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Spatchcock Turkey

By Adrianna Adarme

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12

Nov 06, 2017, Updated Nov 12, 2023

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This spatchcock turkey is incredibly quick and easy. Removing the backbone cuts the cooking time in half. The dry brine is inspired by Cuban the marinade, mojo. For a quick and fuss-free turkey recipe that results in delicious tender and moist turkey, look no further!

Spatchcock Turkey

I am SO excited about this post because if I’m being completely honest, I never cook the turkey for Thanksgiving. Josh is super passionate about brining, roasting, blah blah and I just let him do it and I concentrate on the sides and desserts.

BUT, when ALDI reached out about hosting a Friendsgiving with some of my bestest blog friends–Geri, Teri + Jenny, Naomi, Jeanine, Ashley and Claire–I decided that it was time to figure out how to make and share a proper recipe for Thanksgiving turkey. I like to think that this post forced me to learn how to spatchcock a turkey. I’m so glad I know now!

Ingredients You’ll Need to Make a Spatchcock Turkey

1. One of the most popular recipes this fall has been this Mojo Sheet Pan Chicken and there’s good reason for it! It’s so flavorful and the lemon/orange and heavy garlic flavors work so well together. I thought that maybe it would be delicious on turkey and boy was I right!

If you’re unfamiliar, mojo is a Cuban marinade that is wildly simple but oh so good. In Cuba they have sour oranges, which are sort of a cross between a lemon and an orange. They aren’t readily available in the United States and most Cubans/people trying to achieve mojo, simply combine lemons and oranges—it’s a good solution!

I went to ALDI where I picked up a gorgeous, hormone-free turkey at a super affordable price, along with the organic dried oregano and organic lemons and naval oranges.

I made this Thanksgiving turkey sort of sheet-pan-like because Billy convinced me to cut out the back bone and lay it flat on the baking sheet a.k.a spatchcocking a turkey.

I completely believed Billy because he was super passionate about it but when it came out of the oven looking like a queen, I was permanently converted.

Taking out the backbone a.k.a. spatchcocking the bird does a few amazing things:

1. It gives you bones to make broth for silky smooth gravy (recipe coming soon!).
2. It makes it so you don’t really need to brine it at all. I didn’t brine this. I added the flavoring underneath the skin, sprinkled it with salt and pepper and that’s it!
3. The turkey roasts in an hour and a half (no four hour turkeys!). So this is a quick and easy Thanksgiving turkey recipe.
4. I set it on one sheet of lemons and naval oranges and it provided a delicious base.
5. The breast meat was moist—not dry! The entire turkey cooked evenly. It’s basically magic!

And then I carved it beautifully and arranged some olive branches and slices of lemon and orange around it.

In a few days (Wednesday, actually!), my friends will be coming over for a Friendsgiving with all of the dishes they’re making! I can’t wait to eat all the things with my friends! Be sure to check my Insta Stories for more updates.

Here are a link to all the recipes:

Naomi from Bakers Royale
Teri + Jenny from Spoon Fork Bacon
Geri from Because I’m Addicted
Ashley from Sugar + Cloth
Jeanine from Love and Lemons

5 from 3 votes

Sheet Pan Turkey

By Adrianna Adarme

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Cook: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total: 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Servings: 8

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This sheet pan turkey makes any holiday a breeze. Forget a huge roasting pan and use a sheet pan instead. A simple, flavorful brine makes results in a tender, moist turkey that everyone will remember.

Ingredients 

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Mojo Dry Brine:

• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 1 tablespoon kosher salt ˘
• ▢ Zest from 2 lemons
• ▢ Zest from 2 navel oranges
• ▢ 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed 
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Prep the turkey:

• ▢ 1 12-pound turkey, thawed in the fridge 
• ▢ 2 lemons, sliced (I used the lemons that were zested)
• ▢ 2 oranges, sliced (I used the oranges that were zested)
• ▢ Kosher salt
• ▢ Freshly ground pepper 

Mojo sauce for dipping: 

• ▢ Juice from 2 lemons
• ▢ Juice from 2 naval oranges
• ▢ 1/4 cup olive oil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions 

To Make the Mojo Dry Brine: 

• In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, salt, lemon zest, orange zest, crushed garlic and oregano. 

To Prep the Turkey: 

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Remove the gizzards from the cavity of the turkey. Using a pair of kitchen shears, slice the backbone out of the turkey. Removing the backbone should allow you to lay the turkey completely flat onto a half baking sheet. Separate the skin from the breast meat all the way around. Rub the breast meat (under the skin) with the mojo mixture.
• Sprinkle the top of the turkey with about a teaspoon of salt and pepper. Add a few slices of lemons and oranges underneath the turkey. 

To Cook the Turkey:

• Transfer to the oven to roast for 1 1/2 hours. This will depend on the size of your bird. You really know it’s done when a thermometer inserted into the thigh reads 170 degrees F. 
• Remove it from the oven and allow it to rest for 10 minutes. While the turkey is cooking and/or resting, make the mojo sauce. 

To Make the Mojo Sauce for Dipping: 

• In a measuring cup, whisk together the ingredients and transfer to a serving dish. 
• I carved this turkey and decorated the plate with more lemons and oranges. After it was carved, I brushed the mojo onto the turkey and served the rest on the side. 

Nutrition

Serving: 6g | Calories: 114kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Sodium: 291mg | Potassium: 98mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 82IU | Vitamin C: 32mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 0.3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

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