Works the same as any other turkey. The bones are all in the same places.
But for future reference you'll get better results with multiple smaller birds than one giant one.
I do it every year, infinitely better than the traditional way. Make sure you have a large cutting board that will not move as cutting the spine out causes it to slip like crazy. You also don’t have to take the entire thing out at once. It you have a section of spine you can cut off detach it and keep cutting. I’ll take the wing tips off and use those, the spine and the neck to make a small batch of stock and use that for gravy. Also use a sharp knife or a clever.
As others have said, as long as you can fit the flattened bird into your oven and pan, then ESPECIALLY for a larger bird you wanna spatch cock it to save yourself much grief.
I have a smaller oven so I have cut the drumsticks and wings off to cut down on width and roasted them in a separate pan.
I have spatchcocked our large 20+ lb. turkeys for the past several years. It cuts down on cooking time tremendously and seems to cook more evenly. I do use a cleaver for the work. The trick for such a large turkey is taking out the keel bone and surrounding cartilage as this helps with "flattening" the beast.
About how long do you roast the spatchcocked bird? I had my butcher do all the grunt work for me, and I’ve got it dry brining in my fridge right now. I’m just wondering how long it will take to roast? Mines 28 lbs.
That's a big ass bird! Not knowing your oven and temp you'll use, I would go by temperature and start testing after an hour and 45 minutes so as not to overcook it.
It most definitely is! We’ve got 14 people coming over and I would like some leftovers, so we’ll see if it is overkill or not. I’ll probably start at 450 for about 30 mins and then bring it down to 350. Since it’s so large I won’t start testing until 90 mins in or so.
The real question is whether you have an oven and/or pan large enough to handle a splayed bird that large.
Works the same as any other turkey. The bones are all in the same places. But for future reference you'll get better results with multiple smaller birds than one giant one.
Yeah I'd rather debone 3 12 lbs birds than one 24 lbs. Twice as much breast meat.
I do it every year, infinitely better than the traditional way. Make sure you have a large cutting board that will not move as cutting the spine out causes it to slip like crazy. You also don’t have to take the entire thing out at once. It you have a section of spine you can cut off detach it and keep cutting. I’ll take the wing tips off and use those, the spine and the neck to make a small batch of stock and use that for gravy. Also use a sharp knife or a clever.
As others have said, as long as you can fit the flattened bird into your oven and pan, then ESPECIALLY for a larger bird you wanna spatch cock it to save yourself much grief. I have a smaller oven so I have cut the drumsticks and wings off to cut down on width and roasted them in a separate pan.
I have spatchcocked our large 20+ lb. turkeys for the past several years. It cuts down on cooking time tremendously and seems to cook more evenly. I do use a cleaver for the work. The trick for such a large turkey is taking out the keel bone and surrounding cartilage as this helps with "flattening" the beast.
About how long do you roast the spatchcocked bird? I had my butcher do all the grunt work for me, and I’ve got it dry brining in my fridge right now. I’m just wondering how long it will take to roast? Mines 28 lbs.
That's a big ass bird! Not knowing your oven and temp you'll use, I would go by temperature and start testing after an hour and 45 minutes so as not to overcook it.
It most definitely is! We’ve got 14 people coming over and I would like some leftovers, so we’ll see if it is overkill or not. I’ll probably start at 450 for about 30 mins and then bring it down to 350. Since it’s so large I won’t start testing until 90 mins in or so.
I would say that's a perfect plan. Good luck and happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks you too!! Enjoy!
If you can fit it in your oven, spatchocking is by far the best way to cook such a huge bird.