by Jack Sterling

Created on: November 30, 2009

Smoking a Spatchcocked Turkey or How to Defile Your Dinner Before Cooking It I recently received a free turkey but unfortunately I am not much of a fan of turkey. Cooking a turkey in the oven usually result in a dry and boring bird. However, I was not going let free food go to waste and decided I could get a little creative with the traditional holiday turkey format. I did this by combining two of my favorite things, mutilation and barbeque! I came up with an unconventional approach to cooking the bird that you should try next time rather than ruining the holidays with bad turkey - that being spatchcocking and smoking it over a pit. Spatchcocking is a method for cooking poultry evenly and quickly. The word spatchcocking comes from the Irish and is short for dispatching the cock. I've always cooked my whole chickens in this manner and figured that the same method can be applied to it's larger cousin. Spatchcocking involves removing the backbone of the bird, breaking the breastbone and flattening the bird for easy grilling. Tis a gruesome task but the result is a tender, juicy and flavorful turkey that negates the need for brining and prevents the breast meat from drying out. The smoke also adds a delicious flavor that you could not achieve in the oven.

You will need:
A 12 pound turkey
Bacon
Apple Wood Chips and Charcoal (Mesquite)

Seasoning:
Lots of Old Bay, Salt and Pepper
Some Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Thyme
Bamboo Skewers
Toothpicks

Step One:
Say Hello to the Turkey

Step Two:

Flip bird over and with a pair of heavy duty kitchen shears begin cutting through the rib cage along the backbone. Repeat process on the other side of the backbone.

Step Three:
Complete the removal of the backbone by severing any remaining tissue or bone connected to the backbone. Remove backbone, save for jewlery.

Step Four:
Flip bird over and with the ball of your hand press firmly onto the sternum. You should hear several cracks and if done properly the sound should haunt you in your dreams. Press hard!

Step Five:
Flip bird back over and gripping both sides of the ribcage press firmly so that the bird is flattened in a manner that all portions of the underside will be equidistant from the grill. If you have small children this would be a perfect opportunity to chase them with the turkey at this point and try and do the whole Aliens face-sucker trick on them.

Step Six:
Take two bamboo skewers and insert them through the lower breast, thigh and leg so that they remain in place during cooking. Flip bird over and tuck wings back.

Step Seven:
Cut several slits in the breast, thighs and legs and clear the tissue connecting the muscle from the skin. Stuff bird with spices and bacon. Using toothpicks fold the skin back over and seal the bird.

Step Eight:
Season outside of bird generously.

Step Nine: - Smoking
Preparing the grill. Get a nice heap of coals going in the chimney starter. Presoak Apple Wood Chips for 30 mins in water and drain. When coals are glowing put them in the grill in a setup for indirect heat. Place soaked wood chips on coals then put bird on grill. The grill should remain between 200-300 degrees throughout the smoking process.

Step Ten: - Wait
Cover grill and let smoke. Process will take about five hours for a 12 pound bird. Let cook for 3.5 hours on its inerds side (rotating every 45 minutes) and 1.5 hours breast side down (rotating every 30 minutes). Add more wood chips and coals as appropriate to keep at the proper temperature. After reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees remove from grill and let sit for 30 minutes to allow juices to settle.

Step Eleven: - Enjoy!

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