Buttermilk Brined Spatchcock Turkey with Gravy Recipe

Spatchcock Turkey for the juiciest, simplest turkey you’ve ever roasted. The easiest, most reliable recipe for moist, juicy turkey with incredibly crisp skin.

this recipe!

What is Spatchcock Turkey?

To spatchcock, or butterfly, a bird is to remove its backbone and flatten it before cooking. It’s a quick and easy way to roast a turkey that comes out with moist, juicy meat and super crisp skin.

It sounds intimidating, but it’s really an easy process.

Why Spatchcock Turkey is my favorite

I’ve made a lot of turkeys over the past years and here’s why Spatchcock Turkey is my favorite:

Faster cooking - Butterflying the turkey makes it cook faster. That means it doesn’t tie up the oven all day and I don’t have to get up early to get it into the oven. A 12 pound spatchcock turkey takes about 90 minutes to roast, approximately 6 minutes per pound.

An evenly cooked bird – By flattening out the turkey, it cooks evenly. That means the breasts don’t dry out long before the thighs are done.

Lots of super crispy skin – Because all the skin is facing upwards, it all gets brown and crispy.

Back of the turkey for gravy – Cutting out the backbone (and the wings tips or to the first joint) makes an excellent stock for gravy. Because you cut it out in advance, you have plenty of time to make a rich, full flavored stock and even make the gravy in advance.

Doesn’t take up too much space in the oven – A whole turkey takes up a lot of vertical space in the oven. Butterflying it means it bakes flat, freeing up space for baking side dishes. A 10-15 pound turkey fits on a standard 13 by 18-inch half sheet pan.

Easy carving – Spatchcock Turkey is much easier to carve because it’s flattened out.

The BEST Spatchcock Turkey

This is Samin Nosrat’s recipe, of Netflix’s Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat fame. She took her famous Buttermilk Marinated Roast Chicken with its amazing golden, brown crispy skin, and developed a turkey recipe.

While I’ve long loved Spatchcock Turkey, this buttermilk brined recipe is a game changer. With only 3 ingredients, it’s also the easiest!

The buttermilk brine perfectly flavors every bite of the moist, juicy meat. The beautiful golden-brown, incredibly crisp skin is a stunning addition to the holiday table.

How to spatchcock a turkey

See if you can get your butcher to spatchcock or butterfly your turkey. If you’re thawing a whole turkey at home, here’s how to butterfly it yourself:

• Put the turkey on a cutting board, breast-side down. Use poultry shears or heavy-duty kitchen shears to cut along both sides of the backbone.
• Starting at either the tail or neck end, cut halfway down the spine, as close to the spine as possible, then cut down the opposing side. Turn the turkey around and cut down the other sides.
• Spread the two sides of the turkey apart and press down to flatten. You will hear some cracks and popping of the cartilage in the breast bone. Turn the turkey breast side up and press again.
• You can cut off the wing tips, the wing tips and the first joint, or just tuck them under the bird before roasting. The wing tips and first joint make a good addition to the stock for gravy. I’ve left them on because I think it makes for a prettier bird and some people at the table may like to eat the wings.

How to cook a Spatchcock Turkey

Make the buttermilk brine for the Spatchcock Turkey

Open a 2 gallon ziplock bag inside a large bowl. Pour in 3 quarts of buttermilk. Stir in salt.

Marinate the turkey

Put the turkey inside the bag. I find it easiest to hold it by the legs and put it in head first, breast facing down. Seal the bag, squeezing out as much air as possible so that the buttermilk is touching all parts of the turkey.

Refrigerate for 48 hours, turning every 12 hours to redistribute the buttermilk.

Prepare the turkey for roasting

Remove the turkey from the refrigerator, and place on a baking sheet. Wipe off the excess buttermilk. Get as much off as possible so that it doesn’t burn in the oven.

Let the turkey come to room temperature, about 2-3 hours, so that it cooks quickly and evenly.

Place turkey on rack

After you’ve wiped off as much of the buttermilk as you can and the turkey has come to room temperature, put the turkey on a rack on a rimmed baking sheet.  Tuck the wings under the breasts if you haven’t trimmed them off.

