Only chefs or chef wannabes know what spatchcock means. It would be even rarer for you to have heard the word. It will not come up in casual conversation at Thanksgiving or Christmas when turkey is traditionally served.
Spatchcock can be a noun or a verb and refers to splitting a fowl (bird) to prepare it for grilling. When used as a noun, it refers to the fowl after it has been split, and as a verb, the act of spatchcock, as in “to spatchcock.”
Spatchcock has a giveaway in the latter half, with “cock” referring to a rooster. To “spatch” something means to split it to prepare it for cooking, often called “butterflying” an item. Obviously, things like steak, rabbit, or fish could be spatched.
“He decided to spatchcock the turkey for faster, even roasting.”
“The show was cancelled because the chef demonstrated a little too grotesquely how to spatchcock a turkey on live television.”
“A spatchcocked bird cooks beautifully on the grill with crispy skin all over if you season it just right.”
Tofurky is a word I would put in a slang category when I hear it because I know it must refer to a fake turkey made from tofu. But I was wrong. Tofurky is a brand name for a product invented by Seth Tibbott of Turtle Island Foods back in 1995. The goal was to create a vegetarian alternative to turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Tofurky-branded product is still made today in Hood River, Oregon. Today, the company is owned by Moringa.Ho
“We served Tofurky at our Thanksgiving Day dinner.”
“The kids were surprised to learn that their mother had packed Tofurky sandwiches in their lunch.”
“If you are looking for a meat substitute for Christmas dinner, you might see if you can find a Tofurky.”
Used together, these make less sense to me, but let’s give it a try.
“I spatchcocked the Tofurky to help it cook evenly on the grill.”
“For a comical twist on tradition, he spatchcocked a Tofurky instead of roasting a bird.”
“Even though a Tofurky is not a real bird, he watched a video on how to spatchcock one for their vegan holiday feast.”
