Spatchcock Smoked Turkey

To clarify, “spatchcocking” basically means butterflying poultry, and it’s not a difficult technique to learn at all! The flattened-out shape of the turkey not only speeds up the cooking process impressively and ensures your turkey cooks evenly.

In addition, this technique prevents smaller parts of the turkey from drying out and makes it that much easier for your turkey to both:

1. marinate in the maple whiskey brine, and
2. luxuriate in the heat of your Traeger wood pellet grill.

Spatchcocking a turkey is easy. Basically:

1. Place the turkey breast down on a cutting board. 
2. Cut along both sides of the backbone with a chef’s knife or kitchen shears.
3. Next, slice the cartilage separating the breasts.
4. Turn the turkey over and press the turkey flat. (You’ll hear bones cracking: this is normal!)
5. Clip the wing tips off with your kitchen shears if you desire.

There you go—a spatchcocked turkey, prepped for smoking! You can brine the turkey before or after spatchcocking, but we’re doing it afterward for this recipe.

1. Add all the brining ingredients, except for the water, to a large stock pot or bucket large enough to hold the turkey. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a separate pot.
2. Add the boiling water to the stock pot and whisk until the salt is dissolved. Add the 6 cups of chilled water to the finished brining solution and set aside.
3. Spatchcock the turkey using the detailed instructions above. 
4. Submurge the turkey in the brining solution in the stock pot and place it in the refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours.
5. After brining, remove the turkey from the solution, lay it on a baking rack, and allow it to drain while the smoker comes to temperature.
6. Preheat the smoker to 225°F. Pat any remaining moisture from the turkey’s skin and generously season the turkey with your favorite poultry rub.
7. Lay the turkey flat directly onto the grill grates (breast side up) and close the lid.
8. After 2 hours, increase the temperature to 350°F and cook until the breast meat is 165° F read with an instant-read thermometer. This will take usually 1 ½ to 2 more hours.
9. Remove the turkey from the smoker, tent with foil for 20-30 minutes before you carve and serve. 

***For complete recipe instructions, see the recipe card below. 

SERVE: After smoking, let the turkey sit for a half hour before serving. 

STORE: Refrigerate or freeze your spatchcock turkey within 2 hours of serving. It’ll stay “good” in the fridge for four or so days when kept in a small airtight container.

FREEZE: Wrap your leftover turkey in plastic wrap and aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn. (A freezer bag is also helpful here.) It should last about three months when frozen.

REHEAT: You can reheat spatchcock turkey like this in the oven or your smoker. 225 degrees usually suffices here! Ensure the meat reaches your desired temperature with a meat thermometer.