Smoked Spatchcock Turkey

This Smoked Spatchcock Turkey lives up to all our expectations of the perfect Thanksgiving bird. We've never had a turkey more smokey, flavorful, and juicy!

Prep Time: 1

Cook Time: 3

Total Time: 4

Servings:

Ingredients

For the Brine

1 cup table salt
½ cup brown sugar, tightly packed
4 quarts vegetable stock, 16 cups
1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground allspice
plenty of ice and water

For the Turkey

2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
15-18 lb turkey, neck and giblets removed

Instructions

For the Brine

In a very large stockpot, add all brine ingredients, except for ice and water. Heat over high heat and stir until dissolved. Allow to cool.
Gently submerge turkey into the brine. Cover the top with ice. Pour in enough cold water to completely submerge turkey in liquid. Stir the liquid to combine. Store in fridge or cool location (keep below 40F) for 12-24 hours.

For the Turkey

Preheat smoker to 275F. Remove turkey from the brine and rinse thoroughly. Discard brine.
Place turkey breast side down on cutting board. Using heavy duty kitchen shears, cut alongside the entire length of one side of the back bone from the neck to the tail. Cut along the other side to fully remove the backbone. Rinse bird again to flush away any bone fragments.
Return turkey to cutting board and spread it skin side up. Press down firmly between the breasts with your palm to crack/flatten the breast bone. If necessary, use a large chef or butcher knife to score the middle of the wishbone to make it easier to crack.
Dry both sides of turkey with paper towels and lay on rack to allow it to come to room temperature. After 1-2 hours, dry both sides of turkey again.
In a small bowl, combine 1 TB kosher salt, 2 TB freshly ground pepper, and 2 TB garlic powder. Sprinkle generously over both sides of the turkey.
Insert oven-safe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and place turkey (skin side up) in smoker and smoke until thermometer reads 158F.
Remove turkey from smoker. Cover with foil and let rest for 20-30 min before slicing and serving.

Equipment

Wood Pellet Smoker

Notes

Prep time listed is for active prep time. Passive brine/rest time not included.
I use disposable food-safe nitrile gloves when working with raw bird.
If your turkey is frozen, thaw it in fridge before starting recipe. It takes about 6 days for a large frozen turkey to completely thaw in the fridge.
For fast cooling of brine: boil only half of the vegetable stock. After everything is dissolved, add the other half of the stock; this instantly cools off brine.
If you don’t own a large enough stockpot, you can brine the turkey in a clean bucket.
If desired, remove excess fat when the turkey is very cold; this will limit the amount of drippings in the grease pail. Will not have a any impact on tenderness or flavor.
If using a pellet grill with an off-center fire pot, place a folded sheet of foil over that side of the flame broiler bottom to keep the temperature consistent across the entire cooking surface.
Important: Actual cook time will vary, as each brand of smoker is quite different, as is the size of the bird. Please go by the temperature, and not time.
Top Smoked Spatchcock Turkey with this festive Homemade Cranberry Sauce!
Leftover turkey tastes amazing in this Turkey Tetrazzini.
This recipe is part of our Thanksgiving Dinner Collection.

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Nutrition (per serving)

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Low Lactose

Method: Smoke