Dub Shack BBQ Presents Spatchcock Turkey

Every day is a great day for barbecue, and Thanksgiving/Christmas/whenever you feel like smoking turkey is a good enough reason for the bird.

Ingredients:

·         One turkey (I prefer 10-12 lbs. since the 20-25 lb. turkeys require a bit more work to keep extra juicy)

·         Kosher salt and white sugar for brining

·         Injectable butter (Tony Chachere is ideal, just make sure your bird is moist)

·         Thyme

·         Rosemary

·         Cajun seasoning

·         Garlic salt

·         Black pepper

·         Olive oil spray

·         Time (6-7 days, depending on the state of the turkey)

Step One: This depends on how soon you want to eat turkey or if the cook is for a major family event. For funsies (and my family) there is a separate method I do for smoking turkey breast that will catch a post one of these days. In the meantime, slow thaw the turkey for three to five days with the preferred rule of thumb being three pounds per day; with those 20+ lb. monstrosities, it could take a week to slow them before any further measures can be taken. Just set it in the refrigerator in a bowl or casserole tray that can fit it and forget it.

From the freezer to the fridge

Step Two:  After the necessary slow thaw is complete, open the package! Anything that you’re not going to use such as the giblets, necks, and certainly not the plastic in the cavity, take it out and throw it away. Because I know my family, I’m keeping the turkey neck and incorporating it with the rest of the meal; however, I won’t brine it like the rest of the turkey. Regardless of the season, no one wants a dry turkey; people can go to Luby’s or IHOP for that trash.

The brine is one or two pitchers of water, kosher salt, and white sugar. Bring the water to boiling over the oven and set it aside. In a large Ziploc bag (think the ones that shrink the air such as the ones we use for clothing, not the smaller ones in the paper goods department), place the turkey and brine in the same bag and close it. You can get a couple of bags of ice to cover the bird if it goes in the ice cooler outside but remember to change out the ice – you’re still working with poultry. My method is slightly different in the way that I’ll use a larger stock pot to drop the turkey in first, then the brine, and lastly empty the full ice tray in the freezer before returning it to the refrigerator for another twelve to sixteen hours.

Step Three:  Take that turkey out of the brine and put it on a roasting pan. Pat that bird down to sop up the excess water, and get those poultry shears (Hint:  If you don’t know what those are, look at the scissors in the knife set you got as a wedding gift and grab them). To spatchcock a turkey, all you do is cut the backbone to flatten the bird for an even cook; it may cause you to sweat and even swear a little bit! Once that bird is lying flat, spray the first of two layers of olive oil and inject it with the butter everywhere – in the legs, the wings, and of course, the breast. To inject, simply follow the instructions with your bottle and hit the bird everywhere. You’re doing it right when the turkey pumps up throughout. Remember the turkey neck I stuck to the side? It also gets pumped up like the Reebok shoes we wore in middle school because the latest Air Jordan sneakers were beyond the cost of ownership. After the turkey is injected throughout, add your favorite poultry rub to the bird and head outside to light the smoker for 275 ℉. On this one in the pictures, I’ve added thyme, rosemary, garlic salt, black pepper, and Cajun seasoning to the bird with the last ingredient liberally spread all over the legs, wings, neck, and breast. My advice here is to spread the love on both sides of the turkey.

Pumped up, spatchcocked, and ready for smoke

Step Four:  Light the smoker to 275℉, and unlike most protein, use a mild wood such as pecan or post oak to impart an awesome smoky taste. If sticks are unavailable, then use a combination of pecan chunks and lump charcoal; hickory sticks can be too harsh for this cook. Once it gets to temperature, bring the turkey to the smoker and set it carefully – the legs can take the heat, so they can lay near the firebox. Tuck those wings underneath the breast to fully ensure an even cook; once set, spray another layer of olive oil all over the bird. You’re looking for a golden brown color not much darker than some of our high school classmates who lived at the tanning beds once upon a time.

Going for a tan

Step Five:  To keep the turkey extra-moist, drizzle the leftover injectable butter on the legs, breast, and wings. Since I had the neck smoking as well, it received the same treatment. At two hours, check the color and the temperature:  if the bird is too dark, then lightly cover it with aluminum foil. As a reminder for legs, the temperature needs to be 170; the breasts, 165 before you pull it.

Dark and Lovely

Step Six: This is the most difficult step in the process because we can finally taste victory! My eleven-pound turkey was finished at 3 ½ hours, and needed to rest. Following a resting period of about thirty minutes, I could no longer wait to part out this bird. First went the legs and wings, and then the breast was sliced. Can you see the butter dripping from those turkey slices?

Dat breast tho...

This was the first time I smoked a whole turkey, and from the spatchcock technique, it will not be the final experience with it nor will I avoid injecting protein as I once did. It proved to be incredibly efficient as shown by what I brought back home from our Thanksgiving dinner:  nothing.