Molasses-Brined Spatchcocked Turkey with Cider Glaze
A molasses brine gives this spatchcocked turkey a rich depth, while a cider glaze adds zing. Spatchcocking, or butterflying, lets the bird cook more evenly in a single layer, yielding crispier skin and tender breast meat.
By Yankee Magazine|Nov 09 2020|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine KeenanA molasses brine gives this spatchcocked turkey a rich depth, while a cider glaze adds zing. Spatchcocking, or butterflying, is simply cutting out the backbone of a turkey or chicken and pressing the bird flat so that it cooks more evenly in a single layer. You get crispier skin and tender breast meat. You can ask your butcher to do the spatchcocking for you, or use a sharp knife or kitchen shears to do it yourself (watch a video if doing it for the first time).
Note: Our turkey recipe calls for a natural (unbrined) bird. If using a prebasted, injected, or kosher bird, skip the brining ingredients and instructions.
From “A New New England Thanksgiving,” November/December 2020
Yield:
8 to 10 servingsIngredients
7 quarts water
1 3/4 cups kosher salt
2 cups molasses
3 medium onions, peeled and cut into quarters
1 knob of ginger, about 2 1/2 inches long, peeled and thinly sliced
Instructions
On the morning of the day before Thanksgiving, prepare your brine: In a very large pot (such as a lobster pot), stir the water, salt, and molasses until the salt is dissolved. Add the onions and ginger.
Remove the neck and giblets from the turkey, then submerge it in the brine. If you don’t have a pot large enough to hold the bird, use two brining bags (double-bagged) in a roasting pan. Brine the turkey for 8 to 12 hours.
Remove the turkey from the brine and pat it dry, and lay it skin side up on a rack in your roasting pan. Let it sit, uncovered, in your refrigerator overnight. This will result in a very crispy skin.
On Thanksgiving morning, remove the turkey from the refrigerator and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 300°. The turkey should be skin side up on the rack, with the wingtips tucked underneath the breast and the leg bones angled in so the whole bird fits in the pan. Scatter the onions around. Transfer to the oven.
The BEST turkey recipe we have every had. Looked perfect, was nice and tender. This is our permanent turkey recipe now.