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This was my first time dry-brining a turkey and I don’t think I’ll ever look back. It’s so much easier than a traditional wet brine and quite possibly even more delicious. Here’s how to make my Dry-Brine Thanksgiving Turkey!
As we all know, Thanksgiving turkey can often get a bad rep. Flavorless, overcooked, dry…it can really go bad pretty quickly. Enter: dry-brining! This technique not only helps inject the turkey with flavor, but also helps it to stay super moist.
To do it, you’ll rub a salt and dry spice mixture all over the turkey, then let it sit for 24 to 48 hours in the fridge. As it rests, the salt helps to draw out the meat’s juices, then the salt dissolves into the juices, creating a brine without adding any liquid. From there, the brine soaks into the meat resulting into a flavorful, moist turkey.
There’s a few important things to keep in mind as you prep your bird. If you buy a frozen turkey, make sure you give it plenty of time to defrost. I’d allocate 3 to 4 days for your turkey to thaw in the fridge, depending on the size. Once your turkey is thawed, let it dry brine for 1 to 2 days before Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving Day, remove it from the fridge for 1 to 2 hours prior to roasting so that it roasts more evenly and has a better chance at developing perfectly crispy skin, which everyone loves.
ingredients:
- Kosher Salt
- Fresh Sage
- Fresh Rosemary
- Fresh Thyme
- Garlic Cloves
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Light Brown Sugar
- Cayenne Pepper
- Lemon Zest
- Turkey
- Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
- Unsalted Butter
step-by-step:
step one: make the dry rub
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the salt, brown sugar, sage, rosemary, thyme, garlic, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and lemon zest.
step two: prep the turkey
Pat the turkey dry with paper towels. Arrange a roasting rack on a large sheet pan and place the turkey on top of the rack.
step three: dry brine the turkey
Rub the dry brine all over the turkey, especially on the breasts. Refrigerate, uncovered, for 24 to 48 hours.
step four: get ready to roast
Remove the turkey from the fridge to let stand for 1 hour at room temperature before roasting. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425°F.
step five: butter the turkey
Working from the neck end of the turkey, gently loosen the skin from breasts and rub the softened butter under skin of the bird. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine.
Fill a roasting pan with the broth and place the turkey and rack in the roasting pan. Transfer to the oven and roast until the skin starts to brown, about 20 minutes.
step six: roast the turkey
Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F and continue roasting, basting the turkey every 20 to 30 minutes with the broth/juices from the turkey.
When the turkey is starting to look golden brown all over, tent with foil. Continue to roast the turkey until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (without touching bone) registers 160°F. It will continue to cook once you remove it from the oven.
step seven: carve and serve
Let the turkey rest for 20 to 30 minutes before carving and reserve any pan juices for my Herby Turkey Gravy.
No! That’s the beauty of a dry brine. It’s way less messy than a wet brine. For a dry-brined turkey, you don’t need to rinse the brine off since it will retain great flavor as it roasts. Instead, simply brush off any excess salt before cooking.
You should account for about 1½ pounds per person, which will be enough to feed a crowd and offer leftovers. If you’re hosting 10 people, you’ll want to buy a turkey that is about 15 pounds.
Follow these tips and and you will have a perfectly cooked Dry-Brined Thanksgiving Turkey that you’ll want to make for years to come! Oh, and don’t forget to pair it with my Herby Turkey Gravy!
looking for more Thanksgiving recipes? try these!
Dry-Brine Thanksgiving Turkey
Ingredients
For the Dry Rub:
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh sage leaves
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest (from 2 small lemons)
For the Turkey:
- 1 (12- to 18-pound) turkey
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, plus more as needed
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the salt, brown sugar, sage, rosemary, thyme, garlic, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and lemon zest.
- Pat the turkey dry with paper towels. Arrange a roasting rack on a large sheet pan and place the turkey on top of the rack.
- Rub the dry brine all over the turkey, especially on the breasts. Refrigerate, uncovered, for 24 to 48 hours.
- Remove the turkey from the fridge to let stand for 1 hour at room temperature before roasting. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Working from the neck end of the turkey, gently loosen the skin from breasts and rub the softened butter under skin of the bird. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine.Fill a roasting pan with the broth and place the turkey and rack in the roasting pan. Transfer to the oven and roast until the skin starts to brown, about 20 minutes.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F and continue roasting, basting the turkey every 20 to 30 minutes with the broth/juices from the turkey.When the turkey is starting to look golden brown all over, tent with foil. Continue to roast the turkey until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (without touching bone) registers 160°F. It will continue to cook once you remove it from the oven.
- Let the turkey rest for 20 to 30 minutes before carving and reserve any pan juices for my Herby Turkey Gravy.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’m going to use your recipe this Thanksgiving. I’ve seen other dry rub recipes where you “rinse off” the dry rub before roasting. You don’t say to do that so I’m guessing leave the salt/herb mixture on the turkey?
Thanks!
Question, if I don’t do butter under skin should I do on top? I’ve made this the past two years and love it but can’t recall what I did. Thanks!!
Can’t do the sugar in the rub- coconut or maple sugar instead…?
I think coconut sugar will make it burn more easily— so I worry about using that one… i haven’t tried maple sugar before!
I’m doing a boneless turkey breast this year. I’m wondering, since it’s smaller, how long would you let it sit in the fridge with the dry brine? I’m thinking 24 hours..
Hi Jennifer- to be super honest, i have never done a boneless turkey. But I do think brining for 24 hours will be great and will definitely help infuse flavor into the turkey!!
Jennifer, I’d love to know how your boneless breast turned out! I’m hosting a large dinner party next week and want to serve this, but I think a boneless breast will yield more meat. I need to serve about 45 people.
If anyone has suggestions for me on how to use this recipe for a large crowd, I’m all ears!
Hi Alex – Thai turkey recipe looks delish, but we’re traveling this year and thinking about getting a smoked turkey to bring along. Any info you can share on greenberg smoked turkeys? I think you said you’d ordered them in the past. Do you still get them? Are they good? Easy to prep? Thanks!!
Greenburg turkeys are amazing!!! i love getting them!
I’m ‘practicing’ this weekend and will likely have a lot of turkey leftover. Any suggestions for the best way to freeze? (sliced? wrapped, then bagged? in juices?)
and how to thaw/ serve? I was just going to place the thawed slices in a roasting pan with some broth and reheat slowly in the oven.
I am throwing a large Griswold Christmas Vacation-themed dinner party at Christmas, and need to serve about 50 people (as long as I can make this without screwing it up!) . Since I’ll need multiple turkeys, I’m hoping to do some in advance. Would love any feedback.
I usually slice, then put in a zip top bag, then freeze! I would jar up the juices separately.
Whole dry brining is there suppose to be a puddle of blood underneath the Turkey?
Hi Alex,
How do you think this would hold up on a Traeger grill (following the same process)? My husband is obsessed with the grill and I think this would be great for Christmas if we could pull it off.
Thank you!
I think it would be AMAZING on the traeger!
This was my first time cooking the family turkey and it turned out PERFECT! It was super flavorful and moist. Such a easy preparation and beautiful golden brown crispy skin. Thanks Alex!
This was AMAZING! I made gravy from the drippings at the end and I didn’t even need to season it because the drippings were so flavorful! My dad and I (the cooks of the family) were shocked at how good the brine was. And the turkey was so moist and delicious! So so good!!!