but this led to overcooking. 165°F is sufficient for safety while keeping the meat juicy and tender.
Use an instant read thermometer like Thermapen to check multiple areas. Temperatures may vary in different parts. Make sure to reach 165°F in both the breast and thighs.
Carryover Cooking
The internal temperature will continue rising as the turkey rests, a phenomenon called carryover cooking. Remove it from the heat source when it’s 5-10°F below the target temp.
For example, pull the turkey from the oven at 160°F because carryover will bring it up to a safe 165°F as it rests. This prevents overshooting and drying out the meat.
Keys to Juicy, Flavorful Turkey
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Dry brine – Rubbing the turkey with salt a day ahead improves moisture and flavor. Rinse before cooking.
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Aromatics – Stuff cavity with lemons, onions, herbs for extra flavor.
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Baste – Brush with melted butter or turkey stock while roasting.
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Rest – Letting the turkey rest seals in juices and allows carryover cooking to finish.
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Gravy – Make gravy with the flavorful pan drippings for the perfect finishing touch.
Takeaways
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Spatchcocking removes the backbone and flattens the bird for quicker, more even roasting.
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Cook a spatchcock turkey in the oven at 350°F or on the grill at 375-400°F indirect heat.
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Roast until the breast and thighs reach an internal temperature of 165°F.
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Let turkey rest for 15 minutes before carving for juicy, tender meat.
Spatchcock your turkey for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner this year. At just 1-1.5 hours cook time, it frees up your oven and leaves plenty of time for enjoying the holiday with friends and family!
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A much better way to roast Thanksgiving turkey. White and dark meat came out juicy and correctly cooked at the same time (90 mins at 425-450). Dry brined for 2 days after butterflying. Put apple, onion, sage, thyme & parsley under and smeared compound butter under skin and over legs. Spatchcocked turkeys are wider than whole ones (duh…). Our 18 pounder measured 18″ by 14″ — bigger than most roasting pans. Cut panels from foil pans to build out the sides — worked fine!
You can put your dressing in a roasting pan — place split bird on rack and rest on roasting pan — turkey drippings go into the dressing – YUM! Remove turkey and rack to rest while top of dressing crisps up a bit — everything done, oven space saver and dressing has that stuffing taste from turkey drippings —
Yes, I have been using this recipe for years and I love it. The largest I have ever done was a 22 lb turkey 2 years ago. Use a meat thermometer and allow for extra time and you will be fine.
First, dry brined (just kosher salt) and covered with plastic wrap for about 12 hours; uncovered overnight to dry skin. Put softened butter and thyme sprigs under breast skin and rubbed entire surface with more softened butter. Apple, onion, carrot, celery, thyme, sage and lemon as base, 12 lb bird needed 1 hour 10 minutes. Tender and moist! Best ever!
Morning..I gave up wet brining years ago. To messy and IMO impacts texture of meat. A dry brine works wonders for all poultry. Ive got a 22 lb butterflied turkey dry brining for last 3 days in the fridge. The recipe is in the NYT as Dry-Brined Turkey..The Zuni Cafe recipe. An on-line search will give you some ideas and variations for a dry brined butterflied turkey. Mangia!
Google “The Butcher Carves A Turkey” for a way to get around that problem. Ray Venezias advice on presentation makes for a real “WOW!” moment with your bird. Looks amazing, easy to serve.
Hosted Thanksgiving for the first time this year and needless to say I was nervous. I used this method with a wet brined turkey and it was fabulous! I roasted it on a flat rack (technically a bakers cooling tray) on a large sheet pan. I omitted all the vegetables since I already had plenty of side dishes, and I was concerned about too much liquid since my pan was shallow. It was beautiful brown and crispy, and extremely moist. Adding this to my growing repertoire.
Revolutionary? In 2002? I believe Julia Child published a butterflied turkey in The Way to Cook in 1989. And I highly doubt that she was the first. A good recipe requires no additional hyperbole, darlings.
I guess I should have read through these comments before I tried out this approach. Great in concept, but really rolled the dice to think turkey would be ready in 45 minutes (or 60 minutes even), When the turkey was finally done, it was pretty tasty. luckily, I also grilled a breast on the BBQ which was done in about 60 minutes-so thanksgiving disaster was averted… when in doubt, give yourself more time than you think is needed……
Made this today – best turkey ever. I did the mix of vegetables – potatoes, carrots, parsnips, garlic, celery, chopped into small pieces. Olive oil, salt, pepper and a cup of white wine. The breast was so moist and the flavors permeated through the meat. I will never cook turkey any other way! And the 14.5lb bird took an hour and a half. So easy…….I had the butcher cut out the backbone for me so no struggles there.
I have spatchcocked our turkey for 3 years. I like to make 2 turkeys as my oven is small, 27″. Last year, I roasted the turkeys on a bed of tri-color carrots. The turkey turned out great and the carrots were delicious!!!
Since I learned about spatchcocking, I havent roasted a turkey or a chicken any other way. I look forward to trying the higher temperature to shorten the process even more. The only disadvantage is a less photogenic finished bird. I carve it in the kitchen and present it at the table ready to eat.
