20lb turkey? Spatchcock?


 
C

Curtis

New member
I've got two 20lb turkeys to smoke for Thanksgiving. Everything I am reading is basically saying only do a spatchcock with a bird that size and run it at 275-300 for 11-12mins/pp. Does this sound right to this group? Still debating on which smokers to go with.. My competition offset or two WSMs.

I'd prefer to not spatchcock it.. But I don't think they can get through the danger zone in enough time and take too long. Any recommendations on all of this post is welcome.
 
The only thing you're giving up by spatchcocking is the Normal Rockwell presentation. Personally, I'll only cook one whole when I'm deep frying. Baking, roasting, grilling, smoking.... all get at least spatchcocked if not quartered. Cook it bone side towards the heat, it'll cook in half the time as the whole bird and it's much easier to get the dark meat closer to the fire.

I was talking to a buddy of mine this afternoon, he's taking this even further this year by breaking down and fully deboning the bird before roasting. He's roasted off the bones and made a gallon of stock out of the remnants.
 
Once it’s cut, no one know it was spatched. I go further and make pieces; breasts with wings and thighs and legs. Cooks real fast, nice and crispy and moist. And once I cut it up, ain’t nobody knows what I cooked it like.

Man of efficiency. There’s some football to watch. Watching a bird cook is boring. GO NINERS! Beat the chicken hawks!
 
I'll NEVER cook a traditional, whole turkey ever again. I separate the quarters - white from dark, and do them on separate trays so I can pull the white meat out at about 155 and get it resting, and let the dark go up to about 180 or so... Soooo much better results IMO. Smoker or oven doesn't matter to me (just changes the flavor I am going for), and all about the temp!
 
I'm a full spatchcock convert.

It's messy and kind of a pain even with good scissors, but I think worth it.

May do a quartered bird next year.
 
I'll NEVER cook a traditional, whole turkey ever again. I separate the quarters - white from dark, and do them on separate trays so I can pull the white meat out at about 155 and get it resting, and let the dark go up to about 180 or so... Soooo much better results IMO. Smoker or oven doesn't matter to me (just changes the flavor I am going for), and all about the temp!

+100

This is the way to go. Cooking the dark and white separately in two pans is also so much easier to handle than one big heavy hot bird.
 
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