F*ck The Whole Bird, I Cook My Turkey Like This Now 

Am I ever going to cook Thanksgiving dinner? No. Am I ever going to butcher a turkey? No. Did I watch this video knowing all this? Yes, yes I did.

A friend received a larger than usual turkey as a holiday gift from work. She didn't have a pan to cook it in so I suggested she portion it, because logic. She acted like I had suggested she slaughter and stuff her eldest child and serve that instead. Portioning a turkey is a whole paradigm shift, and I am so here for it!

Thank you so much! I never cooked a turkey before so I followed your video step by step. My turkey was a huge success at our family Thanksgiving dinner. My 14 year grandson is a foodie and said it was the best turkey he ever tasted and gave me a plus 11 out of 1-10 rating. That made my day, thanks.

Love the show. Roast your excess turkey at 450* for 25-35 minutes before making the stock. Adds another layer of flavor.

This looks seriously delicious! I told my mom we should try this. She agreed it looks great, but her reason why we absolutely can not do this is because she needs to have a picture of her whole turkey right out of the oven lol 🙄 she's stuck in her ways.

The title is perfect

I did exactly how you showed, and this is was the absolute best Turkey we have ever had! Honestly, it was so easy to do, the stock was dark and rich, all the sides went into the oven on the three levels of rack placement. My family was in awe. I bought a lovely two second thermometer from a specialty cooking store as well as a 17” Lodge Cast Iron pan to fit the Turkey pieces in. I saved a few pieces of fat and an oops piece of thigh meat that I accidentally cut off on my first attempt at cutting the leg off. I used it to fry up separately with avocado oil for my gravy. I did save the drippings from the large pan as well to make more gravy as I sent some home with my family. I will never roast a Turkey any other way from here on out. Wished this 67 year old woman would have viewed your video earlier. So my Sis was not impressed initially when I was frying the pieces skin side down before placing in the oven. However, during our feast she wanted me to give you an 100 star review. Huh, how about that!! She was like, “Sis, you are so brave to watch a RU-vid guy and make a Turkey for us without testing it out first😅.” Yes, you are brilliant. All pieces were juicy with the skins roasted perfectly. Please accept my sincerest Thank You for such a memorable experience that will now be passed on to my family for generations to come. The breasts and wings were done first. Just placed them on my wood chop board to rest whilst the legs and thighs continued to roast. When all was done and rested, I served it on a platter with some of the gravy on the bottom, sprinkled some fresh cut sage and savory. Beautiful presentation. You know, family members are still sending me messages about it! I ordered a young fresh bird from a specialty market in Bend, Oregon. It is a Shelton Turkey. Fresh and just the best. No antibiotics, etc. I got there at 7:00 AM on the 20th, of November, as they go fast even if you ordered one. I guess because they are fresh from the farm and some people don’t show up to pick theirs up. Not me…..I will be there to get mine😳 My Son In Law said to me, “ I am so jealous of your big cast iron pan right now❤.” I love him so much. He is 25 and will be getting one for Christmas. He actually helped me sear the pieces in one of my aprons. He is a keeper for life! Anyway, thanks again for your brilliant video. You are truly a delight and I wish you all the best as I am awaiting more videos from you❤

I'm just cooking for me and the old man this year, but he insisted on a whole bird. Since it's just the two of us, I am going to experiment with this method. Your finished turkey looks fabulous! Edited to add: I did it! Butchered that bird just like you taught me! So far so good. He is seasoned and sitting on a sheet tray in my refrigerator. Edited MONTHS later in response to comments. I confess I looked at more than one video about this and as a result did not crisp the skin in the pan before roasting. Bottom line is that husband felt the skin was not as good as cookinlg the bird whole. My bad. I will try again next November. Honestly, though, speaking as the cook, I thought it was fine.

My brother got a pterodactyl of a Mennonite turkey 15 years ago that was too big for the oven, and I cooked it in pieces, using the carcass for stock, like you did. Best Thanksgiving ever! I haven't cooked one whole since. Your video, technique, and explanation were all on point, as usual. I have sauce-separator envy so bad right now!

Well you just created a family feud lmao who knew my husband was so attached to the big bird experience? Going on about “not fixing what isn’t broken”, yet even angrier when I point out the best turkey we ever had was the extra one we cooked in the instant pot that one year. Fascinating what some people hold on to, you had me sold 🤷🏾‍♀️😂

I've been frying my turkeys for about a decade. Until last year when I tried this method. Hands down this is so much better. Just had to watch again cuz I'm about to throw down another perfect turkey this year. Thanks!

