- Turkey is one of the best parts of Thanksgiving dinner,
but it can be really intimidating.
I'm gonna share all of our tips and tricks
for making sure your bird is so juicy, flavorful,
and it's gonna be done in half the time,
we're making spatchcock turkey.
We're gonna start with some quick prep
and let's get this party started.
(drumbeat music)
You'll need to line your roasting pan with some veggies,
so we'll start with some quick prep.
Slice a large onion into rings,
and you can use either a yellow onion or a sweet onion.
Now coarsely chop up your celery sticks.
There's no need for perfection,
I just like to keep it
the same thickness as the onion rings.
Now, slice your carrots into rings,
and you don't even have to peel the carrots
since they're just gonna be roasting
in the bottom of the pan.
Also, peel and slice your garlic cloves.
Again, there's no need for perfection here,
these veggies will infuse the turkey drippings
with tons of flavor,
making sure you have the most delicious turkey gravy.
Scatter the veggies into the bottom of a large,
deep roasting pan.
Keep in mind a spatchcock turkey has a bigger footprint,
so use a large-size pan,
and I will link to the one I'm using in the recipe notes.
Arrange the veggies roughly in a single layer,
then pour in half a cup of water.
Set that aside,
and we're gonna make the most amazing flavored butter.
This is the same flavored butter
that made our original roast turkey so popular,
but I'm gonna show you an even easier way to make it.
I used to just put everything into a mixing bowl
and then mash it together with a fork,
but that did take quite a bit of time
to mash in the lemon juice,
and quite a bit of elbow grease.
Using a food processor is so much easier.
Into the food processor, add your softened butter,
then your coarsely chopped parsley and garlic.
Now add your freshly grated lemon zest,
and you always wanna zest the lemon before you cut it,
otherwise, it's impossible to zest.
Now, squeeze in the fresh lemon juice
and I love the citrus squeezer,
I will link to it in the recipe notes.
You will also need some extra virgin olive oil, and salt,
and freshly cracked black pepper.
Now just secure the lid (blender whirling)
and pulse that until it's blended
and well combined. (blender whirling)
Once that liquid lemon juice is incorporated
into the butter, it's ready.
The food processor just makes this step
so much faster and easier,
I highly recommend it,
and I will link to my favorite food processor
in the recipe notes.
Transfer that incredible flavored butter to a dish
and set it aside.
To keep my workstation clean
while working with the turkey,
I like to use a large baking sheet.
It's also nice to have gloves.
I'm going to assume your turkey is fully thawed
and that you've removed the giblets
and neck from the inside.
You also should have already brined your turkey
if you're brining, and I do have a great brine recipe
that I will link to in the notes.
Start by turning the turkey upside down
with the spine facing towards you.
Just like with spatchcocking a chicken,
we're gonna cut out the spine.
You can use either some strong and sturdy kitchen shears
or a very sharp knife.
Cutting through the spine
is probably the hardest part of this recipe,
which is also why I commissioned my husband
to help me when he's around.
Cutting through the thick hip bone
can be especially tricky,
but keep at it, and you will make it through.
Once you finish cutting through the first side of the spine,
continue cutting on the other side
to completely remove the spine.
Sometimes I'll use my heavy-duty chef knife
to help me get through the trickier spots.
My best advice is to go slow and be careful.
Keep those hands safe,
and it's perfectly normal
to feel very accomplished when you get that out.
You can also go ahead and cut off
and remove the tail if it's there.
To help you break the breastbone later
and flatten the turkey, use a large chef knife
to cut a slit in the top of the breastbone.
Now push the two sides down
to help break that breastbone.
You should hear a good crack.
If you didn't brine your turkey,
you'll wanna go ahead and season
the bottom of the bird with salt and pepper.
If you did brine it, you can skip that step.
Now, flip the turkey over
and push down over the center of the breastbone
to flatten it even more.
To stuff the turkey with the flavored butter,
we're gonna need to separate the skin from the meat,
so push your hand in under the skin
to create a pocket of space.
I like to go in from the bottom and top of the turkey
to make sure that butter gets evenly distributed later.
You're gonna use two-thirds of the butter at this step,
stuffing it under the skin.
I like to stuff some of it in from the top
and some of it in from the bottom,
then just massage it around to evenly distribute it.
I do keep most of that butter concentrated
over the turkey breast
to ensure a tender and flavorful turkey breast.
Once you've stuffed that butter in,
you're gonna transfer that turkey
to your prepared roasting pan.
You'll wanna arrange the turkey flat in the roasting pan,
keeping the thighs turned inwards,
and tuck the wings behind the bird
to keep them from scorching.
If you have space in the roasting pan,
you can also add the neck and the spine,
which you can later use to make turkey bone broth
and your turkey drippings will taste even better.
