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Overhead view of a roasted spatchcocked turkey on a platter with fresh herbs and bowls of side dishes on the side
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Easy Spatchcocked Turkey (Dry Brined)

This easy Spatchcocked Turkey recipe shows you how to spatchcock or butterfly your turkey, dry brine and roast it in the oven for a faster and juicy turkey with perfectly crispy skin.
Course Main dish
Cuisine American, North American
Keyword Butterflied, Christmas, Holidays, Roasting, Spatchcocked, Thanksgiving, Turkey
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Dry brining time 8 hours
Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes
Servings 10

Ingredients

  • 12-14 pound turkey 5.45-6.35 kg
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil

For the dry brine mix:

  • ½ cup kosher salt 65 grams
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons coarse ground pepper
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons rubbed sage
  • 1 teaspoon dry thyme
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder

To bake the turkey:

  • 2 cups low sodium chicken or turkey broth 480 ml
  • 2 large onions quartered
  • 3 large carrots chopped into 3-inch (8cm) pieces
  • 3 celery stalks, cut into 2-3 pieces
  • 3 tablespoons butter melted

Instructions

  • Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and place an oven proof rack on top.

To spatchcock the turkey:

  • Pat dry your turkey with paper towels. On a large cutting board, lay your turkey, breast side down. Use heavy duty kitchen shears to cut out the back bone along both sides.
    Overhead shot of a hand using heavy duty kitchen shears to cut out the back bone of a turkey
  • Try to get as close to the spine as you can to avoid cutting out too much meat. Set the backbone aside to make gravy with or discard.
    Overhead shot a turkey with the back bone removed
  • Use your hands to pry open the turkey slightly then flip over so it’s breast side up.
    Use your hands to pry open the turkey slightly
  • Press your hands firmly in the center of the breastbone and press down. You should hear a slight crack, allowing your turkey to lay flatter.
    Hands pushing down a turkey on the breast
  • Place the turkey breast side up on the prepared baking sheet and rack. Arrange the legs so they lay flat as well. Tuck the wing tips under the bird.
    Overhead view of a uncooked spatchcocked turkey on a baking platter
  • Rub the olive oil all over the turkey.
    Overhead view of a uncooked spatchcocked turkey on a baking platter

To dry brine the turkey:

  • In a small mixing bowl whisk together the salt, brown sugar, pepper, garlic powder, sage, thyme, chili powder, smoked paprika, and onion powder.
    Ingredients for Herb and brown sugar dry brine rub
  • Rub the entire dry rub all over the outside of the turkey on all sides, making sure the turkey lays flat when finished. Place in the fridge at least overnight or up to 2 days, uncovered.
    Overhead view of a spatchcocked turkey with dry brine rub all over it

To bake the spatchcocked turkey:

  • When ready to bake, remove the turkey from the fridge an hour before cooking. Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C). Make sure your oven rack is on the bottom third of your oven.
  • Remove the turkey with the wire rack briefly and fill the rimmed baking sheet with the broth, onions, carrots, and celery. Cut the veggies thin enough that the wire rack can still sit on top of them.
    Veggies on a baking sheet
  • Place the turkey and rack back on top of the rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes then reduce the temperature to 350°F (175°C). Bake for an additional 70-90 minutes or until the internal temperature in the turkey breast is 150°F (65°C) and 165°F (74°C) in the thighs. Check the turkey every 20-30 minutes. If it is ever getting too golden brown on top and not cooked through yet, tent lightly with foil to prevent the skin from burning.
    Overhead view of a spatchcocked turkey being roasted
  • Remove from the oven, baste with 3 tablespoons of melted butter and let the turkey rest for 30 minutes before carving.
    Overhead view of a roasted spatchcocked turkey on top of fresh herbs on a platter with bowls of dishes on the side

Notes

  • Sometimes even the heaviest duty kitchen shears have a hard time cutting the backbone. You can use a large chef’s knife to help on the larger parts. The larger the turkey the harder the backbone will be to cut it out.
  • You can use the backbone to make a turkey stock or broth.
  • The turkey will continue to cook during the resting period so don’t overcook in the oven.
  • I suggest using all of the dry brine mix. It seems like a lot of salt, but this is how the whole turkey gets flavored and the skin is crispy.