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Newbie spatchcocks backwards

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    Newbie spatchcocks backwards

    Ok..tried something different, but appears I have cut the turkey open on the wrong side....right through the breasts instead. UGH! we are smoking it this afternoon...what do I need to do to protect the breasts from over cooking? ANY suggestions appreciated.

    #2
    Cut the backbone out and cook the two halves. It will be exactly like cooking spatchcocked, but different. You have two pieces rather than one and there is a slight difference in the contact between the two breasts - no biggie. I wouldn't change a thing. I pull when the breast reaches 158°, but don't worry if the legs and thighs are higher - they can take it.. Point the drumsticks towards the coals, (some wrap the ends with foil), and rotate so the breast faces the coals at the one hour mark - timing is not critical - 15 min more or less won't hurt. Monitor for brownness and rotate again if the breast gets where you want it before reaching your pull temp.

    I cook at 350° or higher, but do what you are comfortable with.

    Comment


    • MBMorgan
      MBMorgan commented
      Editing a comment
      Yup +1

    • Steve R.
      Steve R. commented
      Editing a comment
      Yep, I was saying basically the same thing, but you said it better and I deleted mine.

    • SheilaAnn
      SheilaAnn commented
      Editing a comment
      +1

    #3
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ID:	947748 I agree with cooking as two halves. I did that on my Recteq Thursday. My reason was have a half to take over to my son and half for me and wifey. Worked perfect.

    Comment


      #4
      Hello - I love Clio. Help me talk my wife into moving there. What are you cooking on? I would go one step further and cut it in half. I would then cook breast side up. You might even use the opportunity to try a couple of different rubs if you haven't applied yet. I cooked breasts this Thanksgiving and wrapped them in cheese cloth for the first couple of hours.

      Comment


      • tbob4
        tbob4 commented
        Editing a comment
        I almost bought there last year - I was looking at Whitehawk Ranch. I’m not a golfer and a lot of the real estate sales ads appear to be geared towards golfers. I grew up skiing and would love to be closer to Tahoe. Do you shop in Reno? If so, how long does it take winter v summer?

      • mszig
        mszig commented
        Editing a comment
        We've lived here 20 years and love it. For monthly shopping we shop in Reno, for smaller items, it's the Graeagle Store (great beef) or Portola or Safeway in Quincy. Northstar and Palisades...45 minutes door to door..never ski on weekends.

      • tbob4
        tbob4 commented
        Editing a comment
        I’m still trying to get there!!!

      #5
      A lot of PBC owners cut poultry in half as opposed to spatchcocking and then hang each half on separate hooks. I've done it both ways and other than how the bird was cut, there was no difference in cooking. You'll be fine either way.

      Comment


      • BourBonQ
        BourBonQ commented
        Editing a comment
        Spot on... My smoked half shown below in post #13 was in the PBC. Dusted with 3/1 salt/baking powder overnight, then seasoned day of. Turns out great every time.

      #6
      Definitely time to quarter that bad boy!

      Comment


        #7
        Another hack, from Serious Eats, is to put some ice in ziplocks, and while the bird or bird halves are sitting on your counter for an hour, lay the ziplocks over the breasts. That way the breasts start out cooler than the thighs, and when you pull at 157 or 160F breast temp, the thighs will likely be closer to 190. My daughter did that with a 14 lb intact turkey roasted in an oven, and I lent her my Thermoworks Signals with 4 probes. She let it sit for 3 hours on the counter before putting in the oven, with ice on the breast. (They say do not leave out for more than 4 hours, and that's a full turkey.)

        When the turkey was put in the oven, the breast meat probe said 38, the thigh probe 55. She removed it from the oven when breasts read 157, confirming with an instant read thermometer. Perfect juicy breasts, and tender, juicy dark meat.

        Comment


        • Troutman
          Troutman commented
          Editing a comment
          Sounds like a solid plan except for the 3 hours on the counter. Temps in the thighs at 55* for that amount of time in poultry is unwise. Just sayin’. Try injecting instead, works for me every time.

        #8
        A recent article in Food and Wine talks about cutting it on the breast side. Rodney Scott's method.

        Recipe and Article





        Attached Files
        Last edited by Old Glory; November 30, 2020, 07:45 PM.

        Comment


        • Old Glory
          Old Glory commented
          Editing a comment
          Troutman lol

        • Troutman
          Troutman commented
          Editing a comment

        • Dr. Pepper
          Dr. Pepper commented
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          Troutman I leave the backbone on all my spatchcocks as well, for the same reason. The back is a very flavorful gnawing & picking piece.

        #9
        I split my turkey in half every year because I still like oven roasted turkey. Half goes on the Weber and half goes in the oven.

        Best of Both Worlds!

        Comment


          #10
          Originally posted by mszig View Post
          Ok..tried something different, but appears I have cut the turkey open on the wrong side....right through the breasts instead. UGH! we are smoking it this afternoon...what do I need to do to protect the breasts from over cooking? ANY suggestions appreciated.
          Probably too late but shouldn't make a difference. maybe on the margin its easier to flatten the bird out by breaking the breastbone (the "correct" spatchcock) vs. crack the back bone, but no difference. and as others have mentioend you can just remove the backbone altogether and cook as halves. don't sweat it.

          Comment


            #11
            By also taking out the back bone after the breast thing, what it enables you to do is even have the bird flatter. The purpose of spatchcocking is to get a more even cooking temp wise of the bird, what you may do is get a crispier skin by making the bird mo flatter.
            I saw it done with a yardbird once where the drums & thighs were removed. The skin was like potato chips. Problem with no bones in a turkey is the amount of space you would need a.k.a. real estate on the grill surface.
            Last edited by FireMan; November 30, 2020, 05:03 PM.

            Comment


              #12
              Originally posted by mszig View Post
              Ok..tried something different, but appears I have cut the turkey open on the wrong side....right through the breasts instead. UGH! we are smoking it this afternoon...what do I need to do to protect the breasts from over cooking? ANY suggestions appreciated.
              Our vacation home is over at Whitehawk Ranch. We should touch bases when we are up there again and compare cooking notes.

              Comment


              • tbob4
                tbob4 commented
                Editing a comment
                You all have me jealous. I love Graeagle and Clio.

              • mszig
                mszig commented
                Editing a comment
                When will you be here in 2022? we live here year round

              #13
              1/2 dry rub smoked, 1/2 traditional oven roasted...
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              Comment


              • Jfrosty27
                Jfrosty27 commented
                Editing a comment
                Nice! Why didn’t I think of that?! I won’t forget it though. Nice work.

              • troymeister
                troymeister commented
                Editing a comment
                Jfrosty27 I'm knocking myself on the head too. A solution so simple..Nice work!! BourBonQ
                Last edited by troymeister; November 30, 2020, 08:31 PM.

              • Troutman
                Troutman commented
                Editing a comment
                I gotta admit that I still like oven roasted as well (but favor smoked). My convection oven with probe cooks a juicy bird with perfect "tink tink" skin (sound of a knife blade on the skin)

              #14
              Didn’t take any pictures this year because everything came out done at the exact same time at the precise serving time (it may never happen again), but I separated the thighs from two birds and put them in the 18” WSM and the breasts went in the 22” WSM since they are done at different temps. It worked out perfect. Fried another too.

              Comment


                #15
                I did the exact same thing my first time. I just cooked it looking really odd on the grate. Never did it backward again!

                Comment

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