Dry Brined Turkey
Dry brined turkey is my favorite way to prepare a Thanksgiving turkey! Tired of the mess of brining your holiday bird? Try this dry brined turkey recipe for delicious, moist results!
Dry Brined Turkey: You’ll Never Go Back!
After years of soaking our turkey overnight in a brine solution, I finally got wise and tried a new method. Dry brining is basically rubbing your bird with kosher salt and letting it rest in the fridge for 3 days. A couple massages, a flip upside down for the last day and a night uncovered is all that’s needed. Seriously, you’ll love this easy as pie preparation. You’ll just need to pick up and have your turkey thawed at least 3 days prior to roasting it.
Tips for Dry Brining Turkey
I didn’t realize the meat market was closed on Monday last year, so I didn’t get the full 3 days of dry brining. This year, I’m better prepared. The turkey was still a show stopper. Crispy skin and moist, lightly salted meat. I actually roasted a 22-pound bird and half was eaten by the end of the day. It is amazing what two twenty-something sons can pack away.
- The process is a piece of cake compared to filling a huge bag with a brine of water, salt, sugar and spices, lifting a slippery turkey into its bath and placing it in a cooler. Then if you happen to have a paranoid husband who is sure that raccoons will break into our cooler set on the patio overnight, you will also need to rig it so it is critter proof.
- The main point is to allot enough time for the osmosis to take place. Your turkey should be defrosted 3 days prior to roasting.
- Use kosher salt and pick your favorite herbs for turkey. Sage, rosemary, bay, poultry seasoning, and thyme come to mind. You can just use 2 or 3.
- Whiz them together in a food processor so they’re well interspersed with the salt.
- Generously cover your dried turkey (pat the skin dry with paper towels) with the salt mixture place in a large food safe plastic bag.
- Rub the turkey each day, and flip on the 3rd day.
- Make sure you wash your hands frequently when dealing with raw turkey. Poultry is known for harboring bacteria like salmonella.
- Bring to room temperature for about an hour before roasting. Baste with butter, then roast until the internal temperature reads 165 degrees both in the breast and inner thigh.
I’m exhausted just thinking of our previous exploits. If you haven’t heard of using a dry brine for turkey, I think you’ll be delighted with the results if you give it a shot.
P.S. I have a delicious Holiday Honey Brined Turkey Recipe if you’d like to experiment with wet brining.
To make your dry brined turkey, you might like:
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Dry-Brined Turkey
This winning recipe from the L.A. Times will make for a juicy and crisp turkey without the mess of traditional brining.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 12
- Category: Entree, Turkey, Holiday
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 16 pound turkey, defrosted, giblets removed (just adjust salt if using a different weight turkey)
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt (1 tablespoon for each 5 pounds of turkey)
- Herbs, optional (I used rosemary, thyme and bay leaves)
- 4-8 tablespoons melted butter, to baste
Instructions
- Rinse and dry turkey. In a food processor, process salt plus about a tablespoon of any herbs you’d like to use (rosemary, thyme, bay).
- Lightly salt the inside of the turkey, then sprinkle the breast side with a bit more than a tablespoon of the herbed salt, and each side with a bit less than a tablespoon of salt. Place the turkey in an oven bag and remove the air before closing it with a twist tie. Place on rimmed baking sheet.
- Refrigerate for 3 days, starting breast side up, rubbing the skin through the bag once a day. Flip on day 3, then remove from bag to let skin dry 8 hours before roasting.
- Let sit at room temperature for one hour before roasting. Place on rack in roasting pan.
- Preheat oven to 425º, brush with melted butter and roast for 30 minutes. Decrease oven temperature to 325º, cover top with foil if browning too fast and cook till turkey reaches desired temperature, basting as needed. May add some wine and chicken broth to bottom of roaster as needed.
Cook time varies depending on size of turkey.
Notes
Use your dry brined turkey leftovers to make these delicious recipes:
We have turkey for Christmas and this is a fabulous idea, I am going to try it!
wow…I am drooling! Did you make the stuffing too?
