Mains · By James
Turkey — Spatchcocked and Dry-Brined
Jocelyn has thrown down the gauntlet in terms of the best way to prepare turkey. I love Joc's turkeys; they are wonderfully moist and flavorful, and they involve less organization and time than this dry-brined turkey. And yet, if you have the time, and know how to spatchcock, there is a deeply flavored succulence to a brined turkey, and wonderful crispy skin on all the turkey parts because of the spatchcocking/flattening. Also, there is less cleanup at the end than with a roasted turkey, which is nice when you have lots going on with a festive meal. While spatchcocking is an option, Jocelyn is our official turkey-maker in the family, and will remain so — her birds are wonderful!
Ingredients
- ~15 lb (~7 kg) turkey
- 3 tbsp coarse kosher salt (coarse grain sea salt may be used)
- 3 tbsp coarse grind black pepper
- 3 tbsp thyme — finely chopped fresh (less if dry)
- 3 tbsp rosemary — finely chopped fresh
- 1 tbsp fresh sage — finely chopped (dried sage may be substituted — 1½ tsp)
Method
- 1
TURKEY MUST BE THAWED BEFORE SPATCHCOCKING AND BRINING — start thawing 1 full day before spatchcocking and brining it! (Go on the internet to find basic spatchcocking technique — you will need a good, sharp kitchen shears to do it well.)
- 2
Once thawed and spatchcocked, apply the brining mixture 60 hours (2.5 days) before the turkey is to be cooked (for overall timing, this means starting the initial thawing 3.5 days before you want to cook it). Cover the brined turkey with plastic wrap and refrigerate. If the turkey gets less than 60 hours brining, it will still be good — but a minimum of 48 hours is needed for the brining to work well.
- 3
Part of your 60 hours brining is with the turkey uncovered in the fridge to dry out the skin a bit — this helps the skin to crisp up beautifully during roasting. Uncover it the morning of the day you are roasting so you have about 8 hours uncovered — the last hour of these 8 should be out of the fridge, at room temperature.
- 4
Roasting: because it is spatchcocked it will only need about 70 minutes in the oven (with an additional 20–30 minutes resting, lightly covered with foil). Use a pan that has some room in it so the turkey isn't crowded, but make sure the pan isn't too deep — a pan deeper than 2 inches will tend to steam the bird in all those delicious juices you'll use for your gravy. Add more water to the roasting pan, if needed, to prevent pan drippings from burning.
- 5
Take the turkey out when it is registering 155 degrees in the thigh meat. Then let it rest for 30 minutes before carving, during which time the temp will increase up to 10 degrees (165) before starting to cool down. Take the temperature in the thickest part of the dark thigh meat, being careful not to touch the bone — use an insta-read thermometer. Loosely tent the turkey during the resting stage, but keep it loose so the skin doesn't lose its crispy texture.
A note from James
What is dry-brining? Rubbing salt and seasonings directly onto the meat and skin, then letting the meat rest in the refrigerator before cooking. The salt draws out juices through osmosis, dissolves into a natural brine, and is re-absorbed, breaking down tough muscle proteins — which is why the process needs at least 2 days (3 is even better). The larger the piece of meat, the more time is needed. It will NOT be too salty, and do not rinse the dry-brined turkey — the uncovered final day dries the skin for incredibly crispy, golden-brown results. Tips: no pre-seasoned, kosher (pre-salted) or self-basting turkeys. Use kosher salt for the best results — salt that is too fine isn't as easy to distribute evenly and can cause uneven brining. The standard is 1 tablespoon of salt for every 5 pounds of turkey. (Recipe taken from a website by Dennis Littley.) Drink/wine pairing: lighter red wines like Pinot Noir, or Chardonnay. Of course, sparkling wine is also excellent!
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