Spatchcock Turkey

A spatchcock turkey is a great way to prepare a turkey so it cooks evenly and presents beautifully!

This turkey recipe utilizes a wet brine to impart serious moisture and amazing flavor into turkey while creating a gorgeous final product with beautiful color. You can prepare this as a traditional turkey, but I prefer to spatchcock my turkeys. A spatchcock turkey cooks more evenly than a traditional whole turkey plus it presents beautifully and is easier to carve!

Meat Church How To YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/4I7uERlRMkU

Click here to get your brine + seasoning Turkey Combo.

Ingredients

• 1 12-13 lb turkey
• Meat Church Texas Sugar (sub Holy Voodoo Rub, Honey Hog, The Gospel or Holy Gospel)

• 1 gallon water
• 1 package Meat Church Bird Bath Poultry Brine

Tools

• Instant Read Thermometer

Optional Honey Glaze 

• 1/2 C Honey 
• 1/4 C Dijon mustard 
• 2 T Meat Church Holy Cow

Brine
Thoroughly mix entire contents of the package with 4 cups of water in a medium stock pot. Bring nearly to a boil to dissolve the salt & sugar. 

Remove from the heat and add 8 - 12 cups of ice water to completely cool the liquid. 

Place the turkey in a food safe container. Fill the container with the brine mixture making sure to completely submerge the turkey. Add more water if necessary. Refrigerate and brine overnight.

Remove the turkey from brine, rinse thoroughly and pat dry.

Spatchcock the turkey:
This step can be done before or after the brine. Using a pair of poultry shears, cut along each side of the back bone of the turkey to remove it (I use the backbone to make gravy). Press the turkey flat. 

This Meat Church video shows exactly how to spatchcock poultry: 

Prepare your smoker
Prepare smoker at a temperature of 275 degrees F. I recommend a medium smoking wood or pellet such as pecan, hickory or a fruit wood for this cook. In this video we used a Traeger Timberline with cherry which gives great color and subtle flavor.

Prepare the turkey
Season the underside of the turkey with Texas Sugar. Flip the turkey over. 

Work your hands under the skin seperating it from the breast meat beiung careful not to puncture the skin. Lightly season the breast underneath the skin. 

Pull the skin back over the breast. Season the skin all over.

Allow to adhere for at least 15 minutes. 

Smoke the turkey
Place the turkey in the smoker.

Smoke the turkey at 275 degrees. You can optionally baste periodically with melted butter if you like.

This cook will take approximately 3 hours for a 12 lb turkey in this video. 

Optional glaze: 
While the turkey is cooking you can go ahead and prepare your glaze. Mix all glaze ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Reduce by 1/3. Remove from the heat and set aside. 

Drizzle the glaze on the turkey for the last 15 minutes of the cook. I recommend doing this around 158 - 160 degrees internal temperature.

Finishing the turkey
Using an instant read thermometer, pull the turkey when the internal temperature reaches at least 160 in the thickest part of the breast. It will continue to carryover cook a few degrees. 

Let the turkey rest 20 - 30 minutes depending on size. Carve and serve!