Dry Brine Turkey Recipe
Here's a bold statement for you: switching to this dry brine turkey recipe is the single best thing you can do to improve your holiday meal. The good news? It's easy to do, mess-free, and requires no special ingredients or equipment.
🔍 Recipe At-A-Glance: Dry Brine Turkey Recipe
- 🕰️ Prep Time: 3 days (but even overnight will work in a pinch!)
- 🦃 Flavor Profile: Savory, herby, and the best turkey you've ever eaten.
- 👩🏻🔬 The Why: Brining is treating poultry with salt before cooking. The brine absorbs into the meat, and the moisture is retained when cooking, making the bird more tender and moist.
- 🧡 Difficulty: So much easier (and way less messy) than a wet turkey brine!
"My family and I decided this was the best turkey I ever roasted. Thank you so much! I will always dry brine my turkeys before roasting from now on!"
- MARIA -
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🧡 Why You'll Love This Recipe
Hiya friend: Ready for the easiest, juiciest turkey ever? Dry brining will change your holiday cooking life.
I have roasted no less than a hundred turkeys in my life, and I gotta tell you that this dry brined turkey is the easiest and juiciest of all the recipes I've tried. Every time I serve it I hear choruses of "this is the best turkey ever!" and what cook doesn't want that?
Here's why you'll love this recipe:
- It's easy and mess-free. Dry brining is basically just mixing up some herbs, salt, and baking powder and sprinkling it on your bird. That's it!
- Dry brining is proven to make tastier turkey. Yup! The Serious Eats Food Lab did a great deep dive and the gist is this: dry brining is the key to a flavorful turkey.
- It's kitchen-tested and family-approved. I've personally made this exact roasted turkey recipe for decades-and so has every member of my family plus hundred of readers!
- Thanksgiving classic: This turkey recipes pairs perfectly with all the classic Thanksgiving favorites like slow-cooker mashed potatoes, cornbread dressing with sausage, cranberry orange sauce, homemade green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie. Oh, and don't forget the homemade turkey gravy!
🦃 The Ingredients You Need
- Turkey: You'll get the best results with a fresh or thawed turkey. But if you are working last-minute, this method will still work on a frozen or partially-defrosted turkey!
- Fresh or dried herbs: Fresh herbs give the best flavor in this dry brine, but they can be hard to source during the holiday season. Dry herbs also do the trick! Sage, rosemary, parsley, or thyme all work well here.
- Kosher salt: It must be kosher salt. Any other kind of salt will make your end turkey too salty.
- Baking powder: Not strictly necessary, but baking powder works to break down the proteins in the skin, helping it get golden brown and crispy. It is what makes your turkey look magazine-worthy!
Make sure to check the recipe card below for the full ingredients list, along with quantities and my expert tips and tricks.
🔁 Variations & Substitutions
- Single day brine: Any brine time is better than no brine time! So if it's Wednesday before Thanksgiving, go ahead and get a dry brine on your bird...and then try to remember to start a little earlier next year.
- Smaller Thanksgivings: Don't need a full turkey? Try my Instant Pot turkey breast or this Thanksgiving dinner for two!
🥣 Dry Brine Turkey Recipe How-To
Step 1: Take either your defrosted frozen turkey or your fresh turkey and remove the giblets (set those aside to make stock-no waste!), and then pat the turkey dry inside and out with paper towels.
Step 2: Mix together the brine recipe below in a small bowl.
Step 3: Sprinkle the mixture all over the turkey-inside the bird, on the breasts, on the legs and wings-everywhere! No need to rub or pat it in.
Step 4: Slide that turkey onto a baking sheet and put it in the fridge uncovered. Twenty four hours will give you good results for smaller birds, but for the best flavor, you want the brine to work its magic for three days.
Step 5: You're ready to roast, fry, or smoke. Proceed with your usual recipe (we've included one below). Just skip any more added salt your recipe may call for. No need to wipe the brine off before roasting.
🙋🏻♀️ Dry Brine Turkey Recipe FAQs
The rule of thumb with any turkey brine is the bigger the bird, the longer the dry brine needs to sit on it. A dry brine of 24-48 hours will do wonders on a turkey breast or smaller turkey (less than 10 pounds). Medium to large turkeys (above 10 pounds) need at least three days of brine time to see good results.
You don't need to rinse the brine off of your turkey before cooking. And in fact, if you have brined long enough, you should notice the majority of the brine has been absorbed into the bird.
I personally prefer putting my turkey brine on a thawed bird, but it works perfectly fine to dry brine a fully frozen or partially frozen turkey, and then let the brining and thawing process happen at the same time.
👩🏻🍳 My Expert Tips & Tricks
- Set a reminder: To help you remember to dry brine your turkey each year, set a reoccurring annual reminder on your phone for the weekend before Thanksgiving.
