A spatchcock turkey is fantastic for even and fast cooking and the overnight dry brine adds flavor and helps keep the turkey moist. You’ll want a good pair of kitchen shears to get the job done, or a helpful butcher who will do it for you. But the added effort will pay off in an amazing centerpiece for your Thanksgiving spread.
Remove any neck or giblets that came with the turkey (save the neck and backbone for making stock!).
Place the turkey, breast side down, on a solid work surface, and use kitchen shears to cut along both sides of the backbone.
Open the cavity and make a cut in the breastbone of the turkey and use your hands to spread the turkey open so it lies flat.
Put the turkey on a sheet pan fitted with a wire rack and season the turkey on all sides with the salt. You should use about ½ tsp of salt per pound of turkey (there are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon).
Place the turkey in the refrigerator, uncovered, to brine overnight.
Prepare the grill for Indirect Medium Heat cooking, 375°–400°F and place a smoker box filled with apple wood chips over one of the lit burners if you’d like. Preheat for at least 15 minutes and brush the grill grates clean.
Prepare the grill for Indirect Medium Heat cooking, 375°–425°F and place a few chunks of apple wood on the coals if you’d like. Preheat for at least 15 minutes and brush the grill grates clean.
Set the grill to 400°F. Preheat for at least 15 minutes and brush the grill grates clean.
Add the butter, herbs, and garlic to a grill-safe pan.
Place the turkey and butter pan on the indirect side of the grill.
After 30 minutes, baste the turkey with the butter every 15 minutes, until the internal temperature, when measured at the breast, reaches 150°F (See recipe tips below). This will take about 1 hour 15 minutes for a 12-pound turkey.
Remove the turkey from the grill and let it rest for at least 30 minutes before carving.
Recipe Tips
Don’t worry! Removing the turkey at 150°F won’t leave you with a raw turkey. It simply makes space for carryover cooking. Carryover cooking is the rise in temperature that takes place after taking the food off the grill. Since a turkey is so large, it’ll have plenty of time to reach the USDA safe-serving guidelines.
Just be sure that you’re probing the turkey in the thickest part of the breast, the best way to check, is to move the probe in and out of the turkey, and make sure the temperature isn’t lower in a different spot. And be sure to let the turkey rest for 30 minutes before you carve it.
