A dry brined and spatchcocked turkey is absolutely the best way to cook your Thanksgiving or Holiday bird! With this method you get crispy roasted skin, super moist dark and white meat, with a deep and delicious turkey flavor that’s perfectly seasoned!
We (and by we, I mean my husband) have been cooking turkey for our family for the last 10 years. He made this for our very first Thanksgiving together, and since then, we have never looked back. He’s been designated head chef every year, and I, his sous chef!
This is a hit with EVERYONE…even those that don’t like turkey. Trust me, this turkey is everything – and it’s actually super easy and simple to make! It just takes some planning ahead of time to thaw and to dry brine, which is essentially air drying the turkey in your fridge. With a bit of patience and a poultry cutting lesson, you will never go back to any other way of cooking a turkey!
Jump to:
What is dry brining?
Dry brining is a method of pre seasoning meat with salt and other seasonings and allowing it to rest and penetrate the meat prior to cooking.
Salt is the key ingredient to brining. It draws out moisture from the turkey meat, and at the same time the seasoning absorbs through the meat. The result? A perfectly tender and well-seasoned bird, with extra crispy skin!
Why spatchcock a turkey?
Spatchcocking, also called butterflying a turkey, is the technique of removing the backbone and laying it out flat to cook. Doing this allows the turkey to cook evenly, yielding crispy skin and perfectly tender white and dark meat.
Spatchocking also significantly cuts down on the cooking time. Instead of cooking a 14 pound turkey for 3 hours, when it’s spatchcocked, it will only take about 2 hours total!
Ingredients & Equipment Notes
Turkey – You can spatchcock a turkey at any size. We usually cook a 13 to 15 pound turkey for small gatherings. When we have my family over (and feeding about 20 people or so) we make two 12 to 14 pound turkeys. The meat will be more moist and tender from two smaller birds. Also, roasting a spatchcocked turkey bigger than 15 pounds will be hard to fit on a roasting pan and in the oven!
Seasoning -Salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary is all you need to get a delicious flavor.
Butter or olive oil – This helps give a beautiful golden color to the turkey.
Kitchen shears – Or compact branch pruning shears. This is optional, but highly recommended. Cutting out the backbone will require some elbow grease and using heavy duty shears will help make the cutting easier.
Kitchen scissors – Using scissors helps to snip through the skin and connective fatty tissues towards the tail and neck of the bird.
Roasting pan – A large, full size sheet pan works best, 26” x 18” (or similar).
Meat thermometer – Digital or analog works just fine to check the internal temperature of the turkey.
Instructions
Detailed instructions in the recipe card below.
1). Fully thaw the turkey in your fridge. Rule of thumb is 24 hours for every 5 pounds of turkey. Remove the turkey neck and giblets from the body cavity, snip out the kidneys if it’s still in the cavity, save these for giblet gravy! Make sure to also check the neck cavity as sometimes the gizzards are placed there in a bag. Pat dry the cavity and outside part of the turkey with paper towels.
2). Locate the backbone, facing it up towards you. Using kitchen sears, cut along each side of the back bone from the tail to neck.
3). Turn the turkey over, skin side up. Use the heel of your hands, apply pressure (put your weight into it!) on the upper middle of one side of the the breast bone to break it. You may hear a small crack.
4). Repeat on the other side of the breast bone.
5). Before seasoning the turkey, completely dry the inside and outside of the turkey again. Season the cavity part of the turkey first, using 1/3 of the seasoning. Then turn it over and use the rest of the seasoning on the skin.
6). Place the turkey skin side up, laying it flat on a clean sheet pan and place it in the fridge, uncovered for 2 to 3 days. Make sure nothing is touching it, and that nothing stored in the door will touch it when closed.
7). To cook, preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Place the turkey in the middle rack uncovered and cook for 1 hour. After the hour, add butter or olive oil to the skin so it will crisp up nicely.
8). Check the temperature at 1 hour and 30 minutes. Keep roasting until it reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit at the deepest point of the breast, then remove from the oven. The temperature will normally rise another 5 degrees Fahrenheit.
Let it rest for at least 20 minutes before carving or all the juice will run out and your meat will be dry. Carve and serve!
Pro Tips
- Save the giblets and backbone to make a delicious gravy!
- Trim the tips of the wings off at the joint (save it to make gravy), as it burns easily or you can tuck the wings under the body of the turkey.
- Minimize opening the oven door. It drops the temperature and you won’t get that golden brown, crispy skin.
- Get creative with your spices, feel free to substitute other spices in with the salt for the dry brine.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can dry brine a turkey anywhere from 2 to 3 days.
No, rinsing the turkey is unnecessary and makes it likely for bacteria to spread on your sink and kitchen counters.
That’s up to you – but if you like crispy skin, and cutting your cooking time by ⅓ to ½, then you’ll love this method!
The flavor will be deeper. It won’t be salty, but will be taste well seasoned.
The thermometer should be placed deep in the thickest part of the breast. You should also check the temp near the wing joint, where the wing meets the breast.
More Holiday Recipes to Enjoy
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Dry Brined Spatchcocked Turkey
Equipment
- Roasting pan
- Kitchen shears
- kitchen scissors
- Meat thermometer
Ingredients
- 14 pound whole turkey
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt if using table salt, half the amount.
- 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1/2 tablespoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1-2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
Instructions
- Fully thaw the turkey in your fridge. Rule of thumb is 24 hours for every 5 pounds of turkey.
- Remove the turkey neck and giblets from the body cavity, cut out the kidneys if it has not been removed. Make sure to also check the neck cavity as sometimes the gizzards are placed there in a bag.
- Thoroughly pat dry the cavity and skin of the turkey with paper towels. Locate the backbone, facing it up towards you. Using kitchen sears, cut along each side of the back bone from the tail to neck. Use scissors to snip at the skin and fatty tissue near the neck as needed.
- To spatchcock, turn the turkey over, skin side up. Use the heel of your hands, apply pressure (put your weight into it!) on the upper middle of one side of the the breast bone to break it. You may hear a small crack. Repeat on the other side of the breast bone.
- To season the turkey, use paper towels to completely dry the inside and outside of the turkey again. Place the turkey on a clean and dry roasting sheet. Season the cavity of the turkey first, using 1/3 of the seasoning. Then turn it over and season the skin with the remaining seasoning.
- Place the turkey skin side up, laying it flat on the sheet pan and place it in the fridge, uncovered for 2 to 3 days. Make sure nothing is touching it, and that nothing stored in the door will touch it when closed.
- To cook, preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Place the turkey in the middle rack uncovered and cook for 1 hour. After the hour, add butter or olive oil to the skin so it will crisp up and brown nicely.
- Check the temperature at 1 hour 30 minutes. Keep roasting until it reaches 165 degrees at the deepest point of the breast, then remove from the oven. The temperature will normally rise another 5 degrees Fahrenheit. Let it rest for at least 20 minutes before carving or all the juice will run out and your meat will be dry.
Notes
- Save the giblets and backbone to make a delicious gravy!
- Trim the tips of the wings off at the joint (save it to make gravy), as it burns easily or you can tuck the wings under the body of the turkey.
- Minimize opening the oven door. It drops the temperature and you won’t get that golden brown, crispy skin.
- To check the doneness, place the thermometer deep in the thickest part of the breast. You should also check the temp near the wing joint, where the wing meets the breast.
- You can spatchcock a turkey at any size. However, roasting a spatchcocked turkey bigger than 15 pounds will be hard to fit on a roasting pan and in the oven. Roasting two smaller birds from 12 to 14 pounds will give you meat that’s more moist and tender.
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