leejp Posted November 18, 2007 Report Share Posted November 18, 2007 For Thanksgiving we'll be feeding 17 people. Instead of going with 1 big bird, we've decided to do 2 ~10# birds. This sets up a bit of a "Turkey Battle" between my wife's traditional oven cook vs my KK cook. After many successful spatchcock chickens, I've decided to use this method for the Turkey as well. I figure ~2hrs at 375* indirect should do it. I'll wrap the wing tips and legs in foil and use no additional smoke wood (gotta please 17 people so want to keep the smoke flavor mild). We buy the birds pre-brined and I plan to do a simple rub (salt+brown sugar). Help me win this friendly competition... Any tips/suggestions? I have not spatchcocked anything this big before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primeats Posted November 18, 2007 Report Share Posted November 18, 2007 Although this may seem theoretical, I had cooked a turkey and duck last Saturday nite( for a small segment on our local NBC station that aired Sunday morning),at the same time on the main grill with deflector and drip pan at 350. Both birds, turkey at 14lbs. duck at 5 lbs, cooked for around 4 hours, took turkey out at 160 and the duck was perfectly done at 190.This is just how I did it, haven't actually spatchcocked anything outside of another duck(again apparently theoretically--no pics posted yet). By the way the dripppings made the finest gravy I have ever tasted. Have fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanny Posted November 18, 2007 Report Share Posted November 18, 2007 When in doubt, choose madness... Whizzy has a recipe on his website. I've done it for chicken, and it was amaaaazing. Others recommend for turkey. I confess, I didn't do the whole "gravy dance." But the butter and herbs under the skin, and the cornucopia in the cavity were great. http://www.nakedwhiz.com/madmaxturkey.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkchop Posted November 19, 2007 Report Share Posted November 19, 2007 Battle Turkey and... HAJIME! or, ALLEZ CUISINE! whatever... we know who's gonna win already, just like the tv show! just dont make her cry, jack! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanny Posted November 19, 2007 Report Share Posted November 19, 2007 Re: Battle Turkey we know who's gonna win already' date=' just like the tv show! just dont make her cry, jack![/quote'] In anticipation of your triumph, I'd buy her jewelry and have it on hand. Nothing soothes a sore ego more than "Honey, maybe my turkey did turn out really well, but I bought you this." Or similar soothing words (accompanied by sparkles). We like sparkles. They make us feel very much better. You might get to sleep somewhere other than the couch, if you are prepared with a bauble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkchop Posted November 19, 2007 Report Share Posted November 19, 2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leejp Posted November 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2007 Keep in mind... she'll win just about every other category.. She's had the slow cooker going for a day already for the butternut squash soup and is baking the deserts. I don't pretend that this is a "skills" competition. On the contrary. Is there anything easier than a spatchcocked bird in the KK? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanny Posted November 19, 2007 Report Share Posted November 19, 2007 Re: Keep in mind... she'll win just about every other catego She's had the slow cooker going for a day already for the butternut squash soup and is baking the deserts. I don't pretend that this is a "skills" competition. On the contrary. Is there anything easier than a spatchcocked bird in the KK? Um... easier? Well, yah. They sell butternut squash soup in "juicebox" packages at the grocery store. Tastes really good! Made by Pacific Foods. lol. Heat and eat. The roasted pepper and tomato is also very good. hehehe. But for baking a buzzard, you're probably right. No stuffing and no basting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leejp Posted November 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2007 Success!!! Butterflying the bird was a little tougher than a small chicken... especially the keel bone part but the 10#er came out great. It got done quicker than I thought, about 1-1/2hrs at ~350* As the breast was approaching 160* I simply shut the KK down. Why bother with taking it off, wrapping in towel and putting it in a cooler when I have a cooker that'll keep the meat warm and retain the moisture. With 20 people, Dinner was buffet style and I carved "off the table" this year using the NY Times article recommendation: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/21/dinin ... ref=dining Gotta say it was absolutely the best Turkey ever. The carving method showed a nice pink smoke ring on the breast meat. We presented both Turkeys on the same platter and I had no doubt who's was better but only a couple of the guests were brave enough to tender their opinion. I highly recommend spatchcoking the turkey and carving it "butcher style". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Majestik Posted November 23, 2007 Report Share Posted November 23, 2007 Pix or it didn't happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leejp Posted November 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2007 Re: Pix or it didn't happen. Ate the evidence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amphoran Posted November 23, 2007 Report Share Posted November 23, 2007 So how DID you deal with the keel bone? Saw? There was an article on doing a butterflied turkey (referred to as "pollo-style" in Sunset Mag about 10-12 years ago, and their recommendation was to have a butcher cut the spine with his bandsaw, and then cut about halfway through the keel from the underside. Never found a butcher in these parts willing to try that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leejp Posted November 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2007 So how DID you deal with the keel bone? With difficulty... Took a boning knife and cut/scored along the edges, then manhandled it out. It took a bit of work separating it from the flesh. That was probably the most difficult part of the entire cook. Honestly I can't see doing the bird any other way now. Spatchcock and "Butcher Carve". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conodo12 Posted March 27, 2008 Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 Thanks for posting the NYTimes article with video. Thanks to your post, my next turkey will be spatchcocked and sliced in "butcher style"! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
