So much for presentation. We had 20 last year and just cut down the fried and oven baked and got them on the buffet serving line. Everybody was ready to eat so it didn't matter. Maybe with a small intimate group it would've nice to show off the bird. As mentioned each piece has a different cook, so tie it apart and enjoy.
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Not by any stretch. If you not heck bent on the whole presentation thing, go for it.Comment
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Well, it has been said, "We eat with our eye first", and a spatchcocked bird is looking good.Comment
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Last couple years, I've spatchcocked the turkey. Last year, I took it a step further and cut out the backbone, so both halves could lay perfectly flat on the PBC grate, and used the backbone to help make broth/gravey. Probably do the same this year, but maybe hang the halves on hooks (double hooked fer sure!).Comment
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I cut the bird into parts before cooking. It definitely helps with even cooking. Only downside is that it takes more space on the grill. In the past, I had to use two Weber 22s for one Turkey. I'm hoping I can fit all the parts on my Weber 26 this year.Comment
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My grandmother would buy turkey parts year around and cook them individually, breasts and legs, for ordinary meals.Comment
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Meathead's got a write up on whole, spatchcocked, and parted out turkey here.
I'm going with spatchcocked again this year, but otherwise, it might be worth it to consider cooking in parts, just for the fact that you can A) Get more crisp on skin, and B). Pull each of the parts when their done.
if that helps?Comment
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I've done exactly that. If you are gonna spatchcock, taking it farther and deconstructing the turkey is even better - letting you cook dark and white meat to their perfect temps. I did rotisserie cooking the past couple of years, but this is what I was doing before that. I took it a step farther even, and while I left the leg quarters intact, I deboned the thighs, and then tied them up with twine to keep the skin intact. That allowed for me to slice dark meat easily in little round medallions just like I was able to slice the white meat from the breast.
It took a second level grate on my 22" kettle with SNS insert to Tetris all the parts of a 20-24 pound turkey on there. On that cook I put the breasts up top, as they were thickest and I figured needed a little more heat to get done.
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Richard Chrz no clue, as that cook was in 2019, but it would have been in the 350ish temp range. I shoot for that with all the turkey/chicken cooks.
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YouTube shorts video from Thermoworks, Deconstructing a turkey .
Last edited by Lynn Dollar; November 24, 2025, 06:23 AM.Comment
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I’ve decided to go one further on this, I will stay with plan on grilling or roasting the dark meat, but I am going to sperate the breasts from the breast plate and SV those.
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