I’ve never done it with a turkey. Maybe these might help if you scroll to the cooking instructions.

Serious Eats - Spatchcock Turkey

Milk Street - Spatchcock Turkey

Do you have an instant read thermometer? I think that's the best way to determine cooking time, since ovens can be variable. It also depends on the size of the bird, of course.

The size of the turkey will make a huge difference. It will certainly take a shorter time than a regular turkey prep.

I see the National Turkey Federation suggests about 6 minutes a pound at 400-425. As Carol mentioned, rely on a thermometer to check for doneness. Start checking early after it’s been in the oven at 4 minutes a pound.

We do our turkey's on a charcoal grill and it's all of an hour and a half but there are too many variables for this to be helpful to you.

Prior suggestions to let a thermometer be your ultimate guide are right on. Recipes and directions are only general recommendations, there are too many variables that affect the ultimate outcome.

One major variable not always considered---- what was the temperature of the raw meat when it first started cooking? Some fridges can be much colder than others, or it may have sat out in the air for a longer or shorter time. Both can affect cooking time.

I always start checking when it reaches about the 80% of recommended time point. If you discover it took less time than expected after it's already been cooking for too long, it's too late to fix it.

"I always start checking when it reaches about the 80% of recommended time point."

It's the recommended time point I'm looking for here. Some sort of ballpark based on bird size or per pound.

That wasn't the question you asked. You said

" How long do you roast a spatchcocked turkey? "

The answer to this question is - you roast it until it reaches the recommended temperature, which will be more or less than the recommended time in the recipe you choose to follow.

I wasn't the only one who suggested that you need to pay more attention to temperature than time. Cholebud also suggested as I did that should start checking early on.

My last large turkey was in pieces rather than spatchcocked, but all touching. It cooked surprisingly fast, so I agree with the prior recommendations: Check the temperature early, and check different parts. I've seen the same timing as Chloebud from different sources. Mostly 6 min./lb., and one which said 6-8.

Knowing approximately how long to cook something is important for planning and timing purposes.

"That wasn't the question you asked. You said " How long do you roast a spatchcocked turkey? "

That was only PART of what I asked. Here is the excerpt from my original post: "My question is: How long do you roast a spatchcocked turkey? Obviously the size is variable -- approximately how many minutes per pound? Or approximate time per size range? I don't want to assume it's the same as chicken (5# range took about 45 minutes @ 425F)."

I reiterate: Knowing approximately how long to cook something is important for planning and timing purposes.

An above source was cited as cooking 6 minutes per pound @ 400-425, check at 4 minutes per pound. That doesn't seem to align with my experience with the chickens, that is around 9 minutes per pound. One of the links indicates the same -- somewhere around 9 minutes/pound. I forgot about Butterball website; there I found around 10-12 minutes/pound at a lower temp of 375.

Leave it to Martha 😄

I find it INSANE when people suggest the obvious🤦. Is there a person cooking a large (ANY) piece of meat that doesn't let a thermometer be their guide?!?!?!?! Spatchcocked is the hour and a half, a whole has taken us up to three hours. Charcoal/outside temp (Thanksgiving in MN is where this happens), size of bird. Our turkeys once spatchcocked fill the grill of a Webber kettle, as close to 25lbs as I can get.

Yeah. There are a lot of people who don't have a meat thermometer at all.

If the legs move easily, the bird is done. I use a thermometer now, but cooked for 30 years before one existed. You grab the end of the leg and pull. If done it moves and pulls loose easily.

Chicken, turkey, steaks, whatever, no thermometer. You just knew when it was done.

" There are a lot of people who don't have a meat thermometer at all. "

I try to share meals with people like that either at my house or in a restaurant. Life is too short to eat bad food or drink bad wine.

I have consulted this YouTube video the three times I roasted a spatchcock turkey. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDSkekArb There's a step where he pours boiling water over the bird before roasting. The results have been fabulous.

Update: Well, I took a stab at it. Some sources said 6 min/lb, other 9 min/lb (and my chickens end up 9 min/lb), so I compromised and did 7.5 min/lb. When it came out of the oven I though oh no because some of the meat pulled away from the end of the drumstick and the temp was reading about 10 degrees too high, but it was very moist, wasn't over-cooked texture-wise at all.