Next, melt the remaining one-third of your flavored butter
and brush that over the top of the turkey,
brush evenly over every part of the turkey.
Also, I love a crisp and salty skin,
so I do like to sprinkle on
a little bit more salt and pepper at the end.
The best way to ensure a perfectly cooked turkey
is to use a thermometer.
I love using an in-oven thermometer,
and I put it in the deepest portion
of the thigh and the breast.
Start baking your turkey in a fully preheated oven
at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.
The higher temperature will help get the browning started.
Then without opening the door,
reduce the heat down to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
and roast for another one hour,
or until the thigh meat registers at 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
The timing will depend on the size of your turkey,
so a thermometer is highly recommended here.
I also like to triple-check
with an instant-read meat thermometer
to make sure every part of the turkey
has reached at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
This next part is critical for a juicy turkey.
Once it comes out of the oven,
tent with foil and let it rest for at least 30 minutes
before carving it up.
If you have heat-proof gloves,
that is the easiest way
to transfer a turkey without using spatulas.
If you're going to use the pan drippings
to make the best turkey gravy,
which you will find a link to the recipe in the notes,
you can also transfer the turkey to a serving platter
and let it rest tinted on the platter
while you make your gravy.
If you're serving this for Thanksgiving,
you'll definitely wanna decorate your serving platter
with a variety of seasonal fruits.
You can play with different colors, flavors,
and sizes of fruit
to make it really festive.
Also, using fresh greens like parsley, rosemary,
or even kale leaves,
helps to fill in those empty spaces
and make the platter really beautiful.
Oh my goodness. all right,
it has rested, it is decorated,
and I just cannot wait to dive into this.
My whole house smells like Thanksgiving.
Turkey used to be my nemesis,
I'm telling you, the first time I made it,
I failed miserably because I didn't use a thermometer,
and so it was way undercooked and very sad,
and I gave up on turkey for like three years after that,
and then I finally conquered it again,
and this is just like next level,
spatchcocking a turkey is,
I mean, it literally cooks twice as fast
and it's so juicy and delicious,
and yeah, we're gonna dive right into this
because I cannot wait any longer.
I'm totally craving turkey
and check out the juiciness here.
I'm gonna show you,
you can carve it up pretty much
the same way as a regular turkey,
but take a look inside,
look at that,
look at that juiciness, yummy, yummy. (giggles)
And because I brine this ahead of time,
there's a lot of flavor all the way through the meat,
It's delicious, all right.
And I personally like the dark meat and the white meat.
I think I have a little preference for the dark meat
because I love how like it dries out a little bit on top
and it just, I don't know, it has more flavor to me.
So I'm gonna, my taste test is gonna be the giant drumstick.
Okay, so I'm gonna go right for that.
And I'm telling you guys,
the skin on this is marvelous, so good,
I love how it browns beautifully in the oven.
Okay, here we go.
Oh my gosh, hmm, hmm-hmm
I'm just gonna have a moment. (giggles)
Me and my turkey, hmm!
The flavor, all the way through the meat,
it's delicious, wow! (giggles)
And then that garlic butter on top
with a little bit of parsley,
a little bit of lemon is so nice,
honestly, it makes the skin taste amazing,
makes the meat taste amazing,
and it gives a lot of flavor to this turkey breast,
which, you know,
we might as well try both things, you know?
While we're here. (laughs)
Oh, here we go.
Oh, boy!
Hmm, hmm! (food crunching)
One of my favorite ways to serve turkey,
well, there's two things
that I feel like you have to have with any turkey.
First of all, cranberry sauce.
Second of all, turkey gravy.
So make sure, make sure you do not get rid of
the pan drippings.
It makes for the most incredible gravy.
I call this liquid gold, it is awesome.
I do have an amazing recipe for turkey gravy.
I will leave a link in the notes.
Also, have the best recipe for cranberry sauce
that we make every year for Thanksgiving.
I hope this becomes a new go-to way to make a turkey
spatchcocking or butterflying the turkey,
it cooks it way faster and it tastes amazing.
Enjoy, and happy Thanksgiving.
Oh, also, if you need more holiday inspiration,
we have tons of new recipes in our new cookbook
that are perfect for Thanksgiving.
Lots of fun sides, and salads, and main courses.
I will leave a link to this in the notes.
Also, it's a three-week so far,
a "New York Times" Bestselling Cookbook,
so get your hands on it if you haven't already.
Plus, let me know where you guys spotted Sharky,
and if you have any more recipe requests,
I would love to hear from you, see 'ya.
(gasping)
(knife chopping)
Hmm, get back here, get back here.
Oh, oh my gosh, hmm, hmm!
I'm a happy girl.