Spatchco*ck Turkey Recipe - Juicy Meat & Crispy Skin (2024)

FAQs

What is the trick to crispy skin on turkey? ›

That trick is a sprinkling of baking powder, and it'll get you the crispiest, crackliest bites of fatty, salty skin imaginable, whether you're cooking just one thigh, a plate of wings, or an entire bird. Baking powder, it turns out, is good for quite a lot more than baking.

We're talking 425 degrees for 30 minutes before turning it down to 325. “That will help you begin to immediately brown and crisp the skin,” Belle explains.

A spatchco*cked whole turkey will cook more quickly than a standard turkey. While the spatchco*ck turkey cooking time will depend on the size and oven temperature, 6 minutes per pound is a good rule of thumb. Depending on the size of the turkey, cook times are estimated between 60-90 minutes.

Once you've carefully dried off the skin, the next step you can take to guarantee perfectly crispy turkey skin is to rub it with a fat, like butter or oil. Oil will yield a crispier skin than butter because butter is at least 20 percent water, while oil contains no water.

Don't butter your bird

Placing butter under the skin won't make the meat juicier, though it might help the skin brown faster. However, butter is about 17 percent water, and it will make your bird splotchy, says López-Alt. Instead, rub the skin with vegetable oil before you roast.

Impart rich flavor and add moisture to your Thanksgiving turkey by adding a layer of butter under the skin before roasting. Learn how to do this simple (but genius) technique for a delicious Thanksgiving turkey.

To achieve a perfectly golden, juicy turkey, let the bird spend time both covered and uncovered in the oven. We recommend covering your bird for most of the cooking time to prevent it from drying out; then, during the last 30 minutes or so of cooking, remove the cover so the skin crisps in the hot oven.

Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Return turkey to oven, and roast, basting with pan juices every 20 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest portion of thigh registers 160°F and skin is crispy and dark golden brown, about 2 hours.

If you're aiming for an easy method to cook an extra juicy, tasty turkey with plenty of flavorful juices for gravy, oven bags are the best method. However, if you prefer crispy, roasted brown skin, you'll want to skip the oven bag and try using one of our other methods on how to cook a Thanksgiving turkey.

Preheat your oven to 425°F (218°C). Spatchco*ck the turkey by cutting out the backbone with heavy shears, making an incision in the breastbone, turning the bird onto its back and pressing down firmly to flatten it out. If you didn't dry brine it beforehand, season the bird well with salt and pepper.

What is the target temperature for a Spatchco*ck turkey? ›

Look for a breast temperature of 160°F and the leg and thigh temp of 170°F. Once the target temperatures are reached, remove the roasting tray. Take the bird off the root roast and allow it to rest for 20 minutes.

Place roast, skin side up, on a flat roasting rack in 2-inch deep roasting pan. Do not add water to pan. Roast uncovered according to Cooking Schedule or until meat thermometer in center of breast roast reaches 170° F and in center of turkey roast reaches 175° F.

Want to ensure your bird is juicy and delicious yet speeds up the cooking time so everyone can watch the game? Foil wrapping is the answer! This technique helps speed the cooking process and locks in the turkey's natural juices. It helps prevent turkeys from drying out without basting, especially those over 24 pounds.

"The quantity of juices is influenced by whether the turkey is basted or unbasted. Pre-basted turkeys will have enhanced tenderness and juiciness and will contribute to flavorful drippings," Johnson says.

Return turkey to oven, and roast, basting with pan juices every 20 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest portion of thigh registers 160°F and skin is crispy and dark golden brown, about 2 hours.

There are four essential steps for a perfectly roasted Thanksgiving turkey: brining, stuffing with aromatics, rubbing with herb compound butter, and roasting to perfection. The herb butter does double duty. Part of it is rubbed under the skin and over the meat of the bird for a major boost in flavor.

on your turkey instead of butter will yield a much. crispier skin than butter.