How To Guarantee The Crispiest Spatchcock Turkey Before Putting It In The Oven

If you want the perfect crispy roast turkey for any occasion, the one essential step to make it come out perfectly and make it as easy as possible is spatchcocking. Done with a whole bird, spatchcocking turkey involves removing the backbone and then pressing it flat to spread out. While simple, this is transformative for the way poultry cooks, as it ensures a better distribution of heat that also cooks roasts faster for a perfectly juicy result. But there are other small steps you can take to make your spatchcocked turkey even better, especially when it comes to getting a flavorful, crispy skin. So Tasting Table reached out to an expert, Courtney Luna, a TikTok carnivore influencer and cookbook author of the international bestseller "Carnivore in the Kitchen: A Fresh and Fun Approach to Meat-Based Meals," to ask how she would prep a spatchcock turkey for the crispiest skin.

Luna gave us an easy first step towards getting that crispy turkey, saying, "You'll want to get the skin really dry by patting with paper towels or allowing to air dry in the fridge uncovered overnight." You should always pat down your bird before your cook, but if you are letting it sit in the fridge overnight, too, rubbing your turkey with a dry brine of salt and baking powder will also help it dry out and crisp up even more. Mixing six tablespoons of kosher salt with two tablespoons of baking powder is a good ratio to start with.

While moisture is always the number one enemy of crunch, there are some other steps you can take along with drying. Luna told us that to aid in the cooking, you can brush your turkey with olive oil, especially on the grill. Luna explained, "It will help with even browning and crisping, preventing it sticking to the grates, and will allow the seasonings to stick better." And once your spatchcocked turkey is cooking, Luna has one more tip: "Broiling or using high heat at the end of the cooking process can also crisp up the skin."

There are also a few general rules that Luna recommends for making sure the turkey you prepped so carefully turns out juicy as well. She told us that if you are grilling, "I would recommend cooking over indirect heat for the majority of the process and then sear at the end. Using a meat thermometer will help you avoid overcooking." Done in the oven, this would translate to using a lower temperature until you broil at the end. And finally, Luna warned us, "The hardest part of the process is letting it rest! Allowing it to rest for 10-15 minutes before carving will allow it to reabsorb most of the juices." She's right that waiting is the hardest part, but at least you can pick off a few bits of crispy skin while you wait.