I had never cooked a whole turkey before and wanted to try this method. It was absolutely amazing! And the breast came out so moist. Will definitely do this again next go around. The best part of it all was the bird was cooked in a camping oven we picked up off Amazon due to our oven being busted.

Jacques Pepin showed this method on one of his cooking shows with Julia Childs. He put the turkey parts on TOP of a bed of stuffing while baking. Makes all the difference in the world.

I live by myself and I always buy the biggest turkeys I can find around the holidays. I often butcher two at a time and freeze the parts that I don’t eat right away. I make several different dishes from each part. I found that you can do anything with the legs/thighs that you can do with pork shoulder. Last time I used them in place of pork to make cuban sandwiches. As for the carcass, I don’t bother with aromatics when making stock. I just make a rich gelatinous broth with only water and the turkey parts and get it in the freezer. I add the aromatics when I decide what to make with it. It might be Pho, Avgolemeno, consommé, etc. Sometimes I separate the tenders from breast to make schnitzel. Sometimes I use the skin and rendered fat to make highly addictive cracklings.

I made this for my birthday and everyone that tried it said it was seasoned perfectly and wasn't dry at all. One of my friends even asked for the recipe! I sent him a link to your video. Thank you for taking the time to make this video!

Love how he says no more carving as he stands there and carves it

I've been doing this for over 20 years. Originally, I did it to fit it in my smoker but then quickly realized all the things you listed and never went back. If you prep the day before, you can put the stock in the fridge and the fat will congeal on top making it easy to remove, plus you can dry brine overnight.

Where has this been all my Thanksgiving's?! I've been hosting Thanksgiving for over 30 years and this makes the most sense EVER for the turkey! 2022 there's a new bird in town. Thanks for this. I'm extra excited for Thanksgiving now

😂 You perfectly described the Thanksgiving run up to the pre meal chaos of the bird that has actually NEVER been presented and carved at the table in all of my 67 years of life. I’ve been cooking whole chickens this way now for the past couple of years and decided to do Thanksgiving this way this year but it was a hard decision to break tradition. Once I decided - BAM - your video popped in my RU-vid feed. Now I am super excited because you gave me a plan of attack. You’re the man! Happy Thanksgiving!

Made this for a Friendsgiving feast over the weekend with a 21-lb bird. Everyone said it was the best turkey they've ever had! Only downside: everyone ate so much that we all passed out by 10 PM. That tryptophan is no joke lol

This was absolutely amazing. Every bit of this was spot on, and a surefire way to make an unforgettable Thanksgiving dinner. I would only add one more step. Roast the carcass at high heat just to get a little browning on it before you add it to the stock pot. Good way to add just a little more body and flavor to the stock. Otherwise, this was a phenomenal video showing probably the best way to cook a turkey. Cudos!

I followed this video step by step, hands down the best Thanksgiving dinner I ever made. Turkey was super moist, gravy was amazing, and I had enough stock to replace the water in my stuffing mix AND froze some for later use. I'm going to prep this way every year going forward, THANK YOU SO MUCH 🙏 ❤

I really like this video! Slow simmering the stock overnight while the turkey brined was my best takeaway. Thanks for the excellent, step by step presentation.

