How to spatchcock?

YouTube is your friend. 
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppa1bxB89vg

@blakeas -- I have spatchcocked a turkey several times.  I have easily fit a 18 to 20 pound bird on my large BGE.   For spatchcocking a turkey I recommend you invest in some good poultry shears.  I use the OXO shears.  They give you good leverage in cutting through the turkey's ribs along the backbone which are substantially tougher to get through than the little chicken in the video.  Here is another video on spatchcocking a turkey for the BGE.  The guy in the video uses a meat cleaver to get the backbone out.

Good luck!

I'm not familiar with the AR rig.  Someone else will need to chime in . . . .

I've done this with anything from cornish hens to 9+ lb. chickens, and small turkey.  Make a mix 3:1 ratio of kosher salt and baking powder.  After cutting out the spine with game shears, place on the counter breast up, and press down hard on the breast.  You'll feel something give and maybe hear it crack.  Sprinkle with the salt mix, massage some olive oil around, then sprinkle with any herbs you want (like an Italian seasoning mix).  Bake (either in oven or egg indirect) at 450F.  Time depends on the size of the bird...anywhere from around 35min for cornish hens to a little more than an hour for a 9lb chicken.

If you have the time and fridge space, you can spatch it, do the salt mix, and refrigerate over night to dry brine it.  I've done as long as 24h, or as short as doing all the prep work and putting it straight into the oven (yeah...I'm lazy and don't usually bother with the egg for spatchcock).  

Another thing you can do with any of the larger birds is chop up some onion, celery, carrot, spread those in a foil lined drip pan, toss in a few cloves of garlic, a bay leaf, and about a cup of liquid (I usually do 1:1 water/apple cider).  The veggies cook and combine with the bird drippings and make a great side dish (scooped out of the pan and drained).

My 19 pound spatchcocked turkey only took 1 hr 35 mins so you can the chickens to cook fairly quickly.  I would just watch the breast meat and look for about 155 to 160 degrees.

I have a pair of tin snips that I use for poultry. They make spatchcock turkey easy. 

EggHeadDad said:

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abpgwolf said:

I have a pair of tin snips that I use for poultry. They make spatchcock turkey easy. 

That's too funny . . . I was looking at a set I have in the garage thinking they'd make an easy go at cutting the turkey.

I've considered the same thing...trouble would be cleaning them.  My game shears separate for easy cleaning and are dishwasher safe.

fishlessman said:

i just hold the chicken vertical, slip a big chef knife down the hole, hold the top of the chicken with left hand and with the action of a giant paper cutter push down knife to the right and pull chicken to the left. its just two  quick cuts

A large serrated knife works well too.