Garlic Butter Spatchcock Turkey
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This turkey recipe is meant for those who don’t want to spend days prepping and brining a bird and additional hours roasting it. It’s perfect for the last minute cook who is still looking to impress guests with a beautiful presentation.
By removing the backbone of the turkey and flattening it using a method referred to as “spatchcocking”, the cooking time is cut down significantly. While this turkey recipe only has a few ingredients it’s full of flavor. I make a compound butter combining plenty of minced garlic with room temperature butter to create a paste and spread it all over the turkey and under the skin. This will help the skin crisp up to golden brown perfection. If you’re looking for more traditional turkey recipes you can find my full Thanksgiving recipe lineup here.
Garlic Butter Spatchcocked Turkey
Table of contents
What is spatchcocking?
To spatchcock the turkey, cut out the backbone and then butterfly it. The meat will cook evenly, and because more skin is exposed, it also means more perfectly crisp skin. While I include instructions for removing the backbone using a good pair of kitchen shears, you can also ask your butcher to do it for you. It can be quite a task on bigger birds. While traditional methods of roasting turkey can take hours, the thinner presentation means much quicker cooking.
Key Ingredients in This Recipe
- Turkey – The removed backbone can be used to add extra flavor to gravy. For the best turkey I recommend visiting your local butcher for a fresh (never frozen) turkey, however, these are often more expensive. If buying a frozen turkey look for an organic pasture-raised bird. Skip the pre-brined or basted frozen birds since they are often injected with additives to increase their size. If thawing a frozen turkey give yourself plenty of time – allow one day in the refrigerator for every 4 to 5 pounds of weight.
- Garlic – I mince the garlic and combine it with the butter. I always use fresh cloves of garlic, as the pre-minced jars of garlic don’t taste the same. It loses a lot of the powerful garlic flavor when it’s jarred. This is because it has been soaked in water for a long period of time. Peeling garlic only takes a bit of time. As the garlic is sautéed the flavor mellows so it’s not very pungent but adds a base flavor.
- Butter – The butter is combined with the garlic to make a paste and spread all over the exterior skin as well as between the skin and the meat so as it melts it keeps the meat of the turkey moist and crispy skin.
- Salt – I recommend seasoning the turkey liberally with salt so it’s well-seasoned. I use coarse kosher salt.
How To Spatchcock a Turkey
Step 1: Prep turkey.
Remove the turkey from the refrigerator and pat it dry inside and out with paper towels. Let the turkey stand at room temperature for 45 minutes, this allows for the turkey to cook evenly.
Step 2: Add to workspace.
Heat oven to 450ºF (230ºC). Place the chicken breast-side down on a clean workspace with the legs facing towards you.
Step 3: Cut out the backbone.
Starting at the thigh, cut along one side of the backbone with sharp kitchen shears. Turn the turkey around and then cut along the other side of the backbone. Discard the backbone or save it and use it for homemade stock/ gravy.
Step 4: Flip turkey an press to flatten.
Flip the turkey over on the cutting board so the skin side is facing up. Use the palm of your hand to press down hard on the breastbone and flatten the turkey. Add to a roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet with a rack set over it, breast-side up.
Step 5: Mix the garlic butter.
In a medium mixing bowl stir together the garlic and butter.
Step 6: Spread butter all over.
Rub the garlic butter mixture all over the skin of the turkey as well as under the skin, using your fingers to separate the skin from the meat. Generously season the turkey with salt.
Step 7: Roast turkey.
Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Turn the oven down to 400ºF (200ºC) and rotate the pan, continuing to cook until a meat thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the breast reads 150ºF (65.5ºC), about an additional 1 hour and 30 minutes for a 15-pound turkey.
Step 8: Let rest then serve.
Let the turkey cool for about 15 to 20 minutes before carving. Pour any collected pan juices through a fine mesh strainer and reserve for gravy.
Tips and Tricks for This Recipe
What size turkey should I buy?
One of the biggest holiday dinner cardinal sins is not buying enough food for the number of guests around your table. In order to avoid that issue I abide by the rule of thumb of buying about 1¼ – 1½ pounds of turkey per person. If you are someone who likes to have plenty of leftovers to make sandwiches and turkey hash, then lean more towards 1½ pounds per person. Plus I like to tack on an extra pound or so just to account for any last minute guests that may show up.
Swaps and substitutions
- Try adding some of your favorite herbs to the garlic butter mixture. I like using a combination of diced chives, parsley and thyme.
- If you don’t have a large enough roasting pan, I recommend using a rimmed baking sheet or an aluminum disposable pan.
What to do with the rest of the turkey
- Save the backbone and neck to make turkey stock. Sear the bones in oil then add vegetables like carrots, celery and onion following my recipe for chicken stock here.
- I use the pan drippings to make a white wine gravy.
- You can find my recipes for leftover turkey meat here.
How to Carve a Spatchcock Turkey
- Remove the legs
- Remove the wings.
- Cut on either side of the breastbone to remove breasts.
- Slice the breasts.
Other Recipes to Try
If you enjoy this spatchcocked turkey recipe, give these a try and follow me on Instagram for more updates:
Garlic Butter Spatchcock Turkey
Ingredients:
- 1 (15 to 17 pound) whole Turkey, (neck and giblets discarded or removed and reserved for stock), thawed if needed
- 15 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- Kosher salt, as needed
- Freshly ground black pepper, as needed
Instructions:
- Remove the turkey from the refrigerator and pat it dry inside and out with paper towels. Let the turkey stand at room temperature for 45 minutes, as this allows for the turkey to cook evenly.
- Heat oven to 450ºF (230ºC). Place the turkey breast-side down on a clean workspace with the legs facing towards you.
- Starting at the thigh, cut along one side of the backbone with kitchen shears. Turn the turkey around and then cut along the other side of the backbone. Discard the backbone or save it and use it for homemade stock/ gravy.
- Flip the turkey over so the skin side is facing up. Use the palm of your hand to press down hard on the breastbone and flatten the turkey. Add to a roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet with a rack set over it, breast-side up.
- In a medium mixing bowl stir together the garlic and butter.
- Rub the garlic butter mixture all over the skin of the turkey as well as under the skin, using your fingers to separate the skin from the meat. Generously season the turkey with salt and pepper.
- Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 20 minutes.
- Turn the oven down to 400ºF (200ºC) and rotate the pan, continuing to cook until a thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the breast reads 150ºF (65.5ºC), about an additional 1 hour and 30 minutes for a 15-pound turkey.
- Let the turkey cool for about 15 to 20 minutes before carving. Pour any collected pan juices through a fine mesh strainer and reserve for gravy.
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