You might want to check some YouTube videos, and perhaps DDD's Tuducken video, which uses spatchcock turkey, spatchcock duck, and spatchcock chicken. If I were expecting 30 people, I would make that.

If your turkey is too big after spatchcocking, you can always reassemble it, to some degree and sew it back together, as in the DDD video. I've only done it on a grill and half a turkey at a time. If your turkey is unwieldy, you can cut it in half and cook it in two pans.

Lars

Publick -DDD?
I will take a look once I figure out the initials.
Definitively not going to take on the turducken this year. It is a small thanksgiving with only 6+ this year.
I frequently invite friends who don't have family in the area but so far all have homes

DDD = Diners Drive-ins & Dives, starring Guy Fieri. I actually do learn cooking tips from this show, as the chefs he visits show how they make different dishes - not exact recipes, but the method is what is important. Also, he has visited some restaurants in my area that I am also able to visit.

Lars

Here is a video of me cutting a frozen turkey in half.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdqR9ZV-8_4

dcarch

Here is a link that might be useful: 1/2 turkey

The thing I don't "get" about spatchcocking is if you're already cutting up the bird (i.e. not aiming to present an in tact bird on the dining table) then why not take it a step further and totally dismantle it and cook each piece to perfection?

I ask myself this question every time I spatchcock a chicken, which is pretty much every time I roast a chicken. :)

"The thing I don't "get" about spatchcocking is if you're already cutting up the bird (i.e. not aiming to present an in tact bird on the dining table) then why not take it a step further and totally dismantle it and cook each piece to perfection?---"

Basically that's what jacques Pepin does.

dcarch

Here is a link that might be useful: Jacques' turkey

Clearly he stole that idea from me.

What a great link. I've never seen julia Childs before - only the film version. It was fun!

I did turkey breasts and thighs one year. Only way to have a turkey and a half. :) They were great. Even when it's a gorgeous whole bird, we carve in the kitchen, so there's none of that presentation like in the movies.

I haven't done a bird over stuffing, but I often roast a splayed chicken right on top of vegetables. It's glorious. The main thing is to get any large fat deposits out (great big lumps). It helps that yours is a farm raised bird. Some fat is good and necessary for keeping the meat moist and making the "inny" texture, but too much just makes for nasty slime. Most stuffing recipes call for some kind of fat and other liquid. I'd leave that out for your method, and try to keep all the stuffing under the bird.

I hope you'll report back about how it goes.

Thanks for the comments and links!
I am a bit nervous but figure if I run out of real estate when I cut the backbone - I can cut off the legs.

Publick - I figured it out just after I sent the message. We have one D3 restaurant in town. It closed for awhile as the University bought the property. The just re-opened, so have to check it out again.

I will try to take pictures and report back.

Stay tuned

Just taking a break before popping the turkey in the oven
More to follow

I'm going to try this with one of the bargain turkeys I got this year.

Looks great and I'm glad it was moist even with a little over cooking. Dry turkey is an epidemic and something I'd like to avoid! A little leeway in timing will help when I roast my first one...ever ;)