Spatchcock Smoked Turkey

  4.9 – 9 reviews  • Main Dish
Level: Easy
Total: 7 hr
Active: 45 min
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

  1. One 10- to 12-pound turkey, cleaned
  2. Juice of 2 oranges
  3. 1 cup olive oil
  4. 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  5. 6 cloves garlic, smashed
  6. Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Instructions

  1. Pat the turkey dry and turn it breast-side down on a cutting board. Using sharp kitchen shears or a knife, cut the backbone out of the turkey, reserving it for stock. Flip the turkey so it’s breast-side up, then press down on it with your hands to flatten the bird.
  2. Whisk together the orange juice, oil, maple syrup and garlic in a large bowl. Reserve half of the marinade and set aside. Season the turkey on both sides with salt and pepper and place the turkey into the bowl with the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours. Remove the turkey from the refrigerator an hour before grilling, so it can come to room temperature.
  3. Prepare a grill for indirect heat. If using a charcoal grill, build the hot coals on one side only. If using a gas grill, heat one side only on medium-high heat.
  4. Place the turkey skin-side up over indirect heat and cover the grill. Maintaining a temperature of 375 to 400 degrees F, smoke the turkey until it reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F, about 90 minutes. Baste the turkey with the reserved marinade every 30 minutes during cooking.
  5. Remove the turkey from the grill and rest, tented with aluminum foil, for at least 20 minutes before carving.
  6. (Alternatively, you can bake the turkey on a rimmed baking sheet in a 375 to 400 degrees F oven for 90 minutes.)

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 of 8 servings
Calories 921
Total Fat 52 g
Saturated Fat 10 g
Carbohydrates 13 g
Dietary Fiber 1 g
Sugar 9 g
Protein 96 g
Cholesterol 319 mg
Sodium 1622 mg

Reviews

Gabriel Mcclain
This totally rocked I can’t believe I hadn’t spatchcocked a bird before will probably never do it any other way can’t wait to do a chicken thanks
Leonard Garcia
Thank you for this easy delicious recipe! I baked mine in the oven and it was perfect for a family of 6.5. I’m so proud to spatchcock my 1st turkey! Michael you Rock! 
Vickie Jones
we divided the spatcocked turkey between the grill and the oven. the grill half turned out better and juicier than the oven half. will do again!
Ruth Simpson
I made this yesterday for Thanksgiving, couldn’t have been easier, it was moist and very delicious! Everyone raved about it! only change I made was I marinated it over night.
Tony Church
Best turkey ever! So moist and flavorful! I’m getting rid of all my other recipes. Only change I made was to dry brine the bird for a couple days before marinating the day of cooking.
Eric Warner
Made today for Thanksgiving! Just me and my husky but we agreed on five stars! Moist and delicious! Thanks chef Symon with a y!!!
Bradley Johnson
I knew a few days ahead of time that I would need a shortcut for cooking the turkey this year. Dinner had to be at noon because of time constraints. My boyfriend and I came across the video for this recipe. The weather cooperated to grill outdoors. We even used a gas grill. The turkey came out very juicy and delicious. Smoke flavor wasn’t too heavy and definitely tasted the citrus and garlic. I used three oranges because our bird was 14 lbs. I also included the zest. As Ina says, “It’s free flavor.” It got rave reviews from family members. My son and his little boy at noon and then we carried leftovers to my other son and his little family a couple of hours later. The only thing I’d do differently next time is to use less oil. There was a lot of the marinade leftover that we had to discard after basting.

 

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