Butterflied Whole Turkey
If you want to speed up the roasting time and have more stuffing exposed to the turkey and all it’s flavors, butterflying a turkey is the way the go.
Here are some recipes that go well with this Butterflied Turkey:
Home-made Turkey Stock
Fresh Herb Stuffing Garnished with Fried Sage Leaves and Roasted Squash Seeds
Rich Savory Turkey Gravy
Here’s the Harbor Light Article on Butterflied Turkey
Butterflied Whole Turkey
A butterflied turkey is best done with a 10-15 pound turkey. Anything larger is pretty hard to fit in a roasting pan. Remove the backbone and split the breast by hitting with a meat mallet. It’s OK if it doesn’t split completely. Your goal is to be able to lay the turkey out somewhat flat. The stuffing will be placed under the breast.
Servings 10 people
Ingredients
- 10-15 pound turkey
- Duck Fat, Vegetable Oil, Butter or Olive Oil
- salt and fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large roasting pan with a rack, cover most of the rack with aluminum foil (shiny side down). Poke holes in the foil. This allows the turkey juices to drip down to the pan and not saturate your stuffing. Place ½ the stuffing in a mound in the middle on the foil. Place the turkey over the stuffing. Tuck the wings under the turkey. This keeps them from getting too brown while the turkey is cooking.
- Rub the turkey with the fat of your choice. Be sure to rub some fat under the breast skin. This will help the skin brown and keep the breast moist. Season generously with salt and fresh ground pepper.
- It should take approximately 10 minutes per pound. I cooked an 11 pound turkey and took 1 hour and 45 minutes. You need to reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees. Let the turkey rest for 20 minutes before cutting. The bird will reach 165 degrees while it’s resting.