The debate over how to cook a turkey ends with spatchcock. It’s a curious word of Irish origin, but it really just means “reliably delicious bird, faster.”
To spatchcock is to remove a bird’s spine and lay the body flat. It originated to cook small birds evenly, but it’s just as effective on your holiday turkey and will cut the cooking time at least in half. You’ll also get crispy skin and meat that’s easy to carve. The only drawback is that most roasting pans are limited to about a 14-pound bird. But thanks to the low height you can roast two birds on separate oven racks.
STEP 1: Night-Before Prep
Start with a thawed bird the night before you’ll roast it. You’re going to cut and dry-cure it now so that tomorrow it goes straight into the oven and comes out juicy.
With the turkey breast-side down, remove the giblets and neck from the body. Then use a boning knife to slice guide cuts along both sides of the spine.
This story is from the November 2017 edition of Popular Mechanics.
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This story is from the November 2017 edition of Popular Mechanics.
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