Pro tips: - Remove the turkey from the fridge and let come up to room temp before putting it in the hot pan. Cold proteins stick to hot pans, especially SS pans. - For a clear stock, do not boil the liquid. Let it simmer just like he did in the video. But, when reducing the liquid, it has to boil. This will make it cloudy again. In that case, add some more mirepoix to the bottom of an empty pot with 1 egg white for every quart of liquid. Combine the egg white and mirpoix thoroughly. Return the stock to the pan and gently heat. Do not heat quickly. As the liquid slowly heats, the egg white will slowly cook and as it does, it will rise to the surface and trap all the particles in the liquid. Skim to egg white from the surface and what should be left is a perfectly clear demi glace. Pour the glace in ice cube trays, cover with plastic wrap. That way, you will have uniform portions of glace. - When dry brining the turkey, sprinkle the skin with just a wisp of baking soda (not baking powder). Between the salt and baking soda, the skin will become much crispier when baking in the oven. Be careful! Too much baking soda will ruin the flavor. A very, very small amount goes a very, very long way. - Trim the tips off the wings and save them for stock. The tips of the wings contain the most collagen and will help your stock achieve that gelatin consistency. - For a faster cook on the dark meat, separate the thighs from the legs. - Put the thighs and legs in the oven about 30 minutes before the rest of the bird. That way, it will all be done at the same time. - If you use wine to cook, follow one simple rule: if you won't drink it, don't cook with it. - Hot roux + cold stock = no lumps. There are only two ways to mess up a roux: 1) burn it; and 2) not enough flour or fat. You can have too much flower, but you can never have too much fat when making a gravy. - If you've never burned a roux, you've never made a roux. - Gently heat your serving platters and bowls in the oven before service. Adding gravy to the serving platter won't necessarily keep the bird more moist. But, it will ensure that you ruin a good table cloth. Not to mention the fact that when gravy cools, which it will do very quickly on the platter, it will thicken into a paste. If you want to keep the bird warm on the platter without ruining a table cloth or making brown play dough, just boil a few potatoes to about half way done, cut them into slices and arrange them in single layer on the serving platter. Potatoes retain heat for quite a long time and will keep the turkey warmer longer. - If you make a whole bird, don't stuff it with anything other than a few fist fulls of herbs. Stuffing the bird will cause it to cook unevenly and all the raw juices from the bird will filter through the stuffing and not cook thoroughly. If you want dressing, make it separately.

I've been cooking Thanksgiving dinner for 46 years. I'm always open to something new. I did a practice turkey today (yep, you read that correctly) and it was delish. The front-end prep and cooking made for seamless serving.

Glad you mentioned the upside down turkey, for those who absolutely must cook a whole turkey. I always cook mine upside down. Learned from a chef almost 40 years ago. It's so much juicier! I like the concept of cutting the turkey before cooking. I'll give that a try. It definitely makes sense.

I followed your instructions for cutting the turkey, dry brine, searing, roasting, etc. This will be the way I will cook future turkeys. It came out moist and delicious! My family enjoyed it (from the kids to the seniors!) I opted to save the turkey stock versus reducing it. I had enough stock for the dressing, gravy and will have some for soup later.

This is Stephen's best season. The HPOA is the most genius book ever. It NEEDS to be in a hardcover version sold through major sellers with lots of bonuses, of course.

Holy moly. What just happened? This is the best thing I’ve seen for all the reasons mentioned!!! Yes!! Fresh stock, easier seasoning, cooking and serving.

I tried this method for the first time this year. I loved how the turkey came out… Every piece done perfectly and golden brown. And it was delicious. I absolutely love love love this video. Thank you so much… You are a genius!

I've never had an issue with a whole turkey being too dry after doing a dry brine and using a two probe thermometer one in the breast and one in the dark meat (unless I royally screw up) but the idea of utilizing the carcass for the roux/gravy is brilliant. I love that you list all the benefits over a traditional turkey because every point is hard to argue. Someone might say presenting the turkey is part of the magic of thanksgiving and I'd agree but ultimately people want good food. Also the way you're able to present the turkey on the platter without panicking to carve, cut and arrange before it's cold is really really enticing! Since I am hosting this year I will definitely give this a shot! Edit: best turkey I've ever had and my family agreed. One of which is a chef owner of a restaurant. Now I'm back to refresh myself so I can do it again for my Christmas turkey to pair with my 18lb brisket 🥲

I saw this years ago done on the Julia Child show. I roasted my turkey a few times just like that and it enables you to pull off each piece as it's done with mouth watering perfection. Julia did not brown hers first, but what a great idea! Best to making stock though I like to roast the carcass to go golden brown and then throw it into a stock pot. The flavor is deeper!

I try every year to make my Turkey better and better... This by far, the best directions and most spot on as you can get recipe. My Pops in-law even gave me a compliment that "this was your best yet". Fantastic cooking advice. Thank you!

Game changer! I hosted as usual and I normally hate the whole turkey thing. This was so much easier to prepare. My house is small so I tend to just carve ahead and make a buffet on my kitchen counters to make eating and socializing feel more comfortable without so much on the table to bump into. Everyone loved the succulent texture of the turkey. I got everything together pretty darn quick! Butchering ahead made a big difference on so many levels. Thank you for this awesome guide! I think you have great style in your delivery and your approach to cooking is right on point!