Did you take pictues of your process??? Would love to see the end result at least!

"Would love to see the end result at least!"

It's been gobbled up already (pun intended). I'll try to remember at Thanksgiving, when I plan to spatchcock two birds for Thanksgiving dinner. Wish me luck...

This is a great tutorial on the nuts and bolts of the procedure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZCPPqDGD5M

arcy -- here's pics of the first chicken I did earlier this year; I've gotten quite good at chickens :0)

It cooks evenly and nothing gets dry?

I’ve never cooked a spatchcocked chicken. Is this done for ease of cooking or slicing or to save time?

It looks good.

I recently watched (do not recall where — perhaps link from here? Or on TV?) a cook/chef demonstarate making quick work of cutting up a chicken and pointing out the cut line cues. I don’t think I saved the link, so perhaps TV chef.

There's the famous Jacques Pepin debone a whole chicken with just a few cuts. One thing they do on TV, which doesn't work well for me, but I have small hands, is evert the major joints which exposes and cracks open the joint, making the cutting through hard stuff minimal.

I don't bother spatchcocking chickens. I just remove the spine and "butterfly" them--just press down to spread or crack it. I've been cooking Awesome Chicken that way for some 15 years. I put little carrots and sliced onion, plus whatever veg suits my fancy, in the pan (I have 2/3 sheets which fit my steam oven, and are perfect size for a 4.25 lb. chicken, but any casserole or sheet pan that's the right size for the chicken or oven will work). 60% steam, or put an ovenproof bowl or pan of water on the lower rack or next to the pan (I've done it that way in other people's kitchen and it works). You can do the same thing over stuffing, but then you have to be very conscious of the temperatures of the stuffing in various places, to make sure it doesn't pick up bad things from the chicken.

“I don't bother spatchcoking chickens. I just remove the spin and "butterfly" them--just press down to spread or crack it.”

So you spatchcock them without using the fancy word?

Nope. A quick web search shows that people are now conflating spatchcock with butterfly so I get why you said that--it's probably because they like the word that they're claiming it for the easier path. Spatchcocking involves removing the wishbone and the sternum. It gives a more even cook, especially for puffball chickens, and also makes it flatter. I avoid puffballs and with my lumpy veggies underneath, I don't need to bother with truly flat. Since I'm also going for smaller chickens, they bend better. :)

I don’t know when ”now” is, but it’s been just backbone and flatten as long as I’ve known the term.

To spatchock is to butterfly, in a sense. Except spatchocking is made for those with mediocre knives and lousy knife skills. Take a chicken, turn it breast-side down on a cutting board. Put away the lightweight kitchen scissors for the next step. With poultry shears (about the strength of the garden clippers you use to prune azaleas) and a steady hand, cut along one side of the backbone, then cut along the other.

Lift out the backbone (you can throw it in the stockpot) and open up the bird like a book. Put the cut side down and with your hands on the skin side flatten the bird.

Washington Post, 2001

Or put the chicken under a truck tire and back over it?

Well, when we were talking about it in CF, most sources as well as here, included removing the sternum, etc., and people rarely talked about butterflying (though I did). I think this is following someone like Martha Stewart popularizing the word "spatchcock",. But people were tut-tut-ing over me for not actually spatchcocking.

There will always be tutters.

FWIW, I don't remove anything either - just cut down one side of the backbone and spread - I also pop the hip joints and flatten the breast by pressing down until it cracks.

So, technically not spatchcocking.

If I cook a whole chicken, I cut down the breast and flatten. The back stays in the middle. I flip on the cool side of the grill a few times until the chicken is ”loose” and the legs move very easy.

But... The spines are so useful for stock! I keep bags of them, necks and giblets in the freezer until chickn stock day. :)

I use mostly save the necks and giblets for stock - and the bones, drippings and trim from roasted birds too. I also save skin, bones and trim when I debone legs/thighs.

I eat the back, necks, and giblets. They are my favorite part of the chicken!

I buy chicken already cut up...legs, leg quarters, breasts, wings, etc. I buy stock in a box. Hate me if you must.

Don't tell my small flock of laying hens!