Wild In The Kitchen: Spatchcocked Smoked Wild Turkey

When I saw someone showing how to spatchcock a turkey on the show “Man. Fire. Food,” it made perfect sense. You simply take poultry shears to a whole bird and cut out the backbone and toss it away. You then flip the bird over, push hard with the palm of your hand to flatten it. I found this allows the bird to cook evenly and much faster.

1 whole wild turkey
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons salt

Loosen skin on the breast and drumsticks by inserting fingers, and making a gap between the skin and meat. After mixing the above spices in a bowl, rub the mixture under the loosened skin. Place turkey skin side up on the smoker,  and smoke with apple wood at 325 degrees. The turkey is done when a thermometer inserted into thickest portion of the thigh registers 160 degrees. Remove turkey and let stand, loosely covered with foil, for 30 minutes. Remove and discard the skin before carving.