Spatchcocked Turkey Recipe
Course:
Main Dish, Turkey
Cuisine:
American
INGREDIENTS:
- ½ cup kosher salt
- ¼ cup finely grated orange zest and lemon peel, plus 4 wide strips orange zest
- 3 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp. coarsely chopped fresh rosemary, sprig reserved
- 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves, sprigs reserved
- 2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1 12-14-lb turkey (neck, giblets and backbone removed and reserved)
- 2 medium onions, quartered
- 4 large carrots, peeled, halved
- 4 celery stalks
- 8 scallions chopped
- 2 heads garlic, halved
- ½ cup olive oil
DIRECTIONS:
- Finely chop salt, grated zest and lemon peel, sugar, chopped rosemary, thyme leaves, and pepper in a food processor.
- Place turkey, skin side up, on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Rub all over with salt mixture. Then chill, uncovered, 6-18 hours.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Arrange onions, carrots, celery, scallions, garlic, and rosemary sprigs in a roasting pan. Rinse turkey, pat dry, and place, skin side up, on top of vegetables; let sit at room temperature 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat oil and orange zest strips in a small saucepan until oil is sizzling, about 2 minutes; let cool slightly.
- Brush turkey with oil, add ½ cup water to pan, and roast turkey 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to roast, brushing with oil every 20 minutes, until skin is deep golden brown and crisp and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 165 degrees, about 1 hour longer. Transfer to a platter; tent with foil and let rest at least 30 minutes before carving.