30lb spatchcock bird - cooking time??

As I've noted in several other places this morning, the 10 min per pound rule seems to be too long. (I tested the recipe on a much smaller bird, and relied on Melissa Clark, via the Gilt hotline, for the rule in the recipe on scaling up.)

Someone with a 30 pound bird reported that it was done in 3 1/4 hours.

The key is to start checking early - in this case I'd start checking at 2 1/2 hours. Results vary widely due to the heating and insulating properties of a particular oven, how many times the oven door is opened, how cold the refrigerator was when the turkey was in it, thus affecting the internal temperature of the bird before it goes into the oven, even after a rest on the counter, etc.

Hope this helps. ;o)

For my 30lb spatchcocked turkey that was resting at room temp smothered in olive oil, salt & pepper (I didn't brine it either, no time), I heated the oven at convection bake 450 degrees, and after warming for 20 mins at 450 I placed the breast with the wings tucked under in my roasting pan with lid on a rack to keep the drippings away. I had the rack resting on 4 large onions halved to support it. The drumsticks and thighs were so huge I put them in a pan o my bbq grill for 2 hours at 350. I cooked the breast in the pan for 30 mins at 450 and then cooked the turkey for another 3 hours at 350. Then I turned on the broiler, took off the roaster pan lid and browned and crisped up the skin under the broiler moving it around to brown all of the skin. This took about 15 minutes which finished of the bird perfectly! I put it on a serving platter and it was absolutely perfect, moist and delicious! I only cooked the thighs and drumsticks on the grill for 2 hours. Happy Thanksgiving!

I am going to cook my 30 lb turkey spatchcocked for 300 mins total including the 30 mins at425 first. I want a meat thermometer for Christmas! So my total time after the 30 mins at 425 should be another 270 minutes. Well last year it only took about 3 hours. I just watch, and check it and know when it's done and broil the skin for the last for minutes to get it crispy. I've been cooking for 30 years and never pay attention to exact recipes or times. Good luck! I will respond back to this message with the exact timing. I will start with a room temp spatchcocked bird.

While I've never roasted a bird that large, I know that a 20 lb bird would be 425 degrees for 30 minutes and then 350 or 375 for around 2.5 hours. Use a meat thermometer to ensure that the thigh meat reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees, as recommended by the USDA