by Karen Soo, Newsletter Editor

Hey Fellow Chefs,

Wow, this year just flew by so quick. We just gave out candy on Halloween, we turn our clocks back for daylight saving time and Thanksgiving and Christmas is just around the corner.

I like to take the easy route in celebrating on Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving here is pretty quiet for me. I love turkey and this is an easy recipe to follow. Roasting a spatchcock turkey reduces the cooking time by 75% and its easier for me to take it out of the oven. My biggest fear when roasting an entire whole turkey is that it decides to roll off the pan and exposed on to the floor. Yikes that would create messy disaster.

Simply cut out the back bone and spread the bird out flat before roasting. This technique is called spatchcocking that is commonly used with chickens.

Roast at 450 degrees for a 10-pound bird will be done in 45 minutes. The skin will be evenly brown because all the skin is exposed to the heat and will be cooked more evenly.

Bon Appetite – Julia Child and Karen Soo share the same birthday.

Ingredients

Yield: 10 servings

  • One 8- to 12-pound turkey
  • 10 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed, more to taste
  • 1 branch fresh tarragon or thyme separated into sprigs,
  • Or ½ teaspoon dried thyme or tarragon
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil or butter.
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Put turkey on a stable cutting board breast side down and cut out backbone. Turn turkey over, and press on it to flatten. Put  it  breast side up, in a roasting pan. Wings should partly cover breasts, and legs should protrude a bit.

2. Tuck garlic and tarragon under the bird and in the nooks of the wings and legs. Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.

3. Roast for 20 minutes, undisturbed. Turkey should be browning. Remove from oven, baste with pan juices, and return to oven. Reduce heat to 400 degrees (if turkey browns too quickly, reduce temperature to 350 degrees).

4. Begin to check turkey’s temperature about 15 minutes later (10 minutes if bird is on the small side). It is done when thigh meat registers 165 degrees on an instant-read meat thermometer. Check it in a couple of places.

5. Let turkey rest for a few minutes before carving, then serve with garlic cloves and pan juices.