Aight I’m spatchcocking and I think doing the mayo method following SE’s guides, but I have a stupid question. What direction are the legs supposed to rest when I stick the bird in the oven? It seems like people when I look up recipes/pics do it like side #1 in my photo, but when I do this it covers a significant portion of the breast and causes lots of folds in the skin. Which is the right way, like #1 or #2 in my pics?
by altilde
8 Comments
Neither, you want to bend the legs to point outwards, the opposite way. Take a look at the images from this guide by Kenji: https://www.seriouseats.com/butterfiled-roast-turkey-with-gravy-recipe
Neither. See the other comment. Pop the leg out so it lays flat
Note that you may have to cut any “connections” between the legs to get them to flop over properly – that was my struggle this year!
Think Rocky Horror Picture Show and the Time Warp song, hold the knees in tight.
I just make sure everything is flat
Can you link the recipe for the mayo method for rubbing down the bird? TIA!
IMO the mayo is not necessary. Have had similar results by liberally spraying with spray oil and mashing herbs and spices onto both sides.
I spatchcocked our turkey tonight. I think I did a pretty sloppy job (it wasn’t completely defrosted yet, so figuring out what was what was difficult), but I alternated between reading/watching Kenji’s stuff, and watching [Chef John’s video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=Ppa1bxB89vg&ab_channel=FoodWishes).