Smoked Spatchcock Turkey, easy and delicious turkey every time! With a smoky flavor and a delicious cranberry molasses glaze, this turkey is tender, juicy, and extra flavorful!
This might be my favorite way to cook our Thanksgiving Turkey. It’s smoked, like my smoked turkey breast recipe, but also cooked with a delicious glaze that is bursting with flavor.
The combo is so good!
Why Spatchcock a Turkey?
Cooking a Spatchcock Turkey (or chicken) allows the meat to cook evenly, and depending on the cooking method, faster. Overall, it’s easy to do and makes smoking this big bird that much more tasty.
This year don’t forget to serve this turkey up with some mashed potatoes, creamy Thanksgiving corn, cream cheese green beans, and an easy cranberry relish!
So smoked turkeys taste good?
Yes! They are flavorful from the seasoning and the smoke, plus they are extra juicy from cooking at a low and slow temperature.
What you need for this recipe:
Turkey: Thawed Turkey, Salt, Pepper, Baking Soda
Glaze: Apple Cider, Cranberries, Molasses, Apple Cider Vinegar, Dijon Mustard, Gresh Ginger, Unsalted Butter
Equipment: Smoker, Pellets or wood chips (depending on your smoker), Smoker Thermometer and a Instant Read Thermometer for spot checking. Camp Chef and Thermoworks Affiliate links)
How big a turkey should you smoke?
People suggest 1-1 ½ lbs. per person. This might seem like a lot but a lot of the weight is bones.
I recommend for 4 people a 6lb turkey, 8 people a 12 lb turkey, and 12 people an 18lb turkey. If you have a lot of people, you might consider cooking several small or medium sized turkeys so they cook faster.
How long to thaw turkey?
Allow 1-1 ½ days per 4 lbs of turkey to thaw. So if your turkey is 10 lbs, thaw for 2 ½ -3 days, and a 12 lb turkey 3-4 days.
According to the CDC a turkey thawed in the refrigerator can remain refrigerated for 1-2 days before cooking. For more info from the CDC on thawing and handling turkeys read more here.
How to spatchcock a turkey?
- Remove the neck and giblets from the turkey.
- Using a sharp knife or kitchen shears (this is my preferred tool) cut along the spine of the turkey from tail to neck. (amazon affiliate link)
- Remove spine and discard or freeze for make stock in the future.
- Open the bird and locate the nob of bone/cartilage that is the where the breastbone meets in the middle.
- Using a knife, slice through this nob. It will be very easy to cut through. Alternatively, you can flip the bird over and press on this spot with your hands until you hear it break.
- Once cut through, flip the bird and lay out flat. Pat dry.
How to smoke spatchcock turkey?
- Mix together the salt, pepper, and baking soda.
- Pat skin side of turkey dry, then sprinkle with the baking soda mixture, rubbing in.
- Smoke turkey until it reaches the proper temperature, let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F to apply the glaze.
How to make the glaze?
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- While turkey rests, in a medium sauce pan, add apple cider, cranberries, molasses, vinegar, and ginger, and bring to a boil.
- Stir occasionally, until mixture is reduced to 1 ½ cups- about 30 minutes.
- Strain mixture through a mesh strainer then discard solids.
- Transfer ½ cup of the glaze to a small sauce pan and set aside.
- Brush turkey with ⅓ of the glaze, then place turkey in the oven and bake for 7 minutes.
- Repeat applying the glaze and baking twice more until skin is crispy and browned.
- Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 20 minutes before carving.
- With reserved glaze, bring to a boil and let reduce for 10 minutes until thickened. Then add in the butter and stir until melted.
- Serve as a side for the turkey.
This recipe is adapted from Cook’s Illustrated Science of Good Cooking! I absolutely love this cookbook and highly recommend it for anyone who loves to cook or wants to know the best methods for the tastiest dishes! (amazon affiliate link)
Product Feature: Camp Chef's XXL Pro Vertical Smoker
I've used Camp Chef Smokers for years, and own three different ones! The XXL Pro is by far my favorite smoker!
It is spacious, has a chamber for wood chips, and can cold smoke! Camp Chef sent me this smoker to try out and I absolutely love it and highly recommend it! (affiliate link).
The general rule of thumb is 30 minutes per pound of turkey. So, an 8lb turkey will need at least 4hrs to smoke, a 12bl turkey at least 6 hours, and a 15lb turkey at least 7 ½ hours. Times may vary depending on smoker temperature and outside ambient temperature.
Place your thermometer probe in the breast horizontal, near the neck cavity, parallel to where the spine was and not touching any bone. It should be ½-1 inch from the internal cavity. You can ready more about this here.
You want to pull your turkey when the breast hits 160°F and then allow it to sit for 30 minutes. The carryover cooking will bring it to 165°F. You can read more about the perfect turkey cooking temperatures here.
I like to use a competition blend, but apple, hickory, or maple are great too.
How to season spatchcock smoked turkey?
For this recipe I like to just use the glaze, however an herb butter or an olive oil and a dry rub used instead works well too.
What do you stuff a smoked turkey with?
