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Thanksgiving is a week away (where has the time gone!!) and you are gearing up and planning your menu. Well, today, I am sharing a new way to roast your turkey, and it is all the rave right now…”spatchcocking.”  Yeah I know, I giggle when I see or hear that word, too. Aside from the silly term– let’s talk about what Spatchcocking a Turkey means and why you should try this Whole30 Spatchcocked Turkey + Turkey Gravy! 

Whole30 Spatchcocked Turkey + Turkey Gravy

First off, Spatchcocking is when you take a chicken or turkey (or any kind of bird, really) and remove its backbone and flatten it out to roast it. How in the world do you remove the backbone, you ask? Well, it seems a bit daunting but it is actually extremely easy. All you need is a GOOD pair of Poultry Shears and you are ready to go. You literally just flip the bird over, carefully cut along each side of the back bone and remove it. It takes a little muscle, but over all it’s pretty dang easy! Watch this video here for a great tutorial on how to spatchcock your bird to PERFECTION

Okay, now– why should you spatchcock your Turkey? Well, there are lots of reasons why.

  1. With its flat shape, it cooks more evenly.
  2. All that lovely skin is right on top, which makes for the crispiest, most flavorful skin! 
  3. A normal roast turkey can take several hours to roast and you have to cook it at a lower temperature or else the skin will burn right up before all of the turkey is fully cooked; however, with the Spatchcock method you can crank the heat up high and roast that bird in way less time and the skin crisps up just heavenly.
  4. Save that Turkey backbone!! That combined with the turkey ‘innards’ (giblets and neck) makes for a wayyy more flavorful gravy. 

So, unless you want your giant bird up for display as a centerpiece at thanksgiving– spatchcocking is a great way to get a delicious turkey on the table! You can cut it up and serve the most delicious, fastest, easiest route to a fantastic turkey!

Whole30 Spatchcocked Turkey + Turkey Gravy

 

Now, let’s talk about how to make your Whole30 Spatchcocked Turkey + Turkey Gravy Whole30/Paleo approved. Typically, turkeys are smothered in butter– but thanks to ghee you can have just as delicious of a turkey on the table. Honestly, I couldn’t tell a difference at all! My favorite Ghee that I always use is Fourth and Heart Ghee. I love the taste of the ghee and love that they have tons of different flavored ghee as well. For this recipe, I just used their classic, grass-fed ghee butter– however, their California garlic would be a great one to use as well!! Combined with TONS of fresh herbs, your turkey will be freaking fantastic!

Whole30 Spatchcocked Turkey + Turkey Gravy

Happy Thanksgiving to you, my friends!! I hope you enjoy this Whole30 Spatchcocked Turkey + Turkey Gravy, lots of great food and time with your loved ones!

