This delicious and refreshing take on the normal Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey will ensure there is no leftovers when your family finally leaves the home after a long day of eating and sharing stories. This recipe with its spicy southern kick will rock your taste buds and make you forget ever wanting to make a run of the mill turkey ever again.
To start, take a sharp knife and spatchcock your chicken. For those who don’t know how, take a look at this video for an in-depth explanation.
Once the spine has been removed, flatten out your bird and coat it in a thin layer of kosher salt. Once coated, spray a light layer of olive oil spray onto your bird in order to keep your seasonings stuck to your turkey.
Next pour on any of the thicker ingredients like chili paste or adobo chipotle paste and lightly rub them on across the entire turkey. Now, pour a fair amount of the rest of the dry seasonings such as cumin, oregano, granulated garlic and chili powder. Do not smear or rub the seasonings as that will cause it to clump and provide uneven flavor. Each seasoning or sauce can be applied to your personal taste-level.
Now, take a small spoon or ice cream scoop and create balls out of your butter. They should each be roughly the size of a ping pong ball. Depending on the size of your bird, you may need anywhere from 6-10 butter balls.
Next, make a small cut near the neck of your bird in order to lightly pull the skin away from the meat. Do not completely remove the skin, simply lift it high enough to allow you to slide the balls of butter between it. Near the thigh joints, either side of the breast and the center of the turkey are good places to start. Do your best to keep them evenly spread throughout the bird.
Once adequately seasoned, put your turkey in your Grilla Grill at roughly 275 degrees. Leave it in for roughly 45-minutes, then bump the temperature up to 350 degrees for the final hour of cooking. These times are for a 15 lbs bird, so adjust accordingly for the size of your turkey. Your Thanksgiving fowl must reach an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees for safe consumption.
Classic Thanksgiving Flavor, with a Grilla Grills Twist
Have you been looking for a way to improve on the basic turkey your family makes every year on Thanksgiving? With our Grilla Grills smoker grills it’s so easy to breathe fresh air into an age-old tradition. This out-of-this-world recipe will change the way your family thinks of Thanksgiving for the rest of their lives. By the end of dinner we promise that everyone, even grandma will be begging for your recipe!
Have you tried the recipe and want to find new ways to innovate on it? Make it your own by adding a layer of honey before putting on your seasonings. For something a little more advanced, maybe try making some flavored herb butter to slide underneath the skin for an extra burst of flavor. It’s simple as simmering butter on the stovetop, putting in seasonings like rosemary, sage and thyme then pouring that butter into an ice cube tray and freezing until solid. For an extra spicy kick, include some of the chile powder and cumin in your frozen butter as well.
To Stuff, or Not to Stuff?
One thing you may have noticed in this recipe is that it’s not easy to stuff a turkey that’s been spatchcocked. While it’s not necessarily a bad idea to stuff a turkey, it will inevitably increase the amount of time that turkey will need to be cooked for. So if you have a 15 lbs turkey, and fill it with 2-3 lbs of stuffing, your total cook time will actually increase, so it’s as if you were cooking a bird that is 18-20 lbs. That’s the beauty of the spatchcock, shorter cook times and consistent cooking.
For more turkey recipes, or fantastic new ways to make special sides for the family, check out the following links for stuffing, herb butter turkey, or creamy cheesy corn. For dessert why not try out one of our other fabulous recipes like sweet potato bacon pie, grilled apple crisp or smoked bread pudding.
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