Spatchcocked Turkey

[Syzygies]

According to our (new) forum search engine, these threads reference spatchcocking a turkey:

Brining Experiments

Turkey competition with my wife... (oven vs KK)

Cooking a Turkey

How did the Turkey come out?

Whats cooking for Easter?

Turkey Breast & Turkey Legs

Happy Turkey Day to all..

To obtain this list I did three searches, for turkey and one of spatchcock spatchcocked spatchcocking, as our search engine looks for whole words, and doesn't conjugate.

We're making a practice run today for Turkey day later this month; I'll report back what I learned.

[Syzygies]

Shun DM7240 kitchen shears So after watching a few videos of others struggling to spatchcock a turkey,

I dropped by a few cookware stores to look for some good kitchen shears. I found a "his and hers" set at Williams Sonoma (not in their online catalog) that included the Shun DM7240 kitchen shears. Shun DM7240 kitchen shears These are intended for poultry, and are bigger than the general purpose Shun kitchen shears. The identifying feature is the different sized finger grips; their general purpose shears are symmetric. They come apart for cleaning. They made spectacularly quick work of a 14 lb turkey. Laurie stepped out of the room as I was about to start, and she was stunned to see me finished when she stepped right back in. I did have to focus my grip and apply a bit of strength at several stages, but it was far easier than the videos make it out to be. Rather than smashing the bird flat, I "released" it into spatchcock position by freeing bones with a few snips. These are great shears

.

Yes, that's a turkey, not a chicken. The shears are big. I like this description of the phrase: Spatchcocked Turkey

Spatchcock, an old culinary term of Irish origin, is an abbreviation of "dispatch cock," a phrase used to describe preparing a bird by splitting it down the back, spreading it open like a book, and pressing it flat for easy, faster roasting. I could have also used the term butterflied.

No pictures of the roasted bird; we ended up at a neighbor's party, outside in shirt sleeves (gotta love California), and forgot about the cook till two hours in. The Komodo was rock-steady at 350 F, and while I might stop a bit sooner next time, the turkey was delicious, and much of it got devoured at the party. So much for making a side of stuffing and gravy. That's actually the dream "practice bird" scenario: Have the bird disappear immediately at a party. We brined for 24 hours in an 18 liter Cambro, aiming for a computed salinity of 1.5%. More seemed like a lot of salt, but we're going to go up to 2% for Thanksgiving. (We go to 3% for pork loins, but that's making ham.) We could nevertheless tell the difference, and we're firm believers in brining.

[Conodo12]

Re: Spatchcocked Turkey

So Syz did us a nice favor by uploading a few videos of how to spatchcock a turkey and by providing his findings using kitchen shears to get the job done! Thanks Syz!

I'll add on to this thread by describing my set-up for Turkey day:

1) Definitely spatchcock that turkey. If you have never tried this method you are really missing out! I remove the backbone as described in the videos provided by Syz. However, I also remove the breastbone. This makes carving the turkey SO MUCH EASIER! There is a good video on how to remove that breastbone right here:

- So you know ahead of time, this video was done by Fred at fredsmusicandbbq.com. If you've not watched his videos, you are in for a heavy dose of product placement and some silly but fun humor. Move to 3:00 in the video to see how to remove the breastbone with little fuss. One other note, the gent in the video split the back of the turkey rather than remove it. I don't endorse this method. Remove that backbone and get it out of the way. Carving will be easier without it!

2) Educate yourself on carving the turkey. This link has been posted in the KK forum in the past but it is worth repeating. Read this article from the NY Times and watch the video on the page:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/21/dinin ... ref=dining

This is the go-to page for carving your bird! The nice thing here is, once you've spatchcocked your bird as described above and removed that breastbone, you have that nice big piece of breast meat all ready for slicing down! Great time saver and you can cut that meat down while it is still very hot!

3) OK, you have to have some sides when you have a turkey and this is my favorite as you get both your starch and veggies in one casserole:

Broccoli, Rice, and Cheese Casserole:

Ingredients:

2 boxes Frozen Broccoli

3/4 cup Onion

2 cups Uncooked Long Grain rice

3/4 cup Celery

1 can Cream of chicken soup

1 can Cream of mushroom soup

1 lb. of Velveeta (melted)

1 stick Butter (melted)

1 cup Milk (I find this to be optional - milk makes the casserole a bit wetter if you like that)

1 box Fresh or canned mushrooms & a handful or two of shredded Cheddar cheese.