I just made a lot of turkey tonight based on this recipe. Gotta say that it's the juiciest, tastiest dish of turkey my family and I have ever had. The recipe is a keeper in my book. I don't think I'll ever want turkey the "old fashioned way" ever again, which hopefully doesn't become a problem in other households. Thank you so much for this, and I'll be sure to make it again down the road.

I learned this trick working dinners at Thanksgiving for the shelter. It REALLY sped things up, and we had fresh turkey that wasn't dried out till the very end of the evening.

Just finished my version of this masterpiece. Gravy is to die for. Turkey waiting warmly in the oven on low, soon to be devoured. Thank you brother from another for your contributions to my kitchen 🙏🏾

Yes! Love this recipe. Tried butchering a whole turkey two years ago and it came out wonderful. I'm going to try the pan fry technique this year!! Thanks for the tips!!!

The whole stock thing is much simpler with a pressure cooker (e.g., Instant Pot). Put it all together with whatever veggies you'd like, cook on HIGH for 4 hours, your stock is ready. At this point, it's actually bone broth.

I haven’t cooked a whole Turkey in 5 years. I usually just grab about 4 thighs. This is going to make me try a whole bird again. That stock and gravy is probably my favorite part of this video

My husband made our turkey this way and it was amazing! So tender and well-seasoned. I added fresh herbs and lemon juice and slices to the pan for the baking process. We're already making plans for our next turkey! Thanks for giving us this video and the cooking process. Oh, we have lots of lovely stock left over in the freezer, also :D

HOW COULD THIS HAVE BEEN ANY BETTER!!!! My family went crazy over this bird. I actually had to cut the brine time down to 5 hrs and it was absolutely perfect with the salt seasoning and sooo moist. Can't wait to try it overnight. Thank you sir and I'll be getting your cookbook for myself and sisters!! Bravo my friend.

Chef, I'm sure this is insanely good, I have no doubt. My mother always did hers low and slow, over night. She would wake every 2-3 hours to baste the turkey. She would also drape the entire turkey with bacon and the bacon and the skin would basically become one. Combined with her stuffing it was the greatest meal I've ever had and I was blessed to have it every year for 44 years. Now that she's gone home to be with dad, I just may have to give yours a try. I just hope she doesn't get angry with me.

Steven, this is what a cooking video should be. You made your point by crystallizing 7 clearly articulated reasons - excellent! People often wonder WHY, but too many teachers ramble on and on without actually telling them. Good job, brother. - A teacher

This guys channel is like a cheat code to cooking. Made the turkey this way today, and it was the first thanksgiving people actually liked the turkey. Thank you 🙏

My mom always used the juice from the turkey to make the stuffing. Even people who really disliked stuffing, loved her method. She used white bread, crackers, sausage, and the traditional vegetables and spices. Always looked terrible before baking but it was fabulous. Gravy was always secondary to her stuffing. Going to try this method.

I'm a traditionalist, so it goes against my every instinct to portion the turkey prior to roasting - but this Christmas I will give this method a go. I'll let you know after how it went!

I started watching your videos around this time of the year when I was in my last semester of grad school and super stressed. Now your holiday videos are so comforting to me and another reason why I love this time of year.

Wow, this was the best turkey I ever cooked. You were so right. I saved the stock in jars for later. Great video.

Just wanted to say I made my thanksgiving turkey following this video step-by-step and it was a HUGE HIT!! (Even without all the fancy equipment) That gravy was the most thanksgiving tasting gravy I’ve ever made and the consistency was PERFECT! Thank you 🙏🏾

When the holidays come up every year I always find myself gravitating back to you and binge all your holiday episodes as a sense of nostalgia and cozy kitchen atmosphere

I’ve been cooking an entire TG meal by myself for decades!! This year my Daughter is doing the cooking, and I am giving this to her!!! This is perfect, makes compete sense, and if I were cooking the meal, this is how I would do it this year!! TY

I've been cooking turkeys for 50 yrs and this is the best! I was going to order an electric turkey roaster on Friday but I don't need it now. Thank you.

We bought our frozen turkeys on sales during the thanksgiving season to be used later .I saw your technic and decided to cook one of the bird this way. I used butter and oil with fresh herbs to seared the meat ,all I could say is :What a game changer !!! It was so good ,tasty and juicy we will definitely going cook this way again.Thank you!