I spatchcock the night before and rub garlic and onion powder, salt, pepper & paprika w/ melted butter under the skin leaving it to dry brine in the fridge until 2 hours before dinner. Give it an hour to reach room temp, then cook as instructed. Check all over with an instant-read therm and this is the easiest, bestest way to cook a turkey! I roast the backbone ahead for the gravy. Also, spatchcocking a turkey is not easy. You need a cleaver to get some of the bones to cooperate.
Made this w/ 13 lb organic turkey. Roasted 1 1/2 hours (20 min @ 450 & then 400) The meat was SO tender & moist – the skin ended up being a mahogany brown & super crisp! I added some onions, carrots & celery under the whole bird, & also added 2 cups of Duck broth to the bottom of the pan at around 45 min (as at this temp, most of the liquid was evaporating) Very EASY to cut the backbone out by the way!! Will do this every time now (unless I go all the way and debone it!)
I had a 30 pound turkey. Surprise delivery from my neighbor who raises turkeys. Freshly butchered yesterday. So I halved the turkey by removing the backbone altogether with kitchen shears. I roasted both sides according to the recipe. Best turkey I have ever had. Bones will now be roasted for bone broth. Thank you for this amazing recipe.
The results of this time-saving technique for roasting a turkey (or chicken) results in an evenly cooked bird with wonderful crisp and uniformly browned skin. To make certain that the result is not dry meat check the temperature in the breasts and thighs and do not overcook above 155º. As it rests out of the oven it will continue to cook to 165º or even slightly above.
I first made this in 2016 and it’s the only way I make turkey now. I dry brine it for 2 days before cooking. Beware, it cooks faster than you think.
Made an 8lb turkey. Thighs at 165 degrees. Turkey nowhere near done. Read the notes and saw someone else saying 165 degrees is for the breast, 180 for the thighs. Back in the oven now…..
A 10lb turkey took about 2 hours. Dry brined for 2 days, one day covered by a bag, and one day to air dry in the refrigerator with no bag. Used garlic and thyme and slices of lemon. Turkey was beautifully browned and juicy. This is the best/easiest way to make a turkey.
This year, I am very thankful for this recipe! It was the best turkey Ive ever prepared or eaten! And all the more amazing because I didnt do any of the normal prep work leading up to Thanksgiving because life got super hectic. This recipe really saved the day for the bird eaters who came to dinner!
First time with spatchcocked turkey 11 pounds. Was disappointed in how much longer it took the Turkey to cook. Oven thermometer showed the correct temp for cooking but even after 2 hours thighs were still bloody and the breast meat mushy. I’ll try again but now know 45 minutes is way off.
During the 2 hours that the 12 pound turkey took to cook, I put it in different pans trying to max the heat! First a roasting pan…too high sides, then a foil pan,…still too high, finally a bake sheet. I added stock to the pan to get the drippings so I could make gravy. Very mis lead about the time. In the end also switched to convection to get the bird done as we were running late.
I watched the video how to spatchcock a turkey which was very misleading. No where does Mark say the weight of the bird or WHY the turkey cooks so much faster…or does it? I prepared a 12 pound turkey as directed and it took a full 2 hours to cook not 35 minutes for the one Mark cooked. I have an excellent oven and in the end, I put it on convection to hurry it along. Very disappointed. Loved the garlic and the turkey was flavorful.
Additional note…rubbing the turkey with butter and placing in a 450 oven set off the smoke alarm when I opened the oven! Just saying!!!!
Dont “drizzle” olive oil over the turkey unless you want the Fire Dept to come by. Olive oil and 450 degree oven dont mix.
Spatchcocked turkey is definitely the way to go in the future. I made this yesterday and the outcome was perfect! Not the usual dried out breast and underdone dark meat. I roasted my 11 pound turkey on a rack at 400 degrees for 40 minutes, reduced heat to 325 degrees and roasted it for an additional 25 minutes. I used my heavy duty kitchen shears to remove the backbone, which I used to make stock.
Made an 11lb Turkey with some garlic and spices as indicated in the recipe. Came out perfect. Everyone who ate turkey, loved it. Even watched the video on How to Carve a turkey, which helped as well. NYTimes Cooking is Awesome.
Years ago I swore off roasting turkeys because they were always a big fail. This year I decided to try the spatchcock method using this recipe, the only change being that I dry brined it for two days. Otherwise followed as written. One half of the breast was pretty good, the other half had a weird texture. The legs were tough and game-y (and this was a “good”quality turkey). It roasted unevenly, for some reason. So, more or less an epic fail, but thats probably down to me.
Easiest to use poultry shears, cut the wishbone (no trying to press flat) and clip the wing. see this :60 video www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwZp9edhCMg 17-20 pound takes ~90-105 minutes to get to 150 degrees deep in the breast. Under the rack, I put apples, sweet onions, carrots & celery along w both herbs fresh. As there is not much liquid in the bottom, I baste with chicken stock. Post cook, I strain the vegetables, put some of meat juice into the gravy and save the rest for stock
Just FYI this took WAYYYYY more than 45 minutes to cook
Mine took 2 hours and I was very disappointed by being so mis lead. My turkey was 12 pounds. I the end I put it on convection bake to hurry it along! The pin in the breast of the bird never popped but the juices ran clear and it registered 160, I took it out! What happened with yours??Private notes are only visible to you.
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