Thanksgiving

[MandysMom]

Curious did she do the spatchcocked turkey on the BBQ grill or in the oven? I have been wanting Mel to do a chicken that way on our smoker.
Velda

[BarbaraRose]

I had to google "spatchcock". This is what I found...

"Spatchcocking? It involves butterflying the bird, removing its backbone and breaking the breastbone so it lies flat. The breast meat turns out very tender, the drumsticks are juicy and flavorful, and the entire thing is done in half the time."

[Excel]

Thanks Barb.....had no idea....so nice to be informed ....

[JudyJB]

Sounds like a good way to cook a small or medium-sized turkey in one of our tiny ovens! I wonder if you could get a butcher to remove the back for you?? Sounds like a lot of hard work and a chance to cut myself!

[judi]

Yes, that's what how my daughter prepared the turkey. Then did the fennel orange peel rub and refrigerated overnight. Roasted it the next day on Thanksgiving. It was truly the best turkey I have ever had. I think she got the recipe from a Bon Appetit magazine. She had a bit of difficulty cutting through a few of the bones and her husband was taking their little girl to the park, so the next time she'll have the butcher do the spatchcocking.

[snowball]

thanks Barbie for the information was wondering what that term meant.
Years ago I had a boss that told me he always cooked his bird upside down so the
juices flowed into the breast meat..so i started to do that as well and I know that
my eldest daughter does as well...then when I was watching a ad for walmart they
suggested that method...
I agree that doing that method would help with our smaller ovens
sheila

[MandysMom]

Judy I use a pair of dedicated kitchen scissors. You cut on either side of the back bone then flatten it. Usually I give it a smack with my hand to flatten the sternum part of the front of the breast. It's pretty easy but I would not use a knife. I always keep a pair of scissors in my kitchen which are dedicated for use in food prep and opening food wrappings. I make sure they are stainless steel so I can wash them and they don't rust. Very handy tools.
Velda

[judi]

Velda I also have kitchen scissors, and it seems like I use them every day for something or other. My daughter has similar scissors as well as a pair of poultry shears, but it was still not an easy task. I think a pair of wire cutters may work well!

[monik7]

I watched a video just the other day demonstrating this (although he didn't refer to it as spatchcocking) done by some prominent chef. Of course, it was pretty easy for him and didn't take long. He obviously used a very sharp knife that might be a little dangerous for the rest of us. An important part was how he showed it was much easier to get the wings and drum sticks off if you bend them out and find the joint. My days of cooking a turkey are long gone, but it was quite interesting to see how it was done.
Sandi

[MandysMom]

I have done only chicken, not the much tougher turkey and you are right it would take tougher shears for that, which I happen to have. My Dad taught me by example how to cut up chicken. I watched him so many times. He always did it for Mom. I have this warm memory of turkeys as well, the cooked bird on a platter in my Aunts kitchen ( his sister where we often went for Christmas and New Years), and Daddy has her apron tied up around his chest to protect his "good clothes" which we always wore good clothes for holiday meals, and he has her big knife and a big fork and he's dismantling the turkey and putting the meat on another platter, it was always his job, as her big brother. Not sure why her husband, my Uncle did not do it but it was always Dads job. Such wonderful memories. I'm definately going to have Mel do a spatchcocked chicken on our pellet smoker soon.
Velda

[BarbaraRose]

For years, I accidently cooked our Christmas turkey upside down. I could never tell which end was up with those things (no head or feet to go by )! The first time I did that, my brother was trying to carve it and was mystified that he couldn't find any meat on it. Finally, he turned it over and discovered all the meat was on the bottom! My family always gave me a hard time about it but the turkey was always really tender and moist. Now, it is the thing to do!

[JudyJB]

The scissors sound like a good idea. I might try it with a chicken to start with. It would certainly make it easier to fit into my "easy-bake" oven, as some of my friends call it.

Barbie, I once cooked a chicken upside down accidently. Glad to hear it is now in fashion.

[MandysMom]

Speaking of spatch cocked turkey. There is a gal in Reno whose YouTube channel I have followed for a while who has one of those big green egg bbq's on which she did a spatch cocked turkey for her Thanksgiving this year. Look up 255sage and it's the most eprecent video. She showed how she cut it and prepped it and cooking. I emailed her a while ago and discovered we had lived n the same development out of Reno back in the early 80's but never knew each other. Her name is Linda and she is one of several Linda's Pantry Facebook pages as well.
Velda