Spatchcock Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey
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Ingredients
  1. 1 (12-14 lb) Turkey, backbone removed (spatchcocked) -- see video that I linked on how to do this.
  2. 1 onion, sliced
  3. 2 lemons, sliced
  4. 4 cloves garlic, smashed
  5. 2 cups baby carrots
  6. kosher salt, to taste
  7. coarse black pepper, to taste
For the Herb-Butter
  1. 5 tbsp. Fourth and Heart Grassfed Ghee
  2. 1 tsp. kosher salt
  3. 1 heaping tbsp. freshly chopped sage
  4. 1 heaping tbsp. freshly chopped rosemary
  5. 1 heaping tsp. fresh thyme leaves
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
  2. Arrange onions, carrots, & lemons on the bottom of the roasting pan. No need to make this perfect, its just there to help add flavor to your gravy.
  3. Lay your spatchcocked turkey over the onions, carrots, & lemons so the open cavity is open toward the bottom of the pan and the breasts are faced up toward you. Gently tuck its wing tips underneath its breasts to prevent burning.
  4. Using your hands, spread the herbed ghee onto the turkey, between its skin & meat. This will help it be nice and juicy with lots of flavor.
  5. Pat the top of the bird (the top of the skin) dry with a paper towel. Now, lather it all up with the remaining ghee butter you have and a few drizzles of olive oil (to prevent burning). Season it generously all over with salt and black pepper.
  6. Place turkey in the oven and roast at 450 degrees for 30 minutes.
  7. After the first 30 minutes have passed, baste the turkey with its juices (you can use a turkey baster or just a spoon, and spoon the juices right over the top of the turkey). Then, reduce heat to 350 degrees.
  8. Continue to roast at 350 and baste the turkey every 20 minutes for one hour, or until the thickest part of its thigh registers at 175 degrees on a meat thermometer.
  9. Remove turkey from the oven and let turkey rest at room temperature for 20-30 minutes.
  10. Carve and enjoy with Turkey gravy and allll of the side dishes!! 🙂
Notes
  1. be sure to save the backbone of the turkey for the turkey gravy!
The Defined Dish https://thedefineddish.com/
Whole30 Turkey Gravy
Serves 8
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Ingredients
  1. turkey giblets + turkey neck, reserved from cavity of the Turkey
  2. Juices reserved from the roasted turkey
  3. 1 tbsp. black peppercorns
  4. kosher salt, to taste
  5. 1 bay leaf
  6. water
  7. 3-6 tbsp. arrowroot starch (depending on how much liquid you have and the consistency you want)
  8. 2 tbsp. of freshly chopped sage
  9. 1 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
  10. black pepper, to taste
  11. 2 tbsp lemon juice (or the juice of 1 lemon)
Instructions
  1. Place neck, giblets in a saucepan. Fill with water until the turkey parts are just covered with water.
  2. Bring to a boil. Add the peppercorns, 2 pinches of kosher salt, and the bayleaf and reduce the heat so that it is just simmering. Cover and let it simmer for at least 2 hours, the longer the better, while you prepare and roast your turkey.
  3. When your turkey is cooked, Strain the broth and discard the turkey peices and place back into the saucepan over medium heat. Then, add juices from the bottom of the roasted turkey pan (strained also).
  4. Ladle 1.5 cups of the stock into a bowl, let cool while the broth is simmering. Add 3 tbsp. arrowroot and whisk until dissolved into the reserved, cooled stock. [If you don't have time to allow your broth to cool, you can use 1.5 cups regular chicken broth].
  5. While whisking the saucepan, slowly pour the arrowroot mixture into the saucepan until it is all combined. Bring to a rapid simmer and let cook, simmering uncovered, until thickened. Any excess oil that collects at the top, skim off using a spoon and discard.
  6. Here is where you need to decide if you need more arrowroot: You may need to add more arrowroot depending on how much liquid is in your saucepan from the turkey and how thick you want your gravy. You'll need to make another slurry (broth with a few tablespoons of arrowroot). Continue to add the arrowroot, tbsp. at a time until it reaches the consistency you want.
  7. When your gravy is the consistency you like, add the freshly chopped sage, the fresh thyme leaves, and the lemon juice. Taste and add salt and pepper, to taste.
The Defined Dish https://thedefineddish.com/
Please note that I only work with companies and products that I feel passionately about and that align with The Defined Dish’s views and that this post contains sponsored content. While I am compensated for the work I do, my opinions are always 100% my own.



Welcome! I’m Alex.

I’m a food lover sharing healthy, simple, delicious, recipes from my kitchen to yours. Here you’ll find lots of Whole30, lots of healthy, and a little indulgence here and there because…it’s all about balance y’all!


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14 Comments

  1. Hello Alex, I wan to try this recipe but when cooking in the oven so we use bake or broil ? Actually my first time making a Turkey … Thank You .

  2. Hi Alex! Cant wait to make this for thanksgiving! Do you know about how long total cook time was for the turkey? Trying to pre plan for this year with oven space! Thank you!!

  3. Hi! We want to try this for Thanksgiving with an 18 lb turkey – do you think 1.5 hours is still a good estimate for how long it will take, or will it probably take longer? Thank you!

    1. Hi there!
      Okay so I did mine with a 14lb. turkey (and I’ve read that spatchcocking works best with smaller birds); however, you can still do it with an 18 lb turkey and it will be great. 2 tips: 1. yes, you will cook it longer. I’d just check the temperature every 20 minutes after an hour. 2. since it’s cooking longer, make sure your skin doesn’t burn. If you think it’s looking a little too brown, tear a big sheet of foil and just gently place it over the top of the turkey. This will prevent it from burning! 🙂 Hope this helps!