This is a very fast way to get a juicy, evenly cooked turkey covered with crispy skin — and you don’t even need to dust off your roasting pan. Ask your butcher to spatchcock the turkey for you.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 2 hr 15 min |
| Active: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 8 to 10 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 apples, cored and roughly chopped
- 2 large onions, roughly chopped
- 2 lemons, sliced 1/2 inch thick
- 6 sprigs fresh sage plus 1/2 cup sage leaves
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- One 12- to 14-pound turkey, spatchcocked (see Cook’s Note)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons sweet paprika
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- Flaky sea salt, for serving
Instructions
- Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Combine the apples, onions, lemons, sage sprigs and chicken broth on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Sprinkle the turkey generously on both sides with 2 tablespoons salt and 1 tablespoon pepper, and rub all over with the paprika. Put the turkey, skin-side up, over the apple mixture and rub the skin with the olive oil. Roast until the skin is golden brown and crisp, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 155 degrees F, 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and tent it loosely with foil; let rest 30 minutes before carving. (The turkey will continue cooking as it rests.)
- Strain the juices from the baking sheet through a mesh sieve into a small saucepan, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. (Discard the solids.) Skim off any fat from the juices with a spoon if necessary, and keep warm over low heat.
- Carve the turkey and arrange on a warm serving platter. Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat, swirling the butter occasionally, until it becomes deep nutty brown, about 5 minutes. Add the sage leaves and cook, stirring, until the edges curl up, just a few seconds. Spoon the brown butter and sage leaves all over the turkey, and sprinkle with some of the flaky sea salt. Serve the pan juices on the side.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 10 servings |
| Calories | 767 |
| Total Fat | 37 g |
| Saturated Fat | 13 g |
| Carbohydrates | 15 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Sugar | 6 g |
| Protein | 93 g |
| Cholesterol | 326 mg |
| Sodium | 1661 mg |
Reviews
Made turkey for the first time for Thanksgiving. Hadn’t touched a turkey in my life, but this recipe was super simple and easy to make! All of the parts were super juicy and flavorful. I slightly had to adjust the cooking time due to a 20 lb. turkey. I did 400 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Turned out perfectly 🙂
I don’t think I will ever cook my turkey any other way than spatchcocked. I did my recipe slightly different because I also cut it down the breastbone so I could freeze half. After all there’s only two of us to eat. It took an hour to cook and was very moist and juicy cooked this way. Great class and great recipe.
Made this for Thanksgiving this year! By far the best turkey I have ever eaten. Flavorful and juicy. Easiest and fastest way to cook a turkey. I lined the sheet pan with foil and laid the bird on a flat open grilling pan, easy to move the turkey to the board. Followed recipe to a T.
No need to brine. Very juicy. The sauce was yummy!
I will never make a turkey any other way!
This will be the only way I will ever make my turkey again. I was worried about the paprika, I only had regular, not the sweet, or the smoked. It did not leave an overwhelming flavor as you may think, but it did make the skin look beautiful. The apples, onions and sage gave the bird a beautiful flavor. The browned butter was a succulent addition. The meat was tender and juicy. I used my gas grill as I only have one oven and needed the space for the rest of my dinner items. The grill takes a little tweaking to make sure the temperature remains at an even 400 degrees, and it took about 1:45 min to cook my 12 pound breast. For the splatchcock method I had to watch on YouTube…very helpful.
Made this recipe for the first time this year and it was delicious. My eight year old is not a fan of turkey and even he went back for seconds. We followed the recipe to a tee except we pit the turkey in a roasting pan, im not sure a rimmed baking sheet would have held all those juices. The sauce served on the side is amazing!
What a treat for the whole family. We’re going to use this recipe for every Thanksgiving!
Was delicious
Made this last year and was super quick, easy and delicious. It’s how I’m making my Thanksgiving turkeys going forward.