Spatchcock Smoked Turkey

This Spatchcocked Smoked Turkey consists of butterflying the Turkey allowing it to lay flat on the grill and cook evenly. The result is a moist and tender turkey with crispy herb-buttered skin.

For the past few years we have been making a Smoked Spatchcock Turkey for Thanksgiving, and it has been our preferred method of cooking.

The spatchcock method works on both large and small turkeys. Since the turkey is flattened, the cooking surface is more even and helps prevent overcooking.

Ingredients Needed

Whole Turkey, Salt, Butter, Herbs, and a Meat thermometer.

Frozen Turkey– Remove it from the freezer and allow to thaw in the refrigerator. This can take anywhere from 1-4 days depending on how many pounds it is. Then an extra day for the dry brine.

Fresh or Thawed Turkey- Remove from the packaging and pat it dry with paper towels.

Sprinkle salt all over the Turkey and add Salt under the skin to reach the meat directly. Then cover with plastic wrap in and leave in the refrigerator overnight.

How to Spatchcock a Turkey

Use either sharp kitchen shears or a sharp knife. My shears are not sharp enough, so I went with a knife.

Place the turkey breast side down and the backbone facing up. The wings tips should be pointing down like the picture above.

Go in with a knife or kitchen shears and cut along each side of the back bone to remove it. You can watch the YouTube Video at the end of this post.

Place your hands on top of the breast bone and press down to flatten the turkey. Tuck the wings underneath so the turkey breast gets a nice golden skin.

Before cooking the turkey, we’re going to cover it in an Herb Butter for more flavor.

It helps to have the turkey dry before applying the butter rub. If the turkey skin or meat is still wet, then pat the excess moisture with a paper towel.

Herb Butter- 1 stick of softened unsalted butter, fresh chopped rosemary, thyme, garlic powder, and salt.

Rub it all over the turkey, including underneath the skin. This will help flavor the inside of the meat.

How to Smoke a Turkey

In order to avoid over/under cooking the turkey, use a probe meat thermometer which tracks the progress of the cooking.

We are using a Ceramic Kamado Grill with a drip pan on the bottom rack and cooking the turkey on the top rack.

The grill temperature is 350-375° F, and this 9 pound turkey took about an hour and a half to cook.

If you need to plan the cooking time, an estimate for spatchcock turkey cooked at 350-375° F, is approximately 10 minutes per a pound.

Once the turkey reaches 165 degrees, you can remove it from the grill. Allow the turkey to rest at least 15 minutes before cutting into it.

I normally enjoy eating the dark meat, but the white meat turned out so flavorful and juicy too!

This smoked spatchcock turkey is best served 30 minutes from cooking.

The turkey can be reheated, just keep in mind the skin won’t be crispy. To prevent the meat from drying out after reheating, add some cooking juices to the turkey before warming it up.

To complete your Thanksgiving dinner here are some of my favorite recipes:

Side Dishes: Sausage Stuffing, Maple Brussels Sprouts, Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes, Cauliflower Mash, Acorn Squash Salad.

Desserts: Chocolate Pecan Pie, Apple Empanadas, Cranberry Ricotta Cake