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Jessica Secrest

Mustard Brown Sugar Spatchcock Roast Turkey

A spatchcocked turkey coated in a garlic-herb Dijon and brown sugar paste, covered with butter-soaked cheesecloth and roasted over apples, onions and lemons. You get juicy meat and crackling skin in about half the usual time.

⏱ 115 min10 servingsAmericanturkeyspatchcockthanksgivingdijonroast

Ingredients

The Mustard Herb Rub

  • 1 headgarlic · cloves smashed and peeled
  • 1 large sprigfresh rosemary · leaves stripped and chopped
  • 4 small sprigsfresh thyme · leaves stripped and chopped
  • 3 to 4 tbspDijon mustard · a healthy dollop
  • 1 tbspstone ground coarse mustard
  • 1/4 cupbrown sugar · packed
  • 1 tbspkosher salt · generous, to coat the whole bird
  • 1 to 2 tspfreshly cracked black pepper
  • 1/4 cupolive oil

The Aromatic Roasting Bed

  • 2crisp apples · Honeycrisp or Gala, quartered
  • 1 to 2yellow onions · quartered
  • 1 headgarlic · halved crosswise
  • 1 to 2fresh lemons · halved or quartered

The Bird & Butter Shroud

  • 1whole thawed turkey · 14 to 18 lbs, spatchcocked and patted dry
  • 2 sticksunsalted butter · 1 cup, melted
  • —cheesecloth · clean culinary cheesecloth, cut to cover the bird and folded into 4 layers

Steps

  1. 1

    Preheat the oven to 450°F with the rack in the lower-middle position.

  2. 2

    Scatter the apples, onions, halved garlic head and lemons in the bottom of a large, sturdy roasting pan. A stovetop-safe pan is best so you can make gravy in it later.

  3. 3

    In a food processor, blend the peeled garlic cloves, rosemary, thyme, Dijon mustard, stone ground mustard, brown sugar, salt, pepper and olive oil into a thick paste.

  4. 4

    Lay the spatchcocked turkey skin-side down, pat the bone side dry, and rub about a quarter of the mustard paste over the inside cavity ribs.

  5. 5

    Flip the turkey skin-side up and set it on the bed of apples, onions and lemons. Splay the drumsticks flat and tuck the wingtips under the breast.

  6. 6

    Gently separate the breast skin from the meat with your fingers. Rub paste directly onto the breast meat, then rub the rest over the skin, drumsticks and thighs.

  7. 7

    Soak the 4-layer cheesecloth in the melted butter until fully saturated. Drape it over the turkey and tuck the edges around the breast and thighs.

  8. 8

    Roast at 450°F for 30 minutes.

  9. 9

    Reduce the oven to 400°F and roast another 50 to 60 minutes.

  10. 10

    Peel off and discard the cheesecloth. Check the temperature: 165°F in the thickest part of the breast and 175°F in the thigh. If the skin needs more color, roast uncovered 10 to 15 minutes more.

  11. 11

    Move the turkey to a carving board and let it rest 20 to 25 minutes before carving. Save the pan drippings for gravy.

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