How to Dry Brine a Turkey
I'm not a huge turkey fan, but a few years ago, I volunteered to make the turkey for my family I made it my mission to figure out how to make it magically delicious. So there were two things that I wanted to address when making my turkey. It had to be moist and packed with my fav flavors.
(2021 Update) About three years ago I started spatchcocking the turkey. This is a far superior way of cooking and with so many other things to prepare you can’t beat the time savings.
My sister suggested that I brine the turkey. While wet brining is a great way to inject flavor and tenderize meat, its a pain in the ass to pull off! Especially for a large turkey. I'm not fooling with that mess, so I figured out how to do a dry brine. You accomplish the same juicy, delicious, tenderness of a wet brine without the hassle. The salt changes the protein structure in the meat, causing it to release moisture. Then turkey reabsorbs the salty liquid, resulting in juicy, tender, and flavorful meat.
For peak flavor I recommend starting the process 24-72 hrs in advance. But if you don't have much time, brine for one day at least! Of course the bigger the piece of meat the more time you want to allow for the process.
What You'll Need
10-13 lbs fresh turkey (make sure it has not already been brined and/or there is no salt added!)
1 lemon
1 orange
2 tablespoons fresh or dried herbs (I used rosemary, thyme, and sage. You can add lavender, oregano, or marjoram, I used them last year. Most grocery stores sell a bunch of poultry herbs in the fresh herb section.)
3 tablespoons coarse salt
3/4 teaspoon coarse black pepper
5 sprigs of fresh herbs
1 teaspoon Sugar (optional)
1 stick of unsalted butter
Tools
Roasting pan (I recommend a non stick pan, it makes clean up so much easier)
meat thermometer
Knife
cutting board
Small bowl
Measuring spoons
Large baking sheet
Notes on Cooking the turkey:
Take note of the total number of pounds on the packaging before discarding the packaging.
Using a thawed turkey is best. You can use a semi thawed turkey, but you really want access to the meat under the skin.
Carve the turkey before you bring it out to the table. Watch this video to learn how to do it.
Save the remaining meat and bones for stock. Don't let any of that delicious meat go to waste. We use the stock for gravy and the stuffing.
Consider making two small turkeys instead of one big turkey. It saves time and there are more yummy pieces for the fam.
Spatchcock the turkey! Here is a tutorial.
Remove the turkey from the package. Remove the giblets inside, save them for stock. Remove any remaining feathers, trim fat, pat dry and set aside. If you are going to spatchcock do this step now.
Place the course salt, pepper, and sugar in a bowl. Zest the lemon and the orange and add to salt mixture. Save them for backing.
Finely chop 2 tablespoons of fresh herbs and add them to the salt mixture. Save the rest for when you roast the turkey.
Mix the rub really well. You don't want any clumps.
Gently, loosen the skin and put the seasoning directly on the meat. Generously season the breast meat. Be careful not to rip the skin. If you do rip it all is not lost. you can use a toothpick to put the pieces back together. Season all sides.
Let the turkey rest in your refrigerator uncovered.
The night before you roast, take a stick of butter out of the fridge so that it will be nice and soft the next morning.
Take the Turkey out several hours before baking so that it can come to room temp.
Spread the butter all over the turkey, but especially under the skin. Stuff the turkey with the remaining fresh herbs and the lemons and orange pieces if you spatchcocked then pace the citrus sliced and herb underneath the Turkey.
Roast until internal temp reaches 165.
Turkeys Over the Years