I don’t like to stuff anything in a turkey I am smoking so that it will get adequate air flow and cook the meat evenly. If I were to stuff the turkey it would be with herbs, like sage, rosemary, and thyme, to add a little aromatic flavor.
How do you keep a turkey moist when smoking?
There are many opinions when it comes to keeping meat moist when smoking. Some people swear by spraying the meat with apple juice every hour, others use water, and some people don’t spray at all.
Honestly, I fall into the category of doing nothing extra to the turkey. When you cook low and slow the turkey stays super juicy.
Is it necessary to brine a turkey before smoking?
No, but if you do, I recommended a dry brine. This is where you pat the turkey dry then rub it with salt and let it sit in the refrigerator for a day, then smoke it.
However, similar to chicken, you can just smoke it as is (with a little salt pepper and baking soda helps crisp the skin), or with herb butter!
Tips for Turkeys
Can you cook a frozen turkey?
-Yes, but you can’t smoke it or fry it. It must be baked. Read more here!
Can you cook a partially thawed partially frozen turkey?
-No. Once the frozen portion is thawed and cooked to a food safe temp the already thawed portion will be cooked to crisp.
How to quick thaw a turkey in water?
-I recommend reading this article if this is what you need to do. It’s a little more work than just running it under cold water and I really liked how Thermoworks explains it here.
What to do with leftover turkey?
Leftover turkey is great for turkey enchiladas, open faced sandwiches, tacos, and my favorite turkey cranberry sandwich!
Make sure to check out all my Thanksgiving recipes here where you will find lots of easy, make ahead sides, delicious desserts (like pumpkin pie and pecan brownies!), and so much more!
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Smoked Spatchcock Turkey
Ingredients
- 8-15 lb Turkey thawed
- 1 tbs salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
Cranberry Molasses Glaze
- 3 cups apple cider
- 1 cup cranberries fresh or frozen
- ½ cup molasses
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbs Dijon mustard
- 1 tbs ginger freshly grated
- 2 tbs unsalted butter
Instructions
How to Spatchcock a Turkey
- Locate the spine along the back of the turkey. Cut along the spine on both sides the remove it. You can save this for making broth or throw away.8-15 lb Turkey
- Flip the turkey over and locate the nob or cartilage/bone that is at the top the breast on the inside of the bird. Using a sharp knife slice through this nob*- it should be pretty easy.
- Flip the bird over and lay out flat.
- In a small bowl combine the salt, pepper, and baking soda.1 tbs salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, 2 teaspoon baking powder
- Pat turkey breast side with a paper towel to remove any excess water. Sprinkle turkey with salt mixture. Make sure to get all sides.
Smoking the Turkey
- Place your thermometer probe in the breast horizontal, near the neck cavity, parallel to where the spine was and not touching any bone. It should be ½-1 inch from the internal cavity.
- Preheat your smoker to 225°F or 300°F. 225°F will take longer but be more smokey, 300°F will have crispier skin and less smokey flavor but will cook faster. If you are using a pellet smoker set your smoke to high.
- Smoke the turkey until the breast has reached 160°F then remove from smoker to a baking sheet/roasting pan, tent with foil, and let sit for 30 minutes. During this time the temperature will rise to 165°F and be fully cooked. The leg meat is best when it is at 175-180°F since it has more collagen to break down. *
Glaze for the Turkey
- While turkey is resting make your glaze. Also preheat your oven to 450°F.
- In a medium sauce pot combine apple cider, cranberries, molasses, apple cider vinegar, mustard, and fresh ginger.3 cups apple cider, 1 cup cranberries, ½ cup molasses, ½ cup apple cider vinegar, 1 tbs Dijon mustard, 1 tbs ginger
- Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally, until total volume is reduced to 1 ½ cups- about 30 minutes.
- Strain mixture through a fine mesh strainer, pressing down the cranberries to squeeze out any extra juice.
- Remove ½ cup and place back in the sauce pot and set aside to cool slightly.
- Brush ⅓ of the remaining glaze over the turkey, then bake for 7 minutes. Then brush ½ of the remaining glaze over the turkey and bake another 7 minutes, then repeat with the last portion of glaze and bake a final 7 minutes. At this point the skin should be brown and crispy. Remove from oven and allow turkey to rest on a cutting board for 20 minutes before carving.
- With the reserved glaze, heat liquid over medium heat until it’s reduced and thickened a bit- about 10 minutes. Remove from heat then whisk in the butter.2 tbs unsalted butter
- Serve extra glaze alongside turkey.
Notes
- *You can also just flip the turkey back over and press down where the knob is located, pressing hard enough to break that part and being able to lay the bird out flat.
- Smoking Times/Temperatures: Approximately 30 minutes per pound of turkey. So, an 8lb turkey will need at least 4hrs to smoke, a 12bl turkey at least 6 hours, and a 15lb turkey 7 ½ hours.
- *Since the leg meat is towards the outside of the turkey it will naturally cook to a high temperature than the breast meat.
- You can place the turkey directly on the grate or in a drip pan. If you use a drip pan you can use the drippings to make my easy gravy (just use in place or in addition to broth).
- Nutrition info based on a 12lb turkey.
Lisa says
My favorite turkey recipe! The glaze is amazing!