Butterflying a turkey helps it cook in a fraction of the time!
With this spatchcock turkey recipe, a large turkey is butterflied and cooks quickly with juicy meat and extra crispy skin!
While it’s perfect for Thanksgiving dinner or the holidays, this spatchcocked turkey recipe is easy enough to make any time of year.
The Fastest Way to Cook a Big Turkey!
My mom has been making spatchcock turkey for years. I have been making my friend Mary’s roast turkey which uses a similar method of breaking down the turkey.
- Spatchcock turkey means that a whole turkey is flattened before cooking.
- It cooks so much faster than making a traditional roast turkey.
- Since it’s flattened, it cooks evenly for extra tender meat (including the breast meat).
- The skin is crisp (no brine required), and there are still lots of drippings for gravy.
What Is Spatchcock?
Spatchcocok is also know as butterflying, it is the process of removing the backbone and flattening it onto a baking tray. It may seem a bit intimidating, but it’s really easy to do, saves a lot of cooking time, and helps everything cook evenly.
With this method, you can cook a 10-12 lb turkey in about 70-90 minutes!
How To Spatchcock A Turkey
When spatchcocking a turkey, use poultry shears or very strong kitchen shears to cut the backbone out. Most regular and kitchen scissors aren’t strong enough, and a knife is dangerous for this job.
If you plan to spatchcock a turkey, invest in poultry shears or ask the butcher or meat department if they’ll cut the backbone out for you, many of them will.
- Place a chicken or turkey breast side down on a cutting board. Cut along both sides of the backbone with the poultry shears. Depending on the size of your turkey, it can be very difficult to cut and takes a bit of strength. Be sure to set the backbone aside to make gravy (or freeze it to add to Homemade Chicken Stock).
- Run a knife along the breast bone in the center to “score” it. Flip the turkey over (so it is breast side up) and begin to fold it apart.
- Press very firmly on the center of the turkey breast with the palms of your hand until you hear it snap and flatten out.
- Pull the thighs out to help flatten the bird even more. Once the turkey is flattened, tuck thewing tips under.
This recipe works for spatchcock turkey or spatchcock chicken, the method is the same just the cooking time needs to be adjusted!
Choosing a Turkey for this Recipe
I’ve used a turkey up to 20 lbs but keep in mind, it’s really hard to find a pan that fits a spatchcocked turkey larger than 16 lbs (I had to go to a restaurant store to buy a huge pan for a 20-pounder).
I would suggest a turkey of about 10-14 lbs.
When making spatchcock turkey, you can use a butter-basted turkey (like Butterball) or regular turkey. I lower the temperature a bit if using a butter-basted turkey so the drippings don’t burn.
A Baking Pan for Spatchcock Turkey
Make sure your roasting pan has a fairly deep rim as the turkey will have drippings that you’ll want for gravy!
Seasonings
I like to keep it simple with fresh herbs and a bit of olive oil. You can add garlic powder but fresh garlic will burn at a high temperature.
I generally don’t use a wire rack but sometimes I do put a few onion slices and celery ribs under the turkey for extra flavor.
Season the skin generously with kosher salt and black pepper.
How to Make Spatchcock Turkey
- Once the turkey is butterflied (as above), place it on a rimmed baking tray and rest for 30 minutes (or cover with plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge overnight). This will allow juices to release and make crisper skin.
- Pat the skin dry with a paper towel and brush the skin with olive oil and herbs.
- Roast the turkey it until it is tender and the skin is crisp about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Rest 15 minutes before cutting.
Spatchcock turkey can also be cooked in a smoker.
Temperature for Spatchcock Turkey
This cooks nice and evenly since it’s flattened. A high temperature seals in the juices and ensures crispy skin.
- Roast at 450°F for a regular turkey
- Roast at 425°F for a butter-basted (or Butterball) turkey
The turkey should be baked until a meat thermometer inserted into the thigh reads 165°F. Like all roasted meats, rest the turkey for at least 15 minutes before you carve it. This frees up the oven to get the rest of your sides ready!
When I make a spatchcocked turkey, I often cook Crock Pot Stuffing or make my favorite stuffing recipe!
Serve the spatchcocked turkey alongside all of your favorite Thanksgiving side dishes like dinner rolls, sweet potato casserole and don’t forget the gravy!
More Thanksgiving Recipes You’ll Love
We serve this alongside Mashed Potatoes and our favorite Asparagus or Bacon Wrapped Green Beans.
More Ways to Cook a Turkey
Spatchcock Turkey
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 whole turkey approximately 10-12 pounds, thawed
- ½ cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons fresh herbs rosemary, thyme, parsley, sage
- 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning or turkey seasoning, optional
- salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Remove neck and giblets from the turkey (and reserve for broth or gravy).
