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Request For Spatchcocked Turkey Results

bbqdiva
bbqdiva Posts: 192
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Hey all you Eggers,[p]Happy holidays! I noticed quite a few eggers did or are doing spatchcocked turkeys. I would like to see some pictures and hear about some the results, successful and non.[p]I love the idea that it cuts the cooking time down to almost half that of a whole turkey. To be honest with you, not that many of my family members appreciate the presentation aspect of the bird and it gives me a tiny little pang in my heart and tear in my eye when I have to carve it :P[p]Thanks,[p]Tish.....bbqdiva

Comments

  • spatchturkey.jpg
    <p />bbqdiva,[p]I spatched my bird this year and believe it made a nice presentation, just not a norman rockwell one. Still put it on a big platter and it looked great.[p]jiarby in AZ

  • ronbeaux
    ronbeaux Posts: 988
    jiarby,
    Don't be so humble, that bird looks fantastic

  • jiarby,[p]It looks as if you cooked it indirect on the regular grid. Could you please tell me how large the turkey was, how long you cooked it, and at what temperature you pulled it?[p]It looks fantastic![p]Thanks,[p]David
  • Cat
    Cat Posts: 556
    305190904_b9522ea15e.jpg
    <p />bbqdiva,[p]This is a 16 lb. bird. I'm a big fan of spatchcocking: the breast and legs get done at the same time, it looks terrific, and carving is a snap, especially if you cut out the wishbone before cooking.[p]I put a plate setter on the main grid, set a drip pan (handcrafted by Mr. Toad's village smithy) on that, and the turkey on its rack (or the pictured grid topper) goes over the pan. I like to put the bird on when the grid temp is around 200, then coast up to 325 over the first half hour or so. This turkey was done (to 155 degrees in the thigh) in about 2.5 hours. [p]HTH -[p]Cat

  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    SpatchdTurkey.jpg
    <p />bbqdiva,[p]I didn't need to make gravy, so I decided to go with spatchcocked for the time savings. This was my first Egg'd turkey, and it got off on a bad foot. When I took the bird out of the 'fridge, portions were still frozen, despite 32 hours of thawing. So I had to put it in water. As I later found, portions may not have been entirely thawed.[p]A few minutes before I was going to put it on the Egg, our laundry tub started overflowing, and by the time I had that fixed, the Egg was at 500+. While I did get the temp down to about 340, the fire wasn't as stable as I would have liked it, and the temperature fluctuated for most of the cook.[p]Being a little hassled, I put the legs towards the back, instead of the front. So after an hour, the thighs were 165 and 170, while one breast was 130 and the other 140. For most of the rest of the cook, I had the leg half of the bird wrapped in foil. I dropped the dome temperature a bit, and pulled the turkey forward so the breast section was over the plate setter gap. At 2.5 hours, the breasts were 160 + and the thighs back down to 170 (one had been at 185 before foiling.) I pulled it then, foiled and covered with towels to let it rest.[p]The result: the thighs were to die for. Perfectly smoked and tender, with crispy skin. The rest of the bird was very moist. My wife said the breast slices she had were the moistest she had ever had. However, around the bones, the meat was still a little tough. I think another 15 minutes would have solved that.[p]Also, I put herbed butter under the skin, and over it. I used oregano, parsely, marjoram, sage, thyme and rosemary from my garden. I think with the smoke flavor, rub spices might have been better.[p]I think next time I may deconstruct the bird, so the different portions can be pulled when their ready.[p]gdenby

  • Yes, [p]Indirect... heat deflector on lower bracket. Drip pan on main grate, and turkey on upper bracket.[p]13# turkey, 275°, apple wood chunks and coconut charcoal.
    On at 10:30am. Pulled at 1:00pm or so.

  • It really did turn out to be pretty tasty, not to smokey, and plenty juicy. Another turkey done indoors by the missus took 90 additional minutes. We ate mine (barely enough for 7 adults and a kid) then food-savered the other when it was ready.