Spatchcocking/Thanksgiving Minimalism

Quick post today: for Thanksgiving this year, I'm forgoing the Rockwellian presentation of a whole bird. Instead, I'm going to remove the turkey's spine before roasting and lay it flat on the roasting pan. This technique is called spatchcocking. 

I like it for several reasons. First, it reduces roasting time because there's surface area exposed to the heat of the oven. It also makes for a more evenly cooked bird for the same reason it speeds up cooking: the bird is more uniformly heated. 

Although removing the spine is an extra step, the overall time and heartache saved is well worth the effort.  There's a slight tradeoff on the aesthetic, but again, I think it is worth it, especially since I'll have three sous chefs under age 10. 

Which brings me to minimalism. This year, I'm very happily leaning on our guests to bring stuff. I'm just making turkey, gravy, and cranberry sauce. My guests are excited to participate, and it means less work for me. :) 

I love cooking and the efforts going into prep are part of the anticipation and fun. But, at least in this phase of life, I'm trying a less-is-more approach that allows for a bit more time to participate in making decorations with my kids. It makes clean up easier and allows me to focus on doing a bit better with the little bit of cooking I am doing. Minimalism on a maximalist holiday, including on my approach to the bird, has its benefits.