This is Julia Child's recipe, as explained in her book with Jacques Pepin, "Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home."
An excellent recipe and reference book crammed with useful information.

The thighs are boned out and stuffed.
The backbone is removed from the bird and the rest of the stuffing is mounded underneath, breast side up.
The turkey is then roasted (or in this case, cooked in the smoker). To serve, the turkey is "reassembled."

(It is, frankly, quite a pain in the a. Takes an additional 45 minutes preparation time over regular stuffed turkey.
But the end result is incredible flavor and a beautiful presentation. Thank you, Julia.)