- No more salt: Dry brining alone won't make your turkey overly salty, because the salt is absorbed nicely into the meat and distributed throughout the bird. Just make sure not to use any added salt if your turkey recipe calls for it.
- When your turkey is done: I like to make sure the turkey is done with three different methods-time (13-15 minutes per pound in a 325°F oven), temperature (internal temperature of the meat is 165°F with an instant-read thermometer) and the leg wiggle. The leg wiggle is the final test to make sure the dark meat is cooked. Take one of the legs solidly in your hand and wiggle-the joint should feel very loose (almost like you could break it off easily). Your turkey will be perfect if it passes all three tests!
- Turkey for a crowd: If cooking for a large crowd, it's better to dry brine and roast two smaller turkeys than one huge turkey. You'll get better flavor distribution and more juicy meat.
- Use leftovers wisely: My absolute favorite sandwich of all time is this leftover turkey and cranberry orange sauce on an easy yeast roll. It's the best of Thanksgiving leftovers! But when you get bored of that, try using this turkey in turkey and wild rice soup, leftover turkey pot pie, or this copycat Olive Garden gnocchi soup.
🍁 More Great Thanksgiving Recipes:
If you tried this dry brine turkey recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments!
📖 Recipe
Dry Brine Turkey
Ingredients
For the Dry Brine:
- 15 pound defrosted or fresh turkey see notes for adjustments for different sizes
- 3 tablespoons coarse kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons dried herbs OR ¼ cup fresh minced herbs see notes for suggestions
For Roasting the Turkey
- 3 large carrots roughly chopped, divided
- 3 large stalks celery roughly chopped, divided
- 1 onion roughly chopped
- 8 cloves garlic peeled, divided
- 3 large sprigs each fresh sage, rosemary, and thyme
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 large apple sliced into wedges
- 1 large orange sliced into wedges
- ½ cup unsalted butter cut into pats (1 stick)
- 5 cups chicken stock or bone broth divided
For Simple Turkey Gravy
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
To Dry Brine the Turkey (2-3 Days in Advance of Cooking)
- Remove the giblets from the turkey and set aside for stock or gravy. Pat turkey dry with paper towels, inside and out. Place turkey on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Mix together the salt, baking powder, and herbs to make the brine.
- Sprinkle the brine all over the inside and outside of the turkey.
- Refrigerate for 24-72 hours, uncovered.
To Roast the Turkey
- Preheat oven to 325°F. In the bottom of a large roasting pan, place ⅔ of the carrots, ⅔ of the celery, all of the onion, 6 of the garlic cloves, a sprig each of sage, rosemary, and thyme, and the bay leaves. Place the roasting rack on top.
- Place the turkey on the roasting rack, breast side up. In the cavity of the turkey, place the remaining carrots, celery, garlic, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Add in the apple and orange slices. You'll really have to stuff it all in there with some force. You can choose to bind the legs closed with kitchen twine if that'll keep it all in.
- Place the butter pats either between the skin and breast of the turkey (this might be difficult with a dry brined turkey) or on top of the turkey.
- Place the turkey in the oven and roast for 45 minutes. Pour half the chicken broth over the turkey, and then roast for an additional 45 minutes. Pour the remaining chicken broth over the turkey, and roast an additional 45 minutes.
- Continue roasting, basting with juices regularly, and tenting with foil if the turkey begins to brown. Roast until the turkey reaches ~160°F on an instant-read thermometer in the fleshy part of the thighs.
- Remove from oven, tent with foil, and let rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.
To Make Easy Turkey Gravy
- While the turkey rests, strain the drippings from the roasting pan into either a large glass measuring cup or a fat separator. Let sit for a few minutes for the fat to separate from the broth. Measure out 3 cups of the broth from the drippings.
- In a medium-size saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat until melted. Whisk in the flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until just slightly browned-about 3 minutes.
- Whisk in the broth, and cook until smooth and thickened, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- If the gravy doesn't thicken properly, whisk together 2 teaspoons arrowroot or cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water, and then add the slurry to the mixture. Heat until it reaches the desired thickness.
- If gravy gets too thick before serving, whisk in additional broth from the turkey drippings until you get the desired thickness.
Video
Notes
- Fresh herbs will get you the best flavor, but dried or a combination of the two work well. I like to use equal parts sage, thyme, and rosemary.
- This recipe works as-is for various size turkeys, except the brine recipe. If using a smaller or larger turkey, use this ratio per 5 pounds of turkey: 1 tablespoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 2 teaspoons dried herbs OR 2 tablespoons fresh minced herbs.
- Dry brining works best on a thawed or fresh turkey, but you can also do it on a frozen or partially-defrosted turkey with good results.