- Place the turkey on a work surface, breast side down, so the backbone is facing up. Using poultry shears, cut along each side of the backbone to remove the backbone completely (reserve the bone for broth or gravy).
- Flip the turkey over, breast side up. Using your palms, press on the turkey to flatten it. You should hear the cartilage in the breastbone crack as it flattens.
- Tuck the wing tips under or snip them off and reserve for gravy.
- You can cover the turkey with plastic wrap and rest in the fridge for 2 hours or up to overnight. Discard any juices on the baking tray before roasting.*
- Preheat oven to 450°F*. Combine olive oil and chopped fresh herbs. Set aside.
- Arrange the turkey on a large rimmed baking sheet. Dab the skin dry with paper towels. Brush with the olive oil mixture and season well with salt and pepper.
- Roast the turkey for 1 ¼ hrs to 1 ½ hrs or until the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165°F.
- Remove from the oven and loosely tent with foil. Rest at least 15 minutes before carving.
Video
Notes
- If using a butter-basted turkey, reduce oven temperature to 425°F.
- Cutting the turkey and letting it rest allows for some of the juices to drain. This step is optional.
- I’ve used a turkey up to 20lbs but it’s really hard to find a pan that fits a spatchcocked turkey larger than 16lbs. I would suggest a turkey about 12 lbs.
- Ask the butcher if they’ll cut the backbone out for you, many of them will and it’ll make your job a lot easier.
- Make sure your roasting pan has a fairly deep rim as the turkey will have drippings that you’ll want for gravy!
- I generally don’t use a wire rack but sometimes I do put a few onion slices and celery ribs under the turkey for extra flavor.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Entree, Main Course, Turkey
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Hello Holly,
I just made this recipe for Christmas dinner today and it was delicious. We had a 12 lb spatchcocked, all natural. Cooked at 450 degrees for about an hour and 15-20 minutes and it came out perfect. I did baste several times during cooking. This was the best turkey we have ever had! Thank you or posting this wonderful recipe!
How long do I cook a 21lb Spatchcock turkey, and do I lower the temperature because it’s such a big bird?
I cooked a 20lb turkey per the temperature in the recipe. If you have never cooked a turkey that size, I would suggest trying it in the pan before, my 20lb was so large I had to purchase a new pan that almost filled my whole oven (I found it at a kitchen supply store). Let us know how it works out for you!
love the recipes learning along thanksjoe
Thank you Joe! That makes me so happy that you’re learning from our recipes!
FOR THOSE OF US THAT DO NOT HAVE FRESH HERBS I WIFG YOU WOULD ADD THE AMOUNT OF DRIED IN ALL YOUR RECIPES.
Mary, find out more about substituting fresh vs dried herbs. Enjoy!
Good Heavens…I can’t begin to imagine the size of a 20lb turkey! But I use this method often for chicken…and it always works well…especially when cooked on a layer of veg with harissa pasta for a spicy Moroccan feel.
Happy Thanksgiving to you!
LOL a 20 pounder was huge!! Love the flavors you add to it, that’s a great twist! Happy Thanksgiving to you too.
Would it be ok to put a few veggies underneath the turkey for added flavor, like onion, celery, and carrots?
I haven’t tried it but I think it would work just fine. You’ll want to ensure the turkey reaches 165°F.
The best way to bake a turkey. Taste great, the meat is evenly cooked, and juicy. Getting ready to put one in the oven. Thanks Hollie for the great recipes.
So glad you loved it Darrick, it’s definitely a favorite for us!
So we tried this recipe yesterday. The spatchcock worked out just fine but then the trouble started. My first thought when I saw the instructions to heat at 450 was that’s pretty high. But since I haven’t had troubles with issues with other recipes from this site I figured to trust it.
After about 15 minutes the grease from the turkey was pooling up in the corner of the pan and smoking all over the place. I pulled it out, drained the grease, set it to 425, put it back in. Same thing happened again as soon as more grease collected. We turned the oven down to 400, same thing. After the fourth time I just set it to 350. There was still a lot of spitting and sizzling but no more smoke at least and it cooked in 1.5 hours total so technically worked out. Except for the smoke all over the house on Christmas Day :(
So is this something that only happened to me, or is everyone else just not mentioning the smoke? I have a gas oven, and it was a turkey fresh from the butcher. Could either of those be the issue?
Next time I think I’ll try 425 for the first 15 minutes, then turn down to 350. And I won’t use olive oil since that smokes easier at high temperatures.
I haven’t had an issue with smoke with this recipe and I’ve made it many times. My mom also made this recipe yesterday for Christmas and I checked with her, she didn’t experience the smoke either. That being said, neither of us have a gas oven so I can’t say for sure why.
If you are seeing smoke, you could try adding a bit of liquid (broth) to the bottom at first until the turkey starts to produce juices. You will see some spitting/sizzling as it does cook at a high temperature. I hope that helps!
