Smoked Spatchcock Turkey

Enjoy the fall-off-the-bone sensation this Smoked Spatchcock Turkey brings in every moist and flavorful bite. A quick and simple dish that oozes with flavor in every inch and is perfectly cooked to the core. This is your go-to guide to make a deliciously tender and juicy turkey dish perfect for any time of the year!

Contents… What does it mean to spatchcock a turkey? Recipe Ingredients Tips and Tricks What smoker to use? My Choice: Pellet Smoker Charcoal Grill Electric Smoker How Long to Smoke a Spatchcock Turkey? Frequently Asked Questions Serving Suggestions More Easy Poultry Recipes How to Smoke Spatchcock Turkey

Turkey is definitely one of my guilty pleasures. It’s actually what I love about the holidays, after seeing all the family gatherings, of course, 😉. What’s funny is that even though it’s not the holidays, my friends keep requesting my smoked recipe. Well, your wish is my command!

I’ll share my super easy guide on how to smoke spatchcock turkey so you can also do it at home. Trust me, you don’t need advanced cooking skills to make this mouthwatering dish. All you need is a lot of patience!

What does it mean to spatchcock a turkey?

The word itself is an old Irish word that means opening up a turkey in an attempt to cook it faster. Spatchcocking is often practiced for roasting and smoking so that the heat can easily cook the whole poultry. This technique lets the smoky aroma penetrate the turkey meat easier.

Recipe Ingredients

Preparing the perfect turkey takes just two steps; seasoning and smoking. Both parts are important and require simple and flavor-packed ingredients.

Spatchcock Turkey Seasoning

• Salt and Pepper – This classic combo is enough to highlight the natural flavors of the turkey. I suggest going light with the seasoning to save some room for the rub.
• Skip the seasoning if you brined your turkey as it might become too salty. Here’s an easy recipe for turkey brine. Personally for whole turkey recipes, I suggest brining your bird but if you’re new to that concept, you can just lightly season it with the ingredients above.

Smoked Turkey Rub Options

• Creole Seasoning – my all-time favorite rub that’s perfect for any meat. It spices up the turkey all around giving you a well-flavored holiday dinner. You can make your own using this homemade Creole Seasoning.
• Homemade Poultry Seasoning – Talk about a perfect pair! The blend of ingredients perfectly complements the turkey meat and the smoky aftertaste. Check out my homemade version of Poultry Seasoning here.
• Italian Seasoning – The herby flavors of this rub gives your holiday turkey a fresh and delightful taste. See how I made my own version of Italian Seasoning.

Tips and Tricks

1. Just a quick brine. If you choose to brine, I suggest doing just a quick brine on the turkey. The rub will give it enough flavor and the smoke will easily penetrate the meat – about 4-5 hours of brining should be enough.
2. Cut easier. If it gets a little tougher to cut the backbone, try cutting it a little farther or closer to the bone.
3. Move the bone around. You can check the thinnest part of the bone when you move it around a bit.
4. Rest. Just like other smoked meats, turkey should also rest to keep the moisture in when you start cutting the dish.
5. Place your veggies. If you don’t have a wire rack, place your veggies under the turkey. As it smokes, the drippings from the turkey will flavor the veggies. The slight elevation of the turkey also helps in air circulation which makes the turkey evenly cooked.
6. Only open the lid when necessary. Constant opening of the smoker will mess up the temperature of the smoker which could lead to longer cooking time.
7. Don’t stuff the bird. Stuffing, although delicious, prolongs the cooking time of the dish. Besides, we want to cook our turkey flat so there’s no room for stuffing.

What smoker to use?

There are a lot of smoking methods you can use to prepare for this type of meat. Personally, I think that there’s no one specific way to perfectly smoke spatchcock turkey. So I’m going to show you some of my preferred techniques:

My Choice: Pellet Smoker

Pros

• Distinct Flavor – Although it takes longer to smoke the meat in with a pellet smoker, you’ll surely taste its distinct flavor down to the core.
• Flavored Wood Chips – Pellets mainly use compressed and flavored wood chips to smoke the meat in a closed chamber.
• Indirect Heat – This uses indirect heat which means that the heat source is distant from the meat.

Con

• One unit of a smoker can be too bulky – especially if you live in a studio or apartment

How to use a Pellet Smoker?

• Placing the Meat – You will simply need to place the meats in a rack indirect to the heat source. This will make sure that your meat will cook evenly without one side burning.
• Installing the water pan -Add a pan with half a cup of water to the smoking chamber to prevent it from drying out. This method also infuses the flavor of the wood chips in the turkey meat. (Personally, I think Hickory or Maple flavored wood is great for turkey meat but feel free to mix and match.)
• Trapping the heat – Close the lid to trap the flavorful smoke and the heat.

Verdict: By far, this is the easiest way to smoke. It automatically feeds the heater with pellets and fans the heat around the chamber. No need for the dirty work, just check the meat from time to time!👍 I, myself, use a Traeger Pellet Smoker because it’s one of the most versatile cookers on the market. You can get your pellets at Traeger as well or try Kingsford and their wide array of wood flavors.