Spatchcock Turkey Cooking time – How long to roast a Spatchcock Turkey

Roast the turkey in the middle of a 400° oven. (Samin roasts hers in the upper third of the oven, but I find my turkey gets dark too quickly that high in the oven.) If you want to bake side dishes at the same time, go ahead and roast the turkey in the upper third, just tent any areas that begin to brown too quickly with foil.

Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the breast registers 150 degrees and the thickest part of the thigh without touching bone registers 165 degrees, about 80 to 100 minutes, approximately 6 minutes per pound.

Rotate the pan occasionally as needed to ensure even browning. Tent any areas that begin to brown too quickly with foil.

Since this bird is cooked so hot and fast, pan drippings tend to scorch or burn on the baking sheet. If you’d like to use pan drippings to add to your gravy, spread a layer of chopped carrot, celery, and onion on the baking sheet and set the rack on top. This will keep the pan from burning. Add a little water during cooking time if you see any signs of burning.

Remove the turkey from the oven and let rest for 20-30 minutes before carving.

 Pour off any collected juices and pass them through a fine mesh strainer if you’d like to add them to your gravy. Skim off any excess fat.

You can serve the turkey whole and carve it at the table, or carve it up and serve it already sliced.

How to carve a Spatchcock Turkey

Begin by cutting off the thighs and legs:

1. Cut the skin between the thighs/legs and the breast
2. Pull the leg back until the joint pops.
3. Cut along the leg joint to separate it.

Remove the wings:

1. Bend the wing joint until it pops.
2. Cut along the exposed joint to remove.

Remove the breasts:

1. Slice each breast down the middle along the side of the rib cage.
2. Keep working your knife down slowly until each breast is completely removed.
3. Slice the breasts into slices, try to keep the skin in place.

Slice the thigh meat:

1. Begin to cut between the thigh and the drumstick.
2. Press the joint to pop it open.
3. Cut around joint to separate.
4. Remove the bone from the thigh.
5. Slice the thigh meat.

How to make Homemade Turkey Gravy

One of the bonuses of making Spatchcock Turkey is the turkey gravy that you can make with the backbone. Because the backbone is cut out before the turkey is brined, you can make the gravy plenty of time in advance.

This is a technique developed by Lan Lam at Cook’s Illustrated. It tastes great with full-bodied turkey flavor, can be made in advance, and doesn’t require turkey drippings. (If you have them, though, you can add them to the gravy for even more turkey flavor.)

This recipe uses the neck, the backbone, giblets if you have them, and some of the fat and skin trimmed from the turkey – where all the flavor is. Trim about ⅓ cup of excess fat and skin from the neck and cavity openings and cut them into ½ inch pieces.

This technique seems a little backwards, but produces a full-flavored gravy. Instead of initially searing the parts and then adding broth, they are simmered first and then seared.

This produces a whole pan full of frond – the flavor packed brown bits that stick to the bottom of the pan when meat is browned. This Maillard reaction transforms sugars and proteins into hundreds of new flavor compounds that adds depth and flavor to the gravy.

To make the turkey stock:

In a Dutch oven, simmer the turkey parts with 2 cups of chicken broth. Let it simmer until all of the liquid evaporates and the trimmings begin to sizzle, about 20 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until a brown coating of frond forms over the bottom of the pan, about 2-4 minutes.

Add chopped vegetables and sauté for a few minutes until softened. If the frond seems to be darkening too much, add a few spoons of water and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to dissolve it while you continue to sauté the vegetables.

Add rest of the stock, along with the parsley sprigs, thyme, and salt. Simmer for 1-2 hours.

Strain stock through a fine meshed sieve. You should have about 4 cups of turkey stock. The stock can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.

To make the turkey gravy:

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and increase the heat to medium-high, stirring constantly, until the mixture turns a deep golden brown. Whisk in the turkey stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in any drippings, if using, and salt and pepper to taste.

The gravy can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen. To thaw, reheat gently over low heat. Stir in extra broth to thin as necessary.

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Enjoy, friends!

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