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.

Grilling a spatchco*cked turkey is best over a two-zone grill, with direct and indirect zones. Grill your turkey on the indirect zone at a temp of about 375-400°F or until the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 160°F verified with a meat thermometer.

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.

It also yields perfectly crisp skin and ultra-juicy meat! And this spatchco*ck turkey recipe produces plenty of pan drippings so you can make the best giblet gravy.

Next, just before you're ready to put the turkey in the oven, give it a generous rub of oil. Many people like to use butter for this, but using oil will actually yield a crispier skin because butter is 20% 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.

Once the bird is spatchco*cked and seasoned, it's ready to smoke. Place the prepared turkey directly on clean and oiled grill grates of your preheated 250°F smoker and close the grill lid. Smoke the turkey for approximately 12-15 minutes per pound.

Perhaps most importantly, the turkey will cook in significantly less time than non-spatchco*cked—figure about 6 minutes per pound if following this recipe, or until thigh meat registers 165°.

Season the turkey all over with salt (about 1/4 cup should do the trick) and pepper and refrigerate the turkey for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours. Resist the urge to cover the turkey with foil or plastic wrap; the cool air in the fridge will dry the skin even further, resulting in the crispiest skin possible.

Crispy Turkey Skin Method: Start on High Heat, Finish on Low

FoodieCrush says to roast at 425°F for 45 minutes and then at 325°F until the turkey is done.

Will turkey skin crisp at 325? ›

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.

The most common complaint about spatchco*cking is that it “just doesn't look right”.

Place the turkey on a roasting rack and rub it all over with oil. Season with sage, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Roast in a preheated oven for about 90 minutes, rotating every 30 minutes.

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.

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.

Adding baking powder to a dry brine can also improve your turkey skin. Not only does the baking powder work to break down some skin proteins, causing them to crisp and brown more efficiently, it also combines with turkey juices, forming microscopic bubbles that add surface area and crunch to the skin as it roasts.