Best way to cook a turkey.

[ToddFrench]

@Alan Rath

Todd, I’ve cooked spatchcocked the past few years. When I pick up my turkey, I ask the butcher to do it for me. 2 cuts on his band saw, 10 seconds later it’s done. Then I use the back with a couple necks and wings I buy separately to roast for stock/gravy.

My ‘butcher’ is Trader Joe’s, so I’m not so sure I’ll be able to ask them to spatchcock it on the spot

[Alan_Rath]

Didn’t realize you buy your turkey the same place you buy your wine

[ToddFrench]

@Alan Rath

Didn’t realize you buy your turkey the same place you buy your wine

Ha! That’s the one thing I DON’T buy at Trader Joe’s!

That, and beef, of course, which is from Flannery!

[Alan_Rath]

Funny, we’ll spend a bunch on Flannery beef, then shop around for a bargain price on turkey for the most important holiday of the year. I’ve been guilty of that too, but in recent years have gone for more premium options. This year I didn’t even buy a whole bird, just bone-in breasts, and some legs.

[ToddFrench]

@Alan Rath

Funny, we’ll spend a bunch on Flannery beef, then shop around for a bargain price on turkey for the most important holiday of the year. I’ve been guilty of that too, but in recent years have gone for more premium options. This year I didn’t even buy a whole bird, just bone-in breasts, and some legs.

It reminds me of a saying Chris Freemott used to have in his signature, about tater tots and fries…

Similarly, a great piece of beef (Flannery) is FANTASTIC, a great piece of turkey is ‘great’, at best.

[Alan_Rath]

I kind of agree. Nevertheless, I have spent more on supposedly “better” turkeys in recent years.

[Bdklein]

@Nancy Dolce

@Bdklein

I will give that a whirl for a chicken this winter. My 33 lb. turkey is getttng cooked the conventional way, primarily for presentation purposes. The hardest part is flipping it over near the end ( I cook it breast side down) for the last 30 min or so.

I’ve never seen a 33 pound turkey. Pictures, please!

Here it goes-based on your directions .

[Bdklein]

Yeah me !!! My first photo on WB!!!

[Michael_Sopher]

I seperated my 14lb bird yesterday. Will sous vide the boneless breast roast (Turchetta style) to near done and then blast it in a 500 degree oven for about 10 min to crisp the skin (as an alternative to Kenji’s sous vide to deep fry method) Legs getting a braise. Back and wings made the stock yesterday… will become gravy today.

[Nolan_E]

I like how the news/food stations are having Thanksgiving cooking tips…TODAY. Real helpful, guys.

[Scott_G_r_u_n_e_r]

I like the reverse sear method

[Chris_Freemott]

Did the ChefSteps SV mode this year. Delish and a piece of cake. Had the bird broken down and in bags in 15 min. Easiest TD dinner to date. Stunningly tasty.

[Ethan_Abraham]

Big green egg, ~300-325 for 4.5 hours with some applewood chunks thrown in. Dry-brined for 2 days wrapped in plastic then overnight in the fridge to dry out. Came out pretty amazing.

[Chris_Freemott]

That is a pretty bird and one to be proud of. Nice work

[CFu]

@Michael Sopher

I seperated my 14lb bird yesterday. Will sous vide the boneless breast roast (Turchetta style) to near done and then blast it in a 500 degree oven for about 10 min to crisp the skin (as an alternative to Kenji’s sous vide to deep fry method) Legs getting a braise. Back and wings made the stock yesterday… will become gravy today.

I did the turchetta but skinned it first. Crisped the skin separately. Threw it on the grill for about three minutes. 145 sv. I thought it was a tough too well done for me.

Should have followed chef steps at sub 140

[Chris_Freemott]

Charlie-I did Chef Steps. Loved it.

[Bruce_Leiser_owitz]

This was my 14 pound spatchcocked turkey on Thursday after roasting in the oven. Fantastic crispy skin all over. Brined it the day before, and then let it dry out in the fridge overnight. Before roasting, a quick coating of olive oil, with salt, pepper, a touch of garlic, and thyme. 450 degrees for ~80 minutes was basically perfect.

To spatchcock a decent-sized turkey, you really need a good, sharp knife. My serrated knife did a very good job, although it took some work. As mentioned above, if you get a fresh turkey from a butcher or the meat department of a decent grocery store, you can have the butcher or meat department do the spatchcocking for you. But keep the backbone and roast it along with the neck, etc. if you’re making gravy.

Bruce

[RichardFlack]

Hmmmm. Spatchcocking makes perfect sense, aside from missing the traditional presentation and whether my shears and knives are up to it (our Christms bird will be in the 20-22 lb range probably). I do this a lot for chicken just never thought of it for turkey. Interested to hear people’s success with this.

For cooking the whole bird I usually do it mostly upside down; but some care is needed not to have it stick or break the skin - does anyone have any tips for that?

Top quality birds need less cooking than many people think. I shudder to recall the length of time my aunt within whom we usually spend Christmas when I was a kid would cook even a modest sized bird.

Well seasoned skin, relatively high temperature, not over cooking, very long resting time and not serving the legs on day one but reserving them for casserole on day 3, seems to do the trick for moist breast meat and crispy skin.

[Victor_Hong]

My friend who does reconstructive plastic surgery is able to re-assemble the turkey, after it has been spatchcocked and roasted. Nobody even notices.

[paulbortin]

Easy.

Turkey cooking bag. You enclose the whole bird in the clear bag and the most moist and delicious turkey you’ve ever had is ready at least an hour more quickly. The white meat was so juicy this year it tasted like a braise.