Spatchcocked Turkey

I know a number of people that do, but not me. Key is the times will be shorter as your exposing more turkey to the heat.

We did 2 of them in our AQ about 12# each. they both came out great! As Smokin says they will take less time.Suggest you keep an eye on your temp.

WRK

Smokin,

Would you take the turkeys and part them out between legs and breasts so as to be able to pull the specific parts off when they reach their respective temps or just leave it whole but spatchcocked?

I think the idea is to just open up the whole bird and go for it, not necessarily parting it out, spatchcocking (?) I see mostly with grills and open environments like that for some reason. If you're going to do that, I'd separate the breast from the dark and go that way.

Me? I do 'em whole so I can't really say yes or no as we're pretty happy with turkey 101.

Maybe someone who's done one will tell us their experience.

Or, google Spatchcocked Turkey, you'll get some good reports.

Smokin'

I have done mine whole also. Never spatchcocked one yet. Plus smoking whole turkey breasts also.

Over the past few years, I've drifted away from doing whole turkeys in favor of doing parts. Also, I don't use the smoker for the entire cooking process.

Sometimes I'll part out a whole bird, bit most of the time, I just buy the parts we tend to prefer - a whole bone-in breast and 4 thighs. I'll separate the breast and save the bone for stock. Boning the thighs is an option that I don't bother with.

I brine the parts for 1 hour per pound of total weight then remove, pat dry, and refrigerate for 6-8 hours to draw out the excess moisture from the skin. I'll then smoke the parts, with apple, until they hit an internal temp of around 100F. At this point, I finish the parts in a conventional oven. The thighs go in first in a roasting pan on a bed of root vegetables with 6 cups of white wine or turkey stock. Around 30 minutes later, I add the breasts.

I remove the parts from the oven as they hit 160F-165F, and then TFC them for at least 1 hour.

It certainly isn't a conventional or traditional method of either smoking or roasting a turkey, but it's a compromise that produces the best turkey that I have ever made, or had.

As mentioned by others, the overall cook time is significantly reduced so you need to adjust accordingly. Also, a digital probe and an instant read therm are mandatory.

We really have enjoyed cooking spatchcocked chickens on the FEC a little smoke at 180 then finishing 375 or so. It's pretty quick, juicy and tasty.

So that was where I was headed with this turkey question.

Seems to me that the bigger bird could take a bit more smoke before being bumped to the higher temperature to crisp up the skin, yet still be done in a shorter time....

I guess I just need to give it a shot and see what happens.