When I read to cook turkey in a baking sheet pan I thought “ I won’t use a sheet pan because of the amount of juice that comes from a turkey. I would use a roasting pan. Maybe that was the problem. Hope this helps.
Let us know how it works out for you!
Our bird was smoking up our house last year, Anne. We figure from the olive oil. We used a different recipe, but it was basically the same. This year we might pass on the olive oil or use something with a higher smoking point.
OMG! I tried this recipe yesterday (Thanksgiving) and it turned out amazing! I’ll never roast another turkey whole again! Everyone loved it too – the whole thing was just so juicy just like you said it would be. The only thing I changed was to use butter instead of olive oil as I forgot to buy some and had no rosemary. Oh – it was divine! So thank you so much for this recipe!
I’m so glad you loved it Barbara!! I agree, it’s such a game changer when cooking turkey! Happy Thanksgiving!
Have you ever cooked stuffing under the Turkey?
Hi Nancy, we have never cooked the stuffing under the turkey but that sounds super intriguing! We usually make this crockpot stuffing when doing spatchcock turkey.
I love how straight forward and simple your recipes are!
I agree it can be intimidating to Spatchcock a turkey, but my 80+ year old dad became a bigger hero in my eyes when he and my mom did that to their 20+ pound turkey for Thanksgiving last year! It was wonderful!
Yum!! It cooks so nice and evenly this way too!
I have a 21 lb bird this year and am considering the Spatchcock method. At that size, will it be too wide to fit onto a roasting pan or baking sheet?
Hi Nick, The largest we’ve ever cooked was 16lbs and we needed to purchase a pan that was as large as an entire rack in the oven. So I worry is that a spatchcocked turkey at 21lbs might not fit in the oven.
In this case I might suggest you break it down further as Mary shows on her blog Barefeet in the Kitchen here. Holly has successfully made Mary’s recipe with a 25lb turkey twice and it is amazing.
Let us know how it goes for you!! Happy Thanksgiving!
quick question: I have a convection oven. what would the temp be if cooking a spatchcock Turkey in that? they say because of the convection feature you need to reduce the temperature. thank you
I haven’t cooked this on convection but generally with convection I reduce the temperature by 25°F and check it sooner than the recipe directs to ensure it doesn’t overcook.
Hey! Am new to your website & loving it! Thanks for all you do!
Have a question about ‘Spatchcock Turkey”; can this recipe be adjusted for a turkey breast??? I live alone & LOVE turkey, but a whole turkey is way too much for me & was wondering if you might give me some tips for cooking a breast this way, please?????
Thank you!
Barbara in TN
Thanks Barbara! We are so happy to have you! For tips on cooking a delicious turkey breast check out this recipe here!
It says to cook the turkey at 450 degrees but it also says to brush olive oil on the bird as well. I’m confused, because olive oil has a smoke point of 405 degrees. So Would your kitchen get all smoky from the burning olive oil?
I don’t find it gets smoky.
My bird is 24 lbs – significantly larger than the one noted. How much longer should I anticipate roasting?
The largest I’ve ever cooked was 16lbs and it took almost 2 hours. With a 16lb turkey we actually had to go and purchase a pan that was as large as an entire rack in my oven. So my worry is that a spatchcocked turkey at 24lbs might not fit in the oven.
In this case I might suggest you break it down further as my friend Mary shows on her blog Barefeet in the Kitchen here. I have successfully made Mary’s recipe with a 25lb turkey twice and it is amazing.
You can season it using this recipe or as Mary seasons hers but I just want to make sure you have options in case your turkey won’t fit in the oven! Let me know how it goes for you!! Happy Thanksgiving!
Hello. If use butter instead of olive oil. What temperature would be best??
I’ve only made this with olive oil as mentioned in the recipe, if you do find the need to turn the temperature down when using butter, you may need to add a bit of extra cooking time. You’ll want to ensure your thickest part of the thigh reaches 165°F.
I made this turkey recipe for a family gathering, and it was perfect. The olive oil allowed it to bake golden brown and made a great presentation. I had a hard time believing it would cook as quickly as the recipe states .. but it did. Turkey was moist as could be. It really helped having a quick turnaround as we were eating early and I didn’t have to spend the entire day in the kitchen.
So glad your family loved this Turkey Penny!
Hi Holly, sorry for the last minute question….if my pan is too short to accommodate whole bird for Spatchcock Turkey, can I separate legs and rearrange? Thanks! Happy Thanksgiving!
Sure you can!! If you look at the post I’ve linked to from Barefeet in the Kitchen, Mary completely breaks down the turkey. It works great, just keep an eye on temperatures. :) Happy Thanksgiving!
Just so I understand, the turkey roasts at 450 degrees, for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, correct?
That is correct. The internal temperature should read 165°F.