What comes first, the spatchcocking or the dry brining?

[Texas Forlorn]

Going to do a spatchcocked turkey on the Weber grill tomorrow, so want to do a dry brine today. Question is: do I spatchcock the bird now before I brine, or brine it whole and spatchcock at the last minute tomorrow?

[Bob Lombard]

I always spatchcock and trim first, then dry brine the whole bird. Stick it in the fridge for at least 24Hrs. Good luck!

[Attjack]

Spatchcock.

[gilbertpilz]

It's much easier to get salt into the interior of the bird after it is spatchcocked.

[Bkhuna]

Yes.

[TripleB]

I don't think it really matters. Up to you. I brine first because I need to save room in the fridge. A spatchcock bird takes up more real estate in my fridge.

[GolfGeezer]

TripleB Just a note that you can spatchcock the bird, salt it and then fold back together to put in the fridge for the brining step. I just spatchcocked our 12-lb'er, placing it back in the pan that I had defrosted the bird in. Same real estate in the fridge as before.

[TripleB]

GolfGeezer - Good info. Thanks. Thought it would lay out more. Learn something new every day from this website.

[Texas Forlorn]

Genius, and I'm about to do just that. Thanks!

[Beefchop]

Spatch then salt.

Don't forget to take a beverage break before, during, and/or after. You're working hard and you've earned it.

[bbqLuv]

Spatchcock, of course. then dry brine I do.

[Santamarina]

Spatchcock and trim first, then brine. That way you aren’t wasting salt on parts of the bird that will end up in the trash or the gravey (don’t want the gravy to get too salty...you can always add more later).