Recipe: Turkey spatchcocked with sesame and ginger

From the editors and editors of Food & Wine Magazine.

Want to win Thanksgiving dinner? Prepare this spatchcock roast turkey, perfectly juicy, incredibly crispy and deliciously flavorful. Recipe developer Ann Taylor Pittman rubs the meat under the skin with a combination of dried ginger, salt and white pepper for an overnight dry brine that seasons and promotes moist, tender meat. Spatchcocking the bird is a time-saving approach to roasting the turkey that any busy holiday cook will appreciate for the oven time it frees up, compared to a traditional whole roast turkey. This method also allows the turkey to cook more evenly. A mixture of butter and toasted sesame oil provides a rich, nutty, browned finish to the bird.

Toasted sesame oil in the butter mixture deepens the roasted “brown” flavor of the skin, while white pepper and ginger lend subtle spicy notes to the meat.

Spatchcocked turkey with sesame and ginger

By Ann Taylor Pittman

Activity time: 25 minutes.
Cooling time: 1 day
Total duration: 1 day 2 hours. 55 minutes.
Servings: 12

Ingredients:

1 whole fresh turkey (12 pounds)
3 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons white pepper
2 medium yellow onions, roughly chopped (about 3 1/2 cups)
2 large carrots, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
2 large stalks celery, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

Instructions:

Step 1: Pat the turkey dry with paper towels; place turkey, breast side down, on a cutting board. Using kitchen scissors, cut on either side of the backbone to separate the backbone from the turkey. Discard the backbone or reserve for making stock. Turn the turkey breast side up. Using the heel of your hands, press firmly against the breastbone until it cracks and the turkey flattens. Arrange turkey breast side up on a rack and place rack in an 18×13-inch rimmed baking sheet; Tuck the tips of the wings under the turkey. Loosen the turkey skin from the breast, legs and drumsticks by slipping your fingers under the skin. Mix salt, ginger and white pepper in a small bowl. Rub two-thirds of the salt mixture (about 2 1/2 tablespoons) evenly under the skin of the breast, thighs and drumsticks; rub remaining salt mixture (about 1 tablespoon) over wings and skin of breast, thighs and drumsticks. Refrigerate, uncovered, for 24 hours.

Step 2: Remove the turkey from the refrigerator; let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Arrange onions, carrots and celery in the bottom of a second rimmed baking sheet. Place the turkey on a baking rack and place on top of the vegetables on a baking sheet.

Step 3: Preheat the oven to 450°F with the oven rack in the middle position. Mix butter and sesame oil in a small bowl until well combined. Rub 2 to 3 teaspoons of the butter mixture onto the wings and rub the remaining butter mixture under the turkey skin and onto the breast, thighs and drumsticks.

Step 4: Roast the turkey in the preheated oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the thigh registers 185°F, the breast registers 155°F, and the skin is crisp and golden, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. Tent the turkey using foil during the last 15 minutes of roasting if the skin begins to get too dark. Remove turkey; let rest 30 minutes before cutting.

Originally published in Food & Wine magazine, November 2024.

Remarks

Use high-quality Korean sesame oil here; its flavor will be richer and nuttier without tasting artificial.

Dry brining (salting and seasoning the turkey, then letting it sit uncovered in the refrigerator for 24 hours) is easier and less messy than wet brining, but it achieves the same result: juicy, well-cooked meat. seasoned. This also results in crispier skin. In this recipe, a simple dry brine of salt, ginger and white pepper is rubbed under and on the turkey skin.

Be sure to let the turkey sit at room temperature for an hour before roasting. You don’t want it to go into the oven cold in the fridge. Before you turn on the oven, test the dish (with the turkey on it) to see exactly where you should place the oven racks. If the turkey is too large for the tray, tie the legs together so it fits comfortably on the tray.

Use a digital probe thermometer (no-rinse) so you don’t have to open the oven to check the temperature of the turkey. Insert it into the fleshy part of the thigh, making sure the tip does not touch the bone or go all the way through. Once the turkey is cooked, let it rest for 30 minutes to allow the juices to settle before carving.

FAQs

What is spatchcocking?

Think of spatchcocking as turning a 3D turkey into a 2D turkey. This involves cutting the spine and butterflying the bird so it lies flat. It cooks the bird much faster, in less than an hour and a half. Because all the meat is on the same plane and is equally exposed to heat, it cooks more evenly – no more overcooked breast meat while the thighs struggle to be cooked through. And with all the skin on the bird, the whole thing becomes wonderfully crispy. Finally, a shelled bird takes up less vertical space, so you can place more dishes on the other oven rack.

How to spatchcock a turkey?

Turn the bird over so the spine faces upward. Using heavy-duty poultry shears, cut on either side of the backbone to remove it. Turn the turkey over, breast side up, and press firmly on the center of the breastbone until it cracks and the bird lies flat. (For more details, see our step-by-step photos of how to spatchcock a turkey).

How long does it take to spatchcock a turkey?

A boiled turkey takes much less time to cook than a whole turkey. A 12-pound spatchcock-cooked turkey will cook in about an hour, while a whole 12-pound roast turkey will take nearly three hours to cook in the oven.

What do you do with the turkey spine after spatchcocking?

Don’t throw away the backbone of a whole turkey! Save it to make turkey stock, which you can use for homemade gravy or soup. You can always freeze the bone for up to three months and reuse it once the holiday rush has passed.

Suggested pairing

Try pairing a structured Barbera d’Alba, like Cascina Fontana, with this Thanksgiving main dish.

Get ahead

Let the turkey cool completely to room temperature before storing. Place leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to three days.

For more information:

Gastronomic and Wine Magazine

Consult the “Sunday Morning” 2024 “Food Issue” recipe index

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