Charcoal Grill

Pros

• Compact Unit – Its small size makes it truly convenient
• No Electricity – No need to plug it for electricity so you can enjoy your turkey even when you’re in the great outdoors.
• Low Cost – Its low cost makes it really budget-friendly. and it’s waaay easier to clean!

Con

• Direct heat – although technically it’s indirect. the heat source is in the same chamber as the meat. this can lead to roasting rather than smoking which burns one side of the leg.

A simple compact charcoal grill can also be used for smoking.  This is the perfect smoker for you if you don’t have much space in your backyard. I’d be careful about using this tho since it’s super easy to stain your shirt with soot.

This smoking method uses charcoal which cooks the meat with low but direct heat. Flavored wood can also be used for this method to infuse a smoky aroma into the center.

Barbecuing vs Smoking. The difference between barbecuing and smoking is that smoking uses slow and indirect heat so that all sides cook perfectly.

How to use your charcoal grill as a smoker?

• Heat the charcoals – Place the hot charcoals on one extreme side of the grill.
• Don’t waste those tasty juices – Add a tin catch just below the grill so you can catch any juices that drip off.
• Perfect position– Place the spatchcock turkey open side down on the other side of the grill farthest from the coals and the water pan beside it. You can use a tin pan for this process.
• Trap the heat – Close the lid to start cooking this tasty bird.

Verdict: I like using this method though because it’s the most convenient. I don’t need a bulky unit in my backyard. 👍 All I have to do is take my favorite wood flavor and use it along with charcoal.

Electric Smoker

Pros

• No direct heat – We won’t be using an open fire for this smoker. it’s woodchips and some heating rods.
• Its own thermometer – It has a built-in thermometer to tell the temperature inside the smoker.

Cons

• Longer smoking time – It cooks longer and slower because of the low maximum temperature.
• Electric consumption – I think you should expect a higher electric bill when using this smoker.
• Tastes different – Without the authentic smoke from a burning woodchip, you’ll sense a slight difference with the taste. Also, if you don’t preheat the smoker. you’d probably taste a bit of plastic from the manufacturing in your dish.

Electric smokers use wood chips to produce smoke via heating rods to produce the smoke. It also uses convection to heat food which gives the food a different flavor due to the lack of fire. The parts are generally similar to a bullet smoker with the wood tray substituting the fire chamber.

How to use an Electric Smoker

• Preheat the smoker: Pre-smoke the unit with the woodchips of your choice.
• Attach the water pan: Once it reaches the desired temperature, place the water pan inside the lowest space inside the unit. This can lower the temperature inside the smoker which can lead to longer cooking time.
• Perfect Placement: Place the turkey in the racks and close the lid or door.

NOTE: If you’re a first-time user of this type of smoker, I suggest seasoning your grill with cooking oil. This prevents any residue from the manufacturing to stick to your food.

Verdict: Electric grills tend to cook at a lower temperature which means they would cook longer.

How Long to Smoke a Spatchcock Turkey?

Turkey cooks for about 11-13 minutes per pound at 225 – 275 F. This is the perfect temperature to cook the turkey while giving it time to absorb the smoky flavors. Don’t forget to use a meat thermometer to check if your turkey is good to go.

You’ll know that it’s time to pull it out once it reaches 165 F. I like to take it out of the smoker just before it hits that target temperature. The turkey will continue to cook up to 10 minutes more outside the smoker. Nobody likes an overcooked turkey.

Frequently Asked Questions

Serving Suggestions

Just like the holidays, this dish is better when paired with something. Don’t get me wrong, I love it simply as it is but pairing it with simple dishes makes it extraordinary. Here are my top picks for an extraordinary pairing for this smoked spatchcocked turkey:

• A sweet serving of Scalloped Corn is a great way to complement the smoky flavor of the turkey.
• Make every day feel like a holiday with a good whip of Cornbread Dressing on the side.
• A side serving of Easy Coleslaw gives your palate a refreshing taste.
• I love pairing smoked poultry with a simple Baked Butternut Squash.

More Easy Poultry Recipes

• Spiced Roast Turkey
• Blackened Spatchcocked Chicken
• Roast Turkey Breast
• Smoked Turkey

How to Smoke Spatchcock Turkey

How to Spatchcock a Turkey

• Locate the parts that you want to remove. The neck parts and the gizzard. (see photo 1)
• Remove the backbone. Use your handy kitchen shears to cut the left side of the backbone from the tail to the neck. Do the same to the right side of the back bone (see photo 2-4)

• Flatten the turkey. Flip the turkey over and press on it to break the breast bone and flatten the wings using both hands. (see photo 5)
• Season the Turkey. Rub your choice of seasoning all over the bird, both sides. (see photo 6 below)

Smoking the Turkey

• Pre-heat – Pre-smoke the smoker to 250- 275 degrees Fahrenheit. The higher the temperature, the faster the turkey would cook.
• Start Smoking – Place the turkey in the smoker and brush every 1-2 hours. Smoke until the internal temperature of the thickest part reaches 165 degrees F.
• Rotate – Flip turkey halfway through for even browning. Although this is not necessary.
• Remove, Rest and, Serve – Remove the turkey from the smoker and allow it to sit, covered with foil, for 10 minutes before serving.