I’ve always been hesitant to brine a turkey for the reasons you indicated, so much work, but this method looks truly easy, all you need is some good space in the fridge! Your bird looks incredible, the skin is beautifully crispy. I’m tempted to try this method with a chicken since a turkey is way too large for just the two of us. I do have one concern though, leaving the bird st room temperature for an hour.
Dear Lizzy, what a wonderful idea. Brining is a delicious method, but it is certainty a lot of work and takes up a lot of precious room. This dry brine solution sounds like a must try! xo, Catherine
Oh I start feeling sorry that we don’t have Thanksgiving! I would love such turkey!
Wow! What a terrific way to brine turkey! My husband is actually the Thanksgiving turkey cooker in our house. I’m going to suggest this method to him. He is also the paranoid type who would entomb the turkey to safeguard it from critters. I am also wondering if you could do this on a smaller scale with chicken. It might be worth a try.
I never heard of dry brining but so cool! Will keep that in mind for sure. It looks gorgeous, especially the skin. Wow half of it gone in a day!
A friend of mine started doing this a couple years ago, she swears by it, good to know you like it too! Love that first pic:@)
Wow. This might just be the sexiest turkey I’ve ever seen! I seriously butchered our bird last year and we suffered through a very, very dry turkey–I cannot WAIT to try this method!
This turkey looks fabulous. I never thought about dry brining. Love it. Thanks for sharing the idea.
Velva
You wowed me this time Liz. Although Thanksgiving is not in our tradition but we do not mind eating the turkey :). I was just thinking of how messy brining is, I’ve never heard of dry one before. This deserves two thumbs up. Sharing on FB right away.
YES-this is totally the method I would use!
I’ve always brined my turkey, but never a dry brine! This is definitely a method that is much easier. Thank you!
I love the crispy skin, Liz! I’m not a fan the traditional turkey, but this looks so good. xoxo
That is one gorgeous looking turkey Liz! I have never dry brined…but it looks lit it gives a perfect looking turkey. Love the knife set too. 🙂
I will definitely try this method for Thanksgiving! I am looking forward to this!!!!
That is one gorgeous bird! And aren’t those self sharpening knives just the best!?!?
Lizzy,
My side of the family and I aren’t fans of turkey but my hubby and his side of the family love, I mean really LOVE turkey. I bet they would love this dry brining method. Pinned, of course.
Annamaria
Liz, just wanted to make sure before cooking the turkey, you do not rinse the turkey after the 3 days of brining right?
That’s right, you do not rinse. There should be no visible salt crystals and the skin should be moist, but not wet. Hope you enjoy!!!
Liz, help I’ve just realized that my turkey is pre-basted, it is honeysuckle, I’ve brined it yesterday to make it on Friday. Any suggestions?
By pre-basted, do you think it means it was already brined? If so, dry brining could make it really salty. I’d rinse the salt off the skin—if you were planning to dry brine for 3 days, I think you’ll be OK with only one day of brining. Fingers crossed it’s not too salty. If you’re really worried, you could soak it in plain water for an hour or two and by reverse osmosis, some of the salt can be pulled out into the water. Good luck, my friend!!!
I sure would be proud to serve this turkey!
Hello, quick question… do you salt on top of the skin, or put the salt under the skin? Or both?
Many thanks,
Leslie
Hi, Leslie,
All the salt goes on top of the skin. I hope you love this method as much as we do!
Sounds super easy! That’s right up my alley! Sharing On Fb & Pinned. Thank you for sharing on Merry Monday! Hope to see ya next week!
Kim
This is one gorgeous turkey Liz!
I’m months away from turning 40 so it’s about time I learn how to cook a turkey. I’ve heard good things about brining. Pinned.
I made this recipe for thanksgiving and it was the best ever! It is my new go to turkey recipe! Wet brining a turkey has never yielded results this good. Thank you!
I totally agree! I did a wet brine for this years turkey for a change of pace, but it wasn’t nearly as good! Thanks for taking the time to give some feedback 🙂
My teenage son requested turkey and I found your recipe! It was AMAZING! It was so moist and delicious!
★★★★★