Have you learned how to try to dry brine a turkey yet? Whether you need a fool-proof roast turkey recipe for Christmas or Thanksgiving, dry brining is your key to perfectly moist turkey with crispy, golden brown skin. You only need a few dry brine ingredients for a simple roast turkey recipe that will stun everyone.
Dry brining is the key to an easy, juicy roast turkey
Dry brining is truly a godsend technique if you’re looking for an easy roast turkey recipe. If you’re intimidated by wet brines or don’t want to fuss with a wet brine bag, dry brine is the way to go. It’s a set-and-forget process that works exceptionally well for any sized turkey.
Below, you’ll get a few pointers, like what ingredients you need for the dry brine, how long it takes to dry brine a turkey, and a complete recipe for my best dry brine turkey recipe.
When cooking a turkey, usually, the first point of anxiety comes from the timing of everything. If you’re worried about how long it takes to dry brine the turkey, you do have a pretty flexible window of 12–72 hours. Do not dry brine for less than 24 hours if at all possible! I typically dry brine for 36 to 48 hours.
Once you figure out the timing, the next step is gathering the ingredients for the dry brine. You can get creative, but the basic base is kosher salt (and lots of it!) and ground black pepper. You can riff off the dry brine, depending on your preferences. I add maple sugar to mine. You can also add dry herbs, like dry thyme, rosemary, or sage.
How to dry brine a turkey:
Now that your ingredients are sorted, it’s time to prep the bird! When I say dry brining is EASY, I mean it. It is such a fool-proof technique, and you’ll absolutely love it.
Step 1:
Start with gathering your ingredients. Combine the salt–about 1 teaspoon per pound of turkey–pepper, maple sugar, and any herbs in a bowl. Set them aside.
Step 2:
Remove the bird from the packaging. If there is a plastic hock lock inside the turkey, you can remove it and discard it. Remove the neck and giblets and save them for gravy. Pat the whole bird dry–do not wash it–and place it on the raised rack of a roasting pan.
Step 3:
Right before seasoning the bird, pat it dry completely. Loosen the breast skin with your hands, being careful not to tear it. Carefully pat the salt mixture all over the bird and inside the cavity. Ensure the entire bird is coated in the brine ingredients. Transfer the whole roasting pan–uncovered–to the refrigerator. Refrigerate for 24 to 72 hours.
Note: Ideally, you would leave the bird uncovered in the refrigerator. This allows the air to pull out as much moisture as possible. If your fridge is tight or you’re worried about food coming into contact with the raw meat, you can cover it loosely with plastic wrap. Just leave a few gaps to ensure some air can reach the turkey to pull out as much moisture as possible.
Step 4:
After the bird has brined, remove it from the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Remove the whole rack from the roasting pan and discard any of the excess liquid that dripped into the pan as the bird brined. Return the rack with the turkey to the roasting pan. Truss the legs with butcher’s twine, tuck the wings under the bird, and stuff it with fresh herbs. I use two sprigs of rosemary, two big sprigs of sage, and four or five thyme sprigs. Drizzle the whole bird with a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and use your hands to massage it into the skin. Be sure the bird is well-coated with oil.
Step 5:
Transfer the bird to the preheated oven and then roast for 15 to 20 minutes per pound of turkey. While the golden rule of turkey roasting is 20 pounds of meat, mine usually finishes cooking in 15 minutes per pound. I recommend checking in on the turkey around 45 to 60 minutes before it’s due to finish roasting.
For a 12-pound turkey, it will take 3 to 4 hours to finish roasting at 325ºF.
Step 6:
Rest the turkey. While cutting right into it is tempting, you want to rest the turkey for at least 20 to 30 minutes. Cutting it prematurely causes all the moisture to end up on the platter instead of in the bird! Resting it for an appropriate amount of time ensures that your turkey stays moist and juicy!
How-To: Dry Brine Turkey
Equipment
- Roasting pan with rack
Ingredients
- 12–14 pound turkey (thawed; neck and giblets reserved for gravy)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (per pound of turkey; for a 13-pound turkey, use 13 teaspoons salt or just over 4 tablespoons total)
- 3 tablespoons maple sugar (or light brown sugar)
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 sprigs sage
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 4 sprigs thyme
Instructions
Prepare the dry brine:
- Combine the salt, pepper, and maple sugar in a bowl. Set them aside.
Prepare the turkey:
- Remove the turkey from the packaging. If there is a plastic hock lock inside the turkey, you can remove it and discard it. Remove the neck and giblets and save them for gravy. Pat the whole bird dry–do not wash it–and place it on the raised rack inside a roasting pan.
Dry brine the turkey:
- Right before seasoning the bird, pat it dry completely once more. Loosen the breast skin with your hands, being careful not to tear it. Carefully pat the salt mixture all over the bird and inside the cavity. Ensure the entire bird is coated in the brine ingredients. Transfer the whole roasting pan–uncovered–to the refrigerator. Refrigerate for 24–72 hours.
Roast the turkey:
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
- After the turkey has brined, remove it from the refrigerator.
- Remove the whole rack from the roasting pan and discard any of the excess liquid that dripped into the pan as the bird brined. Return the rack with the turkey to the roasting pan.
- Truss the legs with butcher's twine, tuck the wings under the bird, and stuff it with fresh sage, rosemary, and thyme. Drizzle the whole turkey with 2–3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and use your hands to massage it into the skin. Be sure the bird is well-coated with oil.
- Transfer the bird to the preheated oven and then roast for 2½–3 hours for a 12-pound turkey. See note for additional cooking times.
To serve:
- Rest the turkey, loosely covered with foil, for 20–30 minutes before carving. Enjoy!
Notes
- 8–10 pound turkey: 1 hour 45 mins to 2 hours 15 minutes
- 10–12 pound turkey: 2 hours 15 mins to 2 hours 30 minutes
- 12–14 pound turkey: 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours
- 14–16 pound turkey: 3 hours to 3 hours 30 minutes
- 16–18 pound turkey: 3 hours 30 mins to 4 hours
- 18–20 pound turkey: 4 hours to 4 hours 15 minutes