Preparation

Cook broccoli and rice; combine with all other ingredients. Place in buttered 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Top with a handful or two of shredded Cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes

4) The Set Up - Sorry non-KK users, I have a Gen 2.2 and the following describes how I set up my KK to cook this feast!

So, I get my fire started and place my heat deflector right on top of the firebox handles. I get my KK up to 325-350 degrees. I prefer to let my KK stand at this temp for at least 30 mins. to ensure that the temp is steady and that the KK begins to be heat-soaked. Use your BBQ Guru or Stoker to get the KK heated up and temperature steady if you like. Next I install the Lower Grill grate. I place a 13 x 9 aluminum baking pan on the Lower Grill grate and I have about 1/4" of hot water in the bottom of the pan. The water provides a place for your drippings to fall from the turkey without evaporating. Next I install the Main Grill grate. At this point I will close my KK and let the grates warm up for about 15 mins. or so. Next, I put on the Turkey! Center the Turkey so that it is protected by your heat deflector. Also, make sure the pan with water is right under that Turkey. If not, simply open the front of the Main grill and move the pan around with a pair of tongs. Next carefully place the Upper Grill grate over your turkey - long legs down of course and close the KK. Your Turkey will cook at a rate of about 10 mins. or so a pound. My 15 pound turkeys are usually done anywhere from just inside of 2 hours to maximum of 2.5 hours. The cooking time really depends on whether you decided to let your turkey sit out for an hour or so before putting on the KK. During the last 45 mins. of your cook, put your Broccoli, Rice, and Cheese casserole on top of the Upper Grill grate. Do this step quickly as not to lose a lot of the heat from inside the KK! If you used the Guru or Stoker, simply wait for that alarm to sound! If not, start checking the temp at about the 2-hour mark or when appropriate for your sized bird. Sorry kids, you'll have to sharpen up your math skills a bit to determine the approximate time that your turkey will be done!

5) ENJOY!!!

I hope this guide helps some of our newer KK members and provides a refresher for some of us more seasoned KK vets. Speaking of seasoning... I skipped over this part! It really is a matter of taste whether you decide to brine your bird or not. For those of you buying prepackaged birds, check the label. Your bird may be sitting in brine already! To season my Turkeys, I use Cavender's Greek seasoning. You can find them here:

http://www.greekseasoning.com/

This seasoning is perfect all by itself or add a bit of paprika for color and hint of spice! Also, Cavender's can be found in its original formula or low-sodium formula if you are watching your salt intake. I have seen Cavender's for sale at some Walmarts so it is easy to get!

One last note - because this method of cooking the turkey is so easy and requires little time, we find ourselves having turkey throughout the year. This method of cooking the turkey on the KK just makes this typically awkward and time-consuming dinner another easy day on the KK! Sorry, shameless plug but we are all in a KK forum!

[mguerra]

Re: Spatchcocked Turkey

What's a Cambro? A cooler or Igloo type jug?

[Conodo12]

Re: Spatchcocked Turkey

Hi Doc - Yep, pretty much. Cambro is an industrial supplier for Restaurants, Caterers, and Facilities (Hospital, Hotel, etc.) Many pros on the BBQ circuit use their wares to keep the competition class chow hot until turn-in time. Here's the website where you can find out a bit more...

http://cool.cambro.com/Insulated_Transport.ashx

[Syzygies]

Cambro food containers

Here's the Cambro combination I use for brining turkeys, and transporting gumbo (Size: 22 Quart):

http://www.amazon.com/CamSquare-8-Quart ... B001E0JM9A

http://www.amazon.com/Camwear-Cover-Squ ... B002PMV79E

Here is another source:

http://www.eastbayrestaurantsupply.com/

Here are the Cambro web site pages, showing their product line:

Coach (fare class K):

http://cool.cambro.com/CamSquares_Poly_ ... orage.ashx

http://cool.cambro.com/CamSquares_Lids_ ... orage.ashx

First (fare class KK):

http://cool.cambro.com/CamSquares_Camwe ... orage.ashx

http://cool.cambro.com/Seal_Covers_for_ ... orage.ashx

The more expensive clear containers can hold boiling liquids; the softer, translucent containers are only good to 160 F (70 C). The more expensive lids stay on, even if twenty quarts of gumbo tip over in your car. The cheaper lids come off more easily.

Cambros are far more versatile and useful than one first imagines, so go for the clear containers, to keep your options open. One size should be the biggest that fits in your fridge.