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[pmillen]

Today I followed a Malcom Reed recipe for a spatchcocked turkey on a pellet pit.  It didn’t match his published results.

As I recall it weighed about 20 lbs.

• I spatchcocked it and put it in the refrigerator overnight to dry the skin.
• It was seasoned and went into the MAK at 12:35.
• The MAK was set at 300°F.  I didn’t use a remote thermometer to monitor the pit temperature as it has always run very near the setpoint.
• The IT went from 47°F to 165°F at 2:15, 100 minutes.
• 100 minutes for 20 lbs. is 5 minutes per lb.  That seems incredibly fast.

What has your minutes per pound experience been when smoke-roasting a spatchcocked turkey?

[Bentley]

I am no help.  I roast at 350° and I part the bird.

[urnmor]

I have not done one so I can not help

[yorkdude]

Same here, have never done one but “at a glance” does seem fast.
How was it? Did it otherwise meet expectations?

[Bar-B-Lew]

I have not made one in a while, but I seem to recall about 15 minutes a pound.

[pmillen]

How was it? Did it otherwise meet expectations?

Yeah, it met my expectations.  It came off the pit with beautiful color.  I had to hold it for more than an hour so I put it in the oven at its lowest temperature, 170°F.  It carved normally and was delicious.

[Bentley]

Did you brine it?

[pmillen]

Did you brine it?

No, I often brine fowl but planned to inject this one.  However, I skipped it because I couldn’t locate the injection powder.

[Kristin Meredith]

I don't have any first hand knowledge, but if I recall a whole turkey is about 15 minutes a pound.  With spatchcock you have so much more surface area getting direct heat I could see it cooking faster.  5 minutes seems really fast, but good to know your experience.

[pmillen]

The most likely culprit for the error (if there is an error) is that the pit was actually running at a considerably higher temperature.  I haven’t recently cleaned the pit’s temperature probe.  I’ll do that and go back to verifying the cooking temperature with a wireless thermometer.