Flat Roasted Turkey with garlic & herbs. This spatchcock turkey is a great shortcut recipe! A delicious, flavour infused turkey, roasted to juicy perfection in much less time than a stuffed turkey.
Flat Roasted Turkey with Garlic & Herbs
Originally published Nov 12, 2012.
No this flat roasted turkey didn’t get run over by a truck!
Our American friends will be celebrating Thanksgiving next week and I thought what better time to introduce a flat roasted turkey idea.
This recipe be a real time saver when putting together one of the biggest meals of the year.
By cutting trough the back bone and roasting the turkey flat, (i.e spatchcocking) you can cut down on the cooking time. Plus you’ll be more sure that the turkey is more evenly and fully cooked throughout.
A whole turkey takes much longer to cook, especially if it is stuffed.
Flat Roasted Turkey an ideal cooking method.
This was a 12 pound flat roasted turkey that was fully cooked to perfection in only 90 minutes.
The breast was still succulent and juicy and the dark meat fully cooked with no pinkness at the joints. That is such a big worry for many who just don’t like to see any trace of pink colour in the dark meat.
Flat Roasted Turkey with Garlic & Herbs
For those of us with only one oven, this spatchcocked turkey was also speeds up the whole dinner.
The turkey was cooked in plenty of time for us to finish roasting our potatoes and warm up the stuffing too. All of which happened as the turkey rested in our warming drawer.
Need Thanksgiving side dishes?
You might also like our collection of Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes, which are also great at Christmas or at family dinners year round.
Like this Spatchcock Flat Roasted Turkey recipe?
You’ll probably want ideas to do with turkey leftovers too. We’ve got suggestions from pasta, to soups & wraps to beer battered turkey and more in our list of Leftover Turkey Recipes.
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Flat Roasted Garlic Herb Turkey
Flat Roasted Garlic Herb Turkey - a delicious, flavour infused turkey roasted to juicy perfection in much less time than a stuffed turkey.
Ingredients
- 12-15 pound turkey
For the garlic herb butter mix together:
- 3/4 cup softened butter
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 6 tbsp chopped fresh herbs, sage, rosemary and thyme work well but use what you like
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Using a sharp chef knife or meat cleaver, cut through all the bones along one side of the turkey's spine. Have your butcher do this if you are not comfortable doing it.
- Push down firmly at the center breast bone so that the turkey lies flat.
- Using your fingertips, carefully loosen the skin from the breast and thighs of the turkey so that you can insert your hand and push some garlic herb butter between the skin and meat.
- Pat the skin with your plam to evenly spread the garlic herb butter over the surface of the turkey.
- Place the flat turkey on a wire rack, on a large baking sheet. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Do not cover the turkey. Open roast it for 30 minutes before reducing the temperature to 350 degrees F for another hour or so, until the turkey is fully cooked. Use a meat thermometer to ensure that the center of the thickest part of the breast meat has reached a minimum of 170 degrees F.
- Never carve a turkey straight out of the oven, this can cause the meat to release too much moisture too quickly and result in a dry turkey. Always let a turkey rest, covered in aluminum foil, for 15 to 20 minutes before slicing and serving.
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Rock Recipes a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Our product recommendations are almost exclusively for those we currently use or have used in the past.
Nutrition Information
Yield
20Serving Size
1 serves12 or moreAmount Per Serving Calories 296Total Fat 7gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 153mgSodium 262mgCarbohydrates 1gFiber 0gSugar 0gProtein 55g
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.
Mary
Tuesday 7th of October 2025
I've made this recipe and passed it on to family that have tried it also. We've agreed it is the absolutely best way to cook turkey. Now I'm cooking a whole chicken the same way. So much easier.
Rock Recipes
Tuesday 7th of October 2025
@Mary, That's terrific. We love friends who share.