Caribbean-Inspired Spatchcocked Turkey

  • Level: Easy
  • Yield: 8 servings
  • Total: 2 hr 10 min
  • Active: 20 min
Turkey is the perfect canvas for the sweet and spicy flavors in this recipe. First the bird is rubbed with jerk seasoning, a spice and herb blend found throughout much of the Caribbean, then slathered with a sweet glaze flavored with Caribbean style hot sauce.
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Ingredients

1 12- to 14-pound fresh turkey, spatchcocked (ask your butcher to do this)

Kosher salt

3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh thyme

2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh oregano

2 teaspoons ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1 habanero or Scotch bonnet chile pepper, stemmed, seeded and roughly chopped

Freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup apricot jam

1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest, plus 1/4 cup fresh lime juice

2 to 3 tablespoons Caribbean- style hot sauce

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the turkey, skin-side up, on a rack set on a rimmed baking sheet. Blot the turkey dry with paper towels and sprinkle generously with salt.
  2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the thyme, oregano, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chile pepper, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Pulse until finely chopped. Add the vegetable oil and process until smooth. Smear the mixture evenly all over the turkey. Roast until golden brown and a thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 165 degrees F, 55 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes.
  3. While the turkey roasts, puree the jam, lime zest, lime juice and hot sauce in a blender. Transfer half of the mixture to a small serving dish and set aside. Brush the remaining half of the mixture on the turkey and continue roasting until the glaze has set and is sticky, about 15 minutes. Let the turkey rest at least 20 minutes before carving. Serve with the reserved glaze.

Let's Get Cooking!

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