My Adventures with Spatchcocking a Turkey

"Spatchcock"
There's something about that word.....it sounds vaguely improper. But it just means dispatching, or dismembering, a male turkey or chicken. It's a different way of roasting the bird so that it cooks more evenly and more quickly. Two people told me about it recently, and I decided to give it a try for Christmas dinner. I studied recipes and watched online videos in preparation for the Big Experiment. I took the 13-pound turkey out of the freezer last Tuesday evening and let it thaw on the counter overnight. (I know the experts say not to do that, but I always have, and nobody has gotten sick from a turkey at my house. I figure if I don't give it a headstart on the counter, I ought to have taken it out of the freezer the day after Thanksgiving. ) Wednesday I put it in the sink in cold water for 2 or 3 hours, changing the water every half hour. Then I put the bird into the fridge to finish thawing if it hadn't already. Friday morning I tackled the spatchcocking process.

Here's that naked bird, thawed and rinsed and ready for the operation.

I had purchased new garden shears specifically for cutting alongside the backbone, having read online that they work well. For the most part, I was pleased with my choice of tool. It didn't cut the skin too well, though, so I kept a knife handy to help out when needed.

The packaging said nothing about kitchen use, and I will definitely let the local hardware store owner know this tool has more functions than he thought.

It looked so easy on the videos, especially since it was time-lapse. For me it was rather slow going, especially since this was the first time I had tried such a process.

I'm halfway done!

Finally, I had succeeded in cutting out the backbone! It was a very crunchy project.

I probably wouldn't have worn rubber gloves, except I cut my thumb on the @#@#! packaging for the garden shears.

The next step was to turn the bird over and press down on the breast bone until it cracked and flattened out a bit.

Yeah, it looks pretty odd.

Next, I rubbed a dry-brine solution of coarse Kosher sea salt and herbs under the breast and leg skin, and over the entire outside of the skin. I was too messy to take a photo of the process, and nobody else was around to do it for me.

Here is is, all brined and on the broiler pan.

I had ordered a larger baking pan specifically for this project, but I didn't get around to it on time, and Amazon orders were backed up due to the holidays, so I had to make do with my old broiler pan and let the legs stick over the edge. In this manner it reposed on the bottom shelf of my fridge until Sunday afternoon.

I will post part 2: Roasting the Spatchcocked Turkey in a day or two, after I transfer the photos from my phone to the computer.

All photos taken by me on my Android phone.