70 Minute Turkey
I thought I'd share this experience since, in a time when everyone is concerned about saving energy (either to save the planet or to save money) this is a rather brilliant way to cook a turkey.
Usually we don't have turkey in my house for Thanksgiving because it's just a huge pain in the butt. Why eat a turkey that will take hours to cook when we can pop a roast in and be done in an hour? This year, though, Mom was reading M.S. Living which had an article about cooking a Spatchcocked (butterflied) Turkey. So we thought... 70 minutes, really? Let's try it!
The turkey was the last thing to go into the oven and it came out perfectly about an hour later. No need to cover it or worry the skin will burn. It was still very moist.
The catch is, this wont really work on giant birds because you wont be able to fit it on a sheetpan and into the oven. I made an 11 pound turkey since that was enough for my family, but this will work best for something around 12 pounds, maybe a little bigger.
Instructions
All you need is the turkey, a pair of kitchen/poultry sheers, a sheet pan, and some muscle.
Lay the bird breast side down on the cutting board. With the sheers carefully cut out the spine. Use your fingers to find the edge of the spine and just trace along the side of it with your sheers. This might take a little force to get through some of the small bones. Be careful when you get up to the wishbone. That is not so easy to cut through so make sure you are on the outside of it. Once you have detached the spine run the tip of the sheers or a knife along the edge of the breast bone just to loosen it. It will make popping it easier. Flip the turkey over and put the legs to the side and press down forcefully on both sides of the breastbone. You should hear a pop. When pressure no longer causes popping sounds and the bird looks to be laying flat you are done. Move it onto the sheet pan and make sure the legs are spread flat and the wings are tucked under. Season it however you wish and slip it into the oven at 375 for 60-70 minutes.
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Usually we don't have turkey in my house for Thanksgiving because it's just a huge pain in the butt. Why eat a turkey that will take hours to cook when we can pop a roast in and be done in an hour? This year, though, Mom was reading M.S. Living which had an article about cooking a Spatchcocked (butterflied) Turkey. So we thought... 70 minutes, really? Let's try it!
The turkey was the last thing to go into the oven and it came out perfectly about an hour later. No need to cover it or worry the skin will burn. It was still very moist.
The catch is, this wont really work on giant birds because you wont be able to fit it on a sheetpan and into the oven. I made an 11 pound turkey since that was enough for my family, but this will work best for something around 12 pounds, maybe a little bigger.
Instructions
All you need is the turkey, a pair of kitchen/poultry sheers, a sheet pan, and some muscle.
Lay the bird breast side down on the cutting board. With the sheers carefully cut out the spine. Use your fingers to find the edge of the spine and just trace along the side of it with your sheers. This might take a little force to get through some of the small bones. Be careful when you get up to the wishbone. That is not so easy to cut through so make sure you are on the outside of it. Once you have detached the spine run the tip of the sheers or a knife along the edge of the breast bone just to loosen it. It will make popping it easier. Flip the turkey over and put the legs to the side and press down forcefully on both sides of the breastbone. You should hear a pop. When pressure no longer causes popping sounds and the bird looks to be laying flat you are done. Move it onto the sheet pan and make sure the legs are spread flat and the wings are tucked under. Season it however you wish and slip it into the oven at 375 for 60-70 minutes.
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