I should start with a confession: Most of the year, my diet consists heavily of Lean Cuisine frozen dinners and Nutri Grain bars. I’m a busy person who can’t usually be bothered with cooking. (Please don’t tell my primary care provider.)

But on one day each year, I put what culinary skills I have to the test, as my husband and I host 20-plus relatives and loved ones for Thanksgiving in our small house. We might be approaching 30 guests this year.

We’ve been doing it for about 15 years, and I have one massive secret to making the day go smoothly: spatchcocking the turkey.

“Spatchcock” sounds like some kind of unwelcome infection.

But I swear, it’s actually a way to cook your turkey that will get it done quickly and keep it juicy — and it takes only basic skills in the kitchen. Mainly, you need to have the willingness to manhandle raw poultry.

Spatchocking is essentially butterflying your bird, kind of partially butchering it, so that it lies flat in the pan. When all the parts are at an even level — no breast sticking up high — the turkey cooks quickly and evenly. We’re talking less than an hour for a bird to cook through.

Full disclosure: I got this idea from the New York Times. You can find the full recipe at The Times or on former Times food writer Mark Bittman’s blog, though one or the other might be paywalled. There also are plenty of tutorials on YouTube.

Here’s the basics of how to do it.

You’ll need a heavy-duty pair of poultry shears. Regular kitchen shears or knives aren’t usually up to the job. (Ask me how I figured that one out.) This is the only requirement of the recipe. Order them online or at any cooking store.

What you’re about to do next is not for the faint of heart.

Take your thawed turkey, flip it so it’s breast-side down and cut along each side of the backbone and yank that sucker out. If your bird is still a little frozen, this is going to be a giant pain. And even if it’s fully thawed, it’s a little tricky.

Once the backbone is removed, flip the turkey back over and put your hands on the breastbone like you’re going to give it CPR. Push down until you hear and feel the breastbone crack.

Now you can smush down the breast so it’s flatter, and splay out the legs and wings. You’ll need a pretty wide pan to fit it all, but it doesn’t have to be terribly deep. Some people even cut the wings and legs off to have options for how to place the pieces in the pan.

Do whatever you like with the bird in terms of seasonings, butter, oil, whatever. However you want to flavor that bird, go for it.

And that’s it!

The turkey will cook insanely fast, which is a huge help when you’ve got a lineup of side dishes to get into the oven, too. The Times recommends starting at 450 degrees for 20 minutes, then lowering the temperature to 400 or even 350 degrees until it’s done.

As always, use oven-safe thermometers to check the done-ness of the meat, which the USDA recommends to be 165 degrees.

Last year, I cooked two turkeys at the same time, one 13 pounds and the other 17 pounds, and they were done in about 1 hour and 45 minutes.

(That’s the other benefit: Since the turkey is smushed down and not so tall anymore, you can fit two turkeys in a regular-size oven.)

Here are other tips I’ve picked up in all my years of hosting Thanksgiving:

• If you have a ton of guests like I do, go for two smaller birds instead of one large bird. You’ll get a better balance of white meat to dark meat — twice as many turkey legs! And frankly, the smaller birds just taste better.
• Pick where to cut corners. It’s OK not to make everything from scratch. I long ago gave up trying to make homemade gravy — it’s hard and I’m not good at it. But the mashed potatoes — my husband’s specialty — are fully homemade and hand-mashed.
• Make a schedule. I have a spreadsheet with all the dishes listed along with the temperatures and timing for going in the oven or cooking on the stove. I print it out and tape it above the stove. Yes, it sounds crazy. But it keeps everything running on time.
• Folks love to contribute to a big holiday dinner, so ask them to bring desserts. Desserts won’t take your attention away from last-minute cooking, and they usually don’t need to go in the oven.
• It’s OK if you mess up. Your loved ones will still love you — even if you have to bust out frozen pizzas for dinner.