Spatchcock That Turkey

Austin and turkey

Bonding with Your Bird

My grandson, Austin, plans to “Spatchcock” one of our two Thanksgiving birds. Now some of you know what I’m talking about, but others will giggle in wonderment at the whimsical expression. Actually, it’s an ancient term for butterflying fowl, meaning “cooking a bird with dispatch.”

For those wanting a more bawdy definition, it can be found in the Urban Dictionary. But I’ll not post it here.

Turkey Trouncing Technique

I used to watch the BBC show, Two Fat Ladies, and cringed watching them spatchcock game hens with such gusto. When they finished, the birds looked like they’d been run over by a tractor trailer or whacked with a wooden hammer.

With the backbone removed the bird is easily flattened, making it possible to cook more quickly and brown beautifully.