Nothing short of genius, always delivering such genuine and awesome content. Almost 1 million brother, well done!

All I can say is wow! You are on point, drying out the skin and dry brining is all about that crispy skin! Thank you for this. I’m doing it this year.

I just did this today (Nov. 26, 2022) and I must say, the turkey was amazing. It was the best I've ever made. The dry brine was the key. The seasoning was spot on which is hard to do since you can't pre-taste a turkey. Thanks!

This is the first time I have ever hosted thanksgiving. I don’t know why we did it this way, but it was so good. Tender, moist and full of flavor. The gravy was also a hit! Thank you!

After spending 40+ years of being the Turkey chef for the whole family, I approve of this message….about ten years ago after most of our elderly family passed away, I began roasting the bird in smaller parts. The reason I was chosen is because I use my great grandmother’s old school recipe from way back in the 1930s, I still do only at a smaller scale. I wish I started doing this 30 years ago would’ve saved me a lot of time work and I wouldn’t have this broken thumb. Long story.

I have always liked to make a turkey and have a big thanksgiving dinner with my friends. A few years ago I discovered your channel when I found the upside-down turkey recipe, and it was probably the best turkey I've made so far. Since then I've made lots of your recipes and I don't think I've ever been disappointed. Excited to try this one this year, thanks for all the inspiration.

I've never thought of doing this. This looks phenomenal and is exactly what I'll be doing. Thank you Stephen!

My guy, I made this last year and it was fire. I guess it was too good because I got volunteered to make it again this year. Lol I came back just to refresh my memory. Thanks for everything I’ve learned from you, it’s enhanced my love of cooking good food. 🍻

PERFECT because GREAT camera angles to actually see your skills. For me, THIS is the best guide/lesson I found.

That looks awesome! Totally inspired to try it! You kept calling it a chicken cracked me up, you’re an amazing cook. Thank you!

I followed this method today and honestly it's the best turkey I've ever made. The only drawback to this method is that the oven is too hot for a lot of the sides while the turkey is roasting. However, the turkey is done SO QUICKLY, you can take it out, drop the oven temp and do your sides while the turkey sits under foil and stays warm. Thanks for this video... I'll definitely do it this way again.

I cooked my turkey exactly like this last year and everyone loved it! It was moist and tasted seasoned. I am going to cook it this way again. It was delicious! Why mess with a good thing? Saved so much time cooking it this way. Thank you very much for this video! ❤

I do the Norman Rockwell thing every year using an Alton Brown recipe from like 10 years ago, I think this year I’m gonna have proceed to the next generation and use your method as the way you explained it makes total sense and your reasoning behind it solves my issue perfectly. I usually have 25-30 family and friends for thanksgiving doing it like you I could probably make 2 medium size turkeys and it would be money!

Dude. I do the same thing quite often. However I have a tip for you. The carcass and all that....bake it and brown it before you boil it. It's sooo good man! That was the best turkey I've had how you do it.

Watched this video several times to prepare and tried it out today. It turned out amazing! I don’t know why I always did it differently. Thank you!

I followed this turkey and gravy method to a T and it was awesome. I'm never doing thanksgiving any other way ever again. Thank you so much, man. Hope your thanksgiving was wonderful.

I used this method yesterday and received multiple compliments saying it was the best turkey they’ve ever had. Thanks Steve!

I'm SO glad you explained the dry brining process. So many people don't quite understand or even know about why it's the best thing you can do to lock in the juices and get that beautiful crispy skin that you achieved. I've been using sous vide to cook the various parts but I might just have to give the oven roast as you have so excellently explained! Thank you!

I also like the idea of making the stock from the carcass. Everyone likes a lot of gravy, so I usually have to use store bought turkey stock for the gravy. But this way, I can do it myself!

Thank you so much! I followed your instructions and this was the best turkey I've ever made. My family ate it down to the last morsel. I loved having stock ready before the rest of the cooking got going. The best!!!!

I bought a whole turkey, planning to cook it traditionally but then decided I wanted smothered turkey! SOOOO I've been searching high and low for a video and I came across yours! Thank you so much! I needed this so much, because now I can still have my smothered Turkey!

