3-Ingredient Thanksgiving Turkey with Orange and Sage
4.1
(7)
In Epi's 3-Ingredient Recipes series, we show you how to make great food with just three ingredients (plus staples like oil, salt, and pepper).
Spatchcocking the turkey before roasting ensures that all parts of the bird will cook evenly at the same rate—and in just 1 1/2 hours.
Recipe information
Total Time
2 1/2 hours, plus chilling
Yield
8–10 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Finely grate 1 orange to yield 1 Tbsp. zest; transfer to a small bowl. Slice oranges into 1/2"-thick rounds; transfer to a resealable plastic bag and chill until ready to use. Add salt, pepper, and chopped sage to zest and stir to combine.
Step 2
Place turkey, breast side down, on a large cutting board. Cut along each side of backbone with kitchen shears—this will take some force (you can ask your butcher to do this). Discard backbone or reserve for another use.
Step 3
With turkey skin side down, use a knife to score down the long oblong bone in center of breast. Turn turkey skin side up, then firmly press down with both hands on breastbone until you hear a cracking sound. Rub zest mixture all over turkey, under skin, and inside cavity. Transfer turkey skin side up to a rimmed baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and chill 6–18 hours.
Step 4
Arrange a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 450°F. Tuck sage sprigs and reserved orange slices in an even layer under turkey. Let sit at room temperature 30–60 minutes to air dry.
Step 5
Brush turkey with oil, add 1/2 cup water to pan, and roast 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Rotate pan, add 1/2 cup water to pan, and brush turkey with more oil. Continue to roast, brushing with oil after 30 minutes, until skin is deep golden brown and crisp and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast right against breastbone registers 160°F, 55–65 minutes more.
Step 6
Transfer turkey to clean cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest at least 30 minutes before carving.
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Reviews (7)
Back to TopThis is my go-to Thanksgiving turkey recipe. It always gives a crips brown skin and a tender juicy inside. I agree with some of the other reviews that the larger the turkey, the harder it is to cut and flatten. It works particularly well if you have a small party and are only cooking a turkey breast. Even for a large turkey that you leave as is, the mix still works to coat the outside. You can stuff if the citrus and sage flavors compliment your stuffing. I recommend doubling the amount for a large Turkey.
Anonymous
Boston, MA
11/21/2021
Taking out the spine of a bird is not difficult if you have good poultry shears. It is easy to follow the line of the spine on each side. My husband used to do this often with chickens. It seems like more even cooking when the bird is prepared this way. it's a good recipe - the orange adds some fresh citrus taste to the typical Thanksgiving flavors.
jcircosta1
Louisville, KY
11/10/2019
'spatchcocking' isn't difficult.. though sawing through a turkey and essentially smashing it flat is a challenge. Works nice with chicken and 'cornish hens' in both oven and grill. Obviously, can't stuff the bird... and really unsure if i want an 'orange' tinged turkey in the first place.
sin1357
buffalo, ny
11/16/2016
I found helpful instructional videos at the following "dot com": marthastewart, seriouseats, food52, bonappetit, weber, rachaelrayshow
islandmtn
Montreal, QC
11/14/2016
I meant to say instructional VIDEOS
countrygoddess1
11/14/2016
The instructions make perfect sense to me, but I've prepared many a chicken this way so I have a lot of experience. Search for instructional to see how to do it. The instructions will make a lot more sense then. I can't wait to try this recipe--it sounds fantastic!
countrygoddess1
Champlain Valley, VT
11/14/2016
To the lady who can't understand the instructions: You are basically removing the whole spine of the turkey so you can flip it over and spread it out mostly flat. When you flip it over, the breast will be sticking up so it has to be flattened too. You break the breastbone so you can completely flatten the turkey and cook it flat in the pan.
Anonymous
Plattsburgh, NY
11/13/2016
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