I love making a turkey this way! I place my turkey on a bed of thickly sliced onions and celery placed on the bottom of the baking sheet instead of on a rack. I also add just a bit of chicken broth to the pan. This not only imparts a bit of flavor but it also keeps the pan moist and eliminates any burning or smoking from the pan drying out during cooking time.
Excellent recipe!!! And so easy! The only thing I would suggest is anything over 10 or 12 lbs that you use a roasting pan. I cooked a 16 lb turkey and the baking sheet couldn’t contain the drippings and spattering. So I used an aluminum rectangular roasting pan. I just increased the time by half. In other words I cooked mine for a total of about 2 hours. I also used the convention bake option and that browned my turkey automatically. Great recipe! I will used it again!
Two thanksgivings in a row now and I am so happy with the results. I had to wrestle a little bit to get the backbone out but it's worth it. Juicy white meat that the family raved about. And because it roast so much more quickly than a whole bird, I had plenty of time to pull it out to rest, then bake stuffing, etc. "Best turkey ever," said my guests. You really must try this!
I have 50+ Thanksgiving Turkey dinner orchestrations under my belt, but I can honestly say that the concept of doing things differently had me shaking in my shoes like a novice this morning. I needn't have worried, though because "butterflied" is the only way I'll be cooking Thanksgiving Turkey henceforth! Our bird was given to us, so it was 1/3 larger than the recipe called for--no problem! Cooking time seas easily adjusted, and, 2 hours later (no, REALLY!) We were crunching into the crispiest -skinned turkey imaginable.
At first, locating the backbone was tricky, but I peeked INSIDE the body/neck cavities for verification. After that, it was smooth sailing.
Plan to do this on Thursday with a 16 Lb turkey any guesses on how log it may take?
I had a 27lb turkey so split it in half and did half in the oven and half in the Traeger. Both were good and fairly moist. The Traeger took longer, by about half hour. The oven turned out a crisper finish on the skin. Will certainly do it again.
Fantastic method! All you need is a good pair of bone breaking kitchen shears. All the skin turned out crispy and the turkey was moist but not greasy like it tends to turn out in a bag. I cooked a 20lb turkey, so I did 375 for about 2 1/2 hours.
I brine my turkey each year. This year I've heard more and more about spatchcocking your turkey than any other year. I'm glad I found this recipe. Sounds simple enough. Though...being me...I'm debating right now whether or not I will spatchcock it before or after brining. I'm about ready to flip a coin to decide. Oh...and yes it is after Thanksgiving....I usually only bring an appetizer or desert and then cook the full meal for my husband and I the weekend after.
Best turkey ever! Making it again today.
