Special Occasion Roast Turkey

Compound Butter

• Combine all ingredients and mix well, set in fridge until the day we dry brine. Set out ⅓ cup for brine prep and return the remaining amount to the fridge. Leave butter out 1-2 hours before roasting the turkey, this can be made up to a week before roasting turkey. But I usually make it an hour or two before I am going to brine my turkey.
  

Defrost Turkey in Refrigerator before proceeding, must be completely defrosted usually takes 2 days. Now we will be prepping the bird to be dry brined.

Spatchcocking the Turkey & Brining

• Measure ⅓ cup of your compound butter and set out to soften, leave rest of butter in fridge till roasting day.

  The first thing we need to do after our bird or breast have completely defrosted is to spatchcock it. Spatchcocking is how we can access the inside of the bird to brine, and the reason it cooks so quickly and evenly. It is a key to the low, moisture retaining cooking method so don't skip this step for this recipe.
  
• So, let's start, make sure that you have a very sharp knife and if possible some very sharp kitchen shears. Place rinsed & dried turkey, with giblets and neck removed, breast side down on your cutting board. Using your knife or shears you are going to remove the backbone. This will take some strength just go slow and be careful not to cut too far away from the center of the back. You will be cutting through some rib bones and hip area at the bottom. Start on one side then repeat on the other side.

  Reserve the backbone for use later! Go ahead and trim any other large skin and fat areas hanging off the turkey and reserve all trimmings with neck, giblets, and backbone. (A ziplock works great for this)
  
• Turn the turkey over and placing your hands one on top of the other in the middle of the turkey breast and using your body weight you want to flatten the breast. You should hear a crack if you can't get it to flatten this way turn turkey breast side down, and using a sharp knife making a couple of very shallow slices running with the breast bone, right in the center of the breast bone, turn over and try pressing again.
  
• Tada! You have just spatchcocked your turkey, don't try to say that too fast!

  Reserve the back bone and parts as we will use them for stock or for my make ahead gravy!

Dry brining the Turkey - this should be done at least 24 hours before roasting but preferably 48 hours before.

• Combine kosher salt, herbs, pepper, and seasoning in small bowl. Rub the herbs into the salt mixture, with fingers really mix together using the salt grains to bruise and break up the herbs. This will add flavor to the salt and release the oils in the herbs, giving you even more herb flavor.
  
• With turkey spatchcocked and patted dry separate the skin from the meat on the breast, leg and thigh areas of the bird.
  
• With the skin separated from the meat start adding the salt seasoning mixture about a teaspoon at time in each area, and evenly coating the back of the turkey, rubbing the salt in. Do not season the outside skin at this point we will do that later.
  

Adding 1/3 of the Compound Butter

• Okay, so I have found out that it is important at this point to rub butter under the skin (but not on the meat). We want to provide a bit of a barrier between the salt and the skin, because the salt can make the skin a little tough.

  Using the ⅓ cup I had you set out at the beginning, go ahead rub butter under skin and towards the skin only, not towards the meat do this for all the areas we just salted. Leave outside skin un buttered for now.

  That's it we are done with prepping! Place turkey breast up on a cookie sheet and leave in the refrigerator. If you are doing this 48 hours before roasting cover it with Saran Wrap if doing it the day before leave uncovered.

  The night before roasting uncover so that the outside skin will get nice and dry but leave in the refrigerator.

Roasting Day! 1 Hour before roasting, set turkey out of fridge and finish prepping.

• Get remaining compound butter out and let soften.
  
• Cut onions in half one half for each breast, place in roasting rack.
• Using a skewer poke 10-15 holes through skin into the fat deposits on the breasts and thighs. This will allow the fat to render out.
• Place turkey in roasting pan with the upper breast supported on the the onions and rub the skin with the compound butter
  
• Add a little more salt and pepper to the outside of turkey, just a light sprinkle.
• Push the legs up to rest on the lower part of the breast and tie with butchers twine. Tuck the wings under the turkey.

  For second breast just place on top of onions.

  If doing both you may not want to tie the legs but arrange so that both fit into the pan together making sure you have the onions under each upper breast.

Preheat oven to 275℉

• When turkey has been out of fridge for one hour and has been prepped for roasting place in oven on lower-middle rack. Roast uncovered till thermometer in the thickest part of the breast registers 160℉ and the thickest part and thigh registers 170℉. Approximately 2½- 3 hours.

  Remove from oven leave in roasting pan and rest for at least 30 min. but up to 1½ hours. Preheat oven to 450℉ for 30 minutes before returning to oven to glaze.

  If you have stuffing in the pan make sure that is is tucked under the turkey before returning to the super hot oven.

While turkey is roasting make glaze.

• Whisk together all glaze ingredients add to sauce pan and reduce to 1½-2 cups over medium low heat. Set aside to baste turkey after it has rested.

Glazing Turkey

• (Within the 1½ hour resting time of the turkey) Preheat oven to 450℉ for 30 minutes before glazing and returning turkey to oven.
  
• Glaze turkey, put in oven roast for 7 minutes.
• Glaze turkey, roast for an additional 7 minutes.
• Glaze turkey, roast until skin is evenly browned and crispy for an additional 7-10 minutes. Transfer turkey to cutting board and let rest 20 minutes, let everyone get a good look at this beauty, take lots of pics for your instagram!

  Carve and serve!!!