Caribou Gear Tarp

Spatchcock turkey?

mtmuley

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Anyone ever do this with a turkey? I want to try it but the bird is 23 pounds. Guidance appreciated. Oh, and I am going to brine it. mtmuley
 
Yeah. Pretty straight forward. Assuming it’s a wet brine, i’d do that first. Wild or domestic bird?
 
Do it all the time with chickens and have twice with smaller turkeys. Wet brine for 12hr, rub down with olive oil, salt/pepper, garlic, parsley and let sit for 12 more hours in the fridge wrapped up in cellophane. 350 on the pellet grill. Never had to turn it over. Prob in the breast. Never did more than a 12-14lb turkey though. Always turns out great and it juicy.
 
I’ve done several big turkeys this way on my pellet smoker. It’s a great way to cook one. I always use the injectable marinade with mine. I save a cup full to baste the bird with. I seasoned all but one with Greek seasoning. They are usually done around 2 to 3 hours! Nice and juicy! I do put a can of water in the back of my grill seems to help with the skin drying out so fast during the cooking.
 
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Do it all the time with chickens and have twice with smaller turkeys. Wet brine for 12hr, rub down with olive oil, salt/pepper, garlic, parsley and let sit for 12 more hours in the fridge wrapped up in cellophane. 350 on the pellet grill. Never had to turn it over. Prob in the breast. Never did more than a 12-14lb turkey though. Always turns out great and it juicy.
What is your average cook time on Turkey?
 
Do it every thanksgiving. Brine then, spatchcock. Never disappoints. After brine we actually take the bird apart before we cook it. Allows us to take breast out if it’s done before thighs are. Rarely need to.
 
I’ve done smaller birds, and have had great results with a wet brine. I use a food safe 5 gallon bucket for the brine, not sure you’d be able to get that big of a bird in it though.

One thing I’ve found is to put butter under the skin, never on top. With fats in the outside there’s nasty tasting fat solvable compounds in smoke that will stick with butter outside. Nothing that’s going to put you off your meal, just an aftertaste kind of thing. Learned about it from an Aaron Franklin YouTube video.
 
I did it a couple a weeks ago. Turned out delicious but cooked faster than I expected. Use an electronic thermometer and pay attention!
 
Anyone ever do this with a turkey? I want to try it but the bird is 23 pounds. Guidance appreciated. Oh, and I am going to brine it. mtmuley
Anyone ever do this with a turkey? I want to try it but the bird is 23 pounds. Guidance appreciated. Oh, and I am going to brine it. mtmuley
Anyone ever do this with a turkey? I want to try it but the bird is 23 pounds. Guidance appreciated. Oh, and I am going to brine it. mtmuley
This might help. It’s been a good one over the years for us.

 
Absolutely do it, and pull it when thermometer in deepest breast says 150. Rest for an hour. Temp will rise. Reheat just before serving.


Anyone ever do this with a turkey? I want to try it but the bird is 23 pounds. Guidance appreciated. Oh, and I am going to brine it. mtmuley


I've done this method many times, always turns out great! Don't even bother with the wet brine, seriously, if you do the spatchcock method the right way the bird will finish nice and moist without the brine.
 
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My wife did the spatchcock method the first time about 8 years ago. Now that's the only way she cooks all our turkeys. Our turkeys are hunted, not store bought, so they are brined since they don't have whatever the commercial turkeys are injected with.
 
Yup, I usually do brined spatchcocked birds on my pellet grill at 275…. Skin rubbed with mayo then seasoned with your favorite rub. I pull at 158 internal (takes about an hour per every 5lbs) in the breast and rest at least 1/2 hour. Also did a glaze this year that was composed of 2 parts butter, 1honey, 1 Dijon that was pretty good.
 
I thaw my turkey out in a bucket of apple cider. Once it's thawed I let it it for about 2 days. I do this in a fridge out in the garage. The day before cooking I spatchcock it and let it sit covered in the fridge for about 12 hours to let the cider leech out. Then I smoke it with applewood/hickory mix.
 
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