So I've done spatchcocked chickens and turkeys before, plenty of them. But I guess I'd only been doing a partial trim job on it. I saw Chef Tom at ATBBQ do a nice breakdown of it here:
So this more in-depth method removes the portion of the backbone still attached to the thigh, the 'blade' bones that run up and attach to the wing joints and the wishbone. The whole thing only took about an extra 4-5 minutes on a 15 lb turkey, and that was because it was my first time. I can see on the other 5 or 6 I'll be doing this coming week, it will only take probably 2-3 minutes per bird.
The advantages:
This allows better access to the thigh meat on both sides, leaving the thigh/drum quarter ONLY attached by the skin. Certainly will make it easier at carving time, not having to find that joint. It's not a major ordeal, but I think getting seasoning fully up under that skin will be nice.
Also allows freer movement of the wings to tuck them under the top of the bird. I've always found my wings didn't stay there when I tucked them the way it is shown on most videos.
More access to breast meat, getting rid of some of that fascia, cartilage, up around the 'shoulder' region, etc. Basically, all your large meat areas are totally free and accessible very easily.
Lastly, this thing lays even flatter when I'm done removing those blade bones, more of the ribs (heck you could take all the ribs out easily if you wanted) and especially the wishbone. Flatter means more even cooking.
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Honestly, this is so easy and I find it makes for a better presentation and I can already tell it is going to make carving this bird even easier, I will likely do this for every bird from here on out. Really easy, if you haven't done it, do it. It's just a matter of using your fingers (watch those sharp bones!) to explore the jointed areas, work your way in with a fillet knife and cut those extra annoying and unwanted pieces of bone out.
Give it a try!
So this more in-depth method removes the portion of the backbone still attached to the thigh, the 'blade' bones that run up and attach to the wing joints and the wishbone. The whole thing only took about an extra 4-5 minutes on a 15 lb turkey, and that was because it was my first time. I can see on the other 5 or 6 I'll be doing this coming week, it will only take probably 2-3 minutes per bird.
The advantages:
This allows better access to the thigh meat on both sides, leaving the thigh/drum quarter ONLY attached by the skin. Certainly will make it easier at carving time, not having to find that joint. It's not a major ordeal, but I think getting seasoning fully up under that skin will be nice.
Also allows freer movement of the wings to tuck them under the top of the bird. I've always found my wings didn't stay there when I tucked them the way it is shown on most videos.
More access to breast meat, getting rid of some of that fascia, cartilage, up around the 'shoulder' region, etc. Basically, all your large meat areas are totally free and accessible very easily.
Lastly, this thing lays even flatter when I'm done removing those blade bones, more of the ribs (heck you could take all the ribs out easily if you wanted) and especially the wishbone. Flatter means more even cooking.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Honestly, this is so easy and I find it makes for a better presentation and I can already tell it is going to make carving this bird even easier, I will likely do this for every bird from here on out. Really easy, if you haven't done it, do it. It's just a matter of using your fingers (watch those sharp bones!) to explore the jointed areas, work your way in with a fillet knife and cut those extra annoying and unwanted pieces of bone out.
Give it a try!
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