Dude you just popped into my feed and this is awesome. My grandmother always used to buy a turkey on clearance after the holidays and have it in the spring when you appreciate the flavors again. This system makes that idea even more appealing as cooking whole is a pain. Just sub'd

This seems so much better than cooking it whole. After finishing the video this is SO much better… ppl aren’t waiting in line to eat then sitting awkwardly not wanting to start eating until everyone’s been served and the food loses temp. I’m definitely gonna plan this attack and you got yourself a new sub!

I never comment but I have to tell you I just did this with my turkey today for friendsgiving and it turned out spectacular and the gravy was amazing. I will never cook turkey the traditional way again! Thank you sooooo much for posting this!

Tried out this method last year, watching again (the day before Thanksgiving) to do it this year. Thanks for the lesson!

This has gotta be the best turkey method I've ever seen. Usually, every year my dad handles the cooking of the turkey but I think I'm going to have to take the reigns from him this year to give this a shot

This is starting to sound like a hell of a cookbook you've did. Awesome work on the video

Steve....STEVE!!!! I made this turkey for Thanksgiving yesterday and it was the best turkey I've ever tasted. The gravy was bomb too and I used a Willamette Valley Riesling from Oregon to deglaze. I got mad props from our guests. Thanks my friend...I'll never make turkey another way again

Wow that gravy is silky and looks elegant on that platter!

You sir are a wonderful cook. I genuinely hope one day I can cook for a family of my own in the way you cook.

I've done it all-traditional, deep fried, upside-down and lately I've settled on spatchcocked. This just might be the best way to go. I like the idea of being able to control the white meat/dark meat cooking temps so I am going to give this a try!

Made my turkey, stock, and gravy exactly as you did in the video. The family loved it! Thank you.

The turkey came out 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Thanks for sharing! The family loved it!

Wow, this is quite a sea change from our normal Thanksgiving bird prep. I am intrigued, but also more than a little daunted by it. I'm going to need some time to process this. Great vid BTW.

I liked the idea of dry brinin the turkey overnight. I did a liquid version of it many years ago. And it came out really good. We normally deep fry our turkey these days. But it's always good to add new techniques to your way of cooking 🍳 😉

This is the 3rd time I’ve done it this way and it has come out perfect every time! So juicy and the gravy is amazing!! Thank you so much!

I did this, this year and it came out perfect! My stepdaughters boyfriend said to me “thank you for making the best turkey I’ve ever had” 😊 -then he shows up the next day with a thawed turkey in his hands and asked me to show him how I did it. Lol ❤️😁🤙🏽

Thanks! I love turkey; and I make my own bone broth. Making the stock in advance helps, you can use the bone broth for the liquid in dressing and the gravy, and can even use some to baste the turky. Also, can use it to make turkey vegetable soup (I actually make tortilla soup with my leftover turkey).

For the stock, really suggest changing water once before adding the vegetables. Makes a big difference in the quality of the end product when starting stock with raw meat

Did this the other day for our christmas dinner. Will never go back. It was really good for all of your reasons

I started doing my turkeys like this in 1982. I bone out the drumsticks, thighs and the first joint of the wing, then stuff these so that they cook in the same time as the breast. Always juicy, tender and delicious. I have also frequently cooked ostrich in a similar way.

This is the first time I'm seeing something like this. I think this is a great idea bc so many people are total turkey snobs! They think if you don't bake a whole bird you're less of a human being. I say think outside the box. Do the holidays your way. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Made this turkey last year and it was such a success I've been put in charge with cooking the Turkey from here on out. The people who dont eat Thanksgiving Turkey cause its dry and flavorless couldnt help but change their view. The gravy was amazing! All my family members were taking home all my left over gravy leaving me with almost nothing. Thank you for the video!

I cooked Thanksgiving dinner last year for the first time and was lucky enough to find this recipe. It was my first time making a turkey and every one that tried it agreed that it was the best turkey they have ever had and that this will be the ONLY way it will be done. I did it again this year and if you guys seen a picture, you would understand. I'm so grateful to have found this tutorial, this was a life changing recipe and all of us that have tried it cannot say thank you enough!!

Makes sense. I spatchcock mine and that works well too.

This is genius! You just potentially saved me from the annual turkey roasting meltdown. Tried a spatchcock last year and liked it, but this is the alpha method of ease, convenience, efficiency and seasoning all parts well. Knowing this years ago would have saved many mediocre (at best) turkeys. Very excited to do this.