Nutrition
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Hi Cassie! I realize this post is a year old, but I'm hoping you'll see this. I wondered if you still rub butter on the outside of the bird, or under the skin....or both? I can't wait to try this! I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! <3
I just put pats right on the outside of the bird. You can watch me do it in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8wwFVV8Vwk
First time for the dry brining, Just salted mine and set it in the fridge, I'm just apprehensive about the salt. I don't want to serve a too salty turkey, which I have had from wet brining, probably from over soaking.. Wouldn't a bit of a rinse be advisable first?
I've never had a problem with the turkey being too salty (just make sure to leave salt out of whatever roasting recipe you use), but if you're worried about it, you can always wipe it off with a (clean and dry) kitchen towel, and then add more salt later.
What are the cooking time on this recipe. Last year I dry brined the turkey for the first time and I did not use the baking powder. But I would love to try to. Are the times and temperature the same as 400 degrees for 30 minutes in the oven breast side down. Then flip over and turn oven down to 325 degrees until the though temperature is 165? Just curious cause this recipe was slightly different. Thank you got your time
I usually just do 300° for about 10-12 minutes per pound (or until the temperature reaches about 160° and the leg joint is wiggly). I prefer the low and slow method!
Maybe a dumb question....can you dry brine a defrosted frozen butterball turkey if it says that it has an 8% salt water solution in it?
Can you dry brine in a cooler instead of the refrigerator.
I made this for Christmas and it was PHENOMENAL! Thanks!
The girls at my work were talking about brining with liquid and I mentioned your blog suggested to dry brine. They couldn't seem to find it on your blog so I asked Craig and he told me to google it. I have printed it out and will give it to the girls tomorrow.
Thanks, Cassie and Merry Christmas!
Why is it dangerous to stuff your turkey?
Thank you
Because the raw turkey juices soak into the stuffing, and then you have to cook the stuffing to 165°. Most folks just measure the turkey meat when testing for doneness, which will reach 165° way before the stuffing will. So you either undercook the stuffing and risk food borne illness or overcook the turkey to get a safe stuffing.
Not necessarily. What if you use a pre-cooked stuffing? I use a sausage stuffing that is completely pre-cooked and make both stuffing and dressing using the same recipe. As the sausage heats up, it releases fat and and th onions and chestnuts release juice. Result: the turkey bastes from the inside. And, since all the ingredients are already cooked, the problem with getting both the stuffing and the bird to the right temperature is minimized.
I grill my birds in a Weber kettle, btw, and check their demo regularly.
I saw this post the week before Thanksgiving and immediately knew I was going to try it this year. I following your instructions for dry brining our 14 pound turkey and it was delicious! So simple and it added so much flavor and held moisture. My family and I decided it was the best turkey I ever roasted and the stock and then soup I made from the leftovers was amazing due to the brining flavors that were retained by the bird. Thank you so much! I will always dry brine my turkeys before roasting from now on!!
Hey, FYI I had my doubts this would work for me because I started less than 24 hours before I was going to roast my turkey. It might not have been ideal, but it was delicious. And I used the mashed sweet potato recipe, too! Thank you so much!
I was quite busy last couple of weeks and didn't get enough time to browse for Thanksgiving recipes. SO now I woke up at midnight and searching for receipes (phew). However, may be I got the right one. It looks so delicious in the pics. Many thanks Cassie for the recipe and pics. Happy Thanksgiving 🙂
Hi Cassie, I am a very novice Turkey cooker, just wondering if i have defrosted my turkey and am then leaving it in the fridge for another three days with the brine - will it be ok, it won't be spoiled will it. I alway thought you had to use defrosted meat straight away. Very keen to give this a go for christmas and have ordered my turkey from the farmers market but it will be a frozen one. Can you please advise thanks Anthea
It'll be just fine!
hello 😀
You have some oranges, apples, garlic.. in the bird... What all have you put in there? And at what step should I do that?
Thanks
Hi Joselyn: I link to the recipe for roasting the bird right before the last photo. It isn't my recipe, so I didn't feel comfortable reposting it in full, but it's a great recipe to follow!
Great idea! I'm Gonna use it! Do you still use a turkey oven bag when roasting? When would you inject. ...right before cooking? Does dry brining affect cooking time? Thanks a million!
Nope, I don't use an oven bag and I don't inject it while roasting. I let mine roast uncovered, and just baste a few times. 🙂
Can/did you do this with a regular salt injected turkey? I want to try a dry brine this year, but all I could find at the store were salt injected turkeys. Now I'm reading all these sites that say I shouldn't because my turkey will be too salty. Any advice?
You know, I've never done it with a pre-injected turkey, but I would say that if you back off the salt a little bit (maybe do two teaspoons per five pounds of turkey), and then brush off some of the brine before baking, you should be good.
iiinteresting! Love this idea (so much easier than a wet brine!) even though, I'm gonna be honest, the idea of the uncovered poultry in the fridge bothers me a little bit -- partially because I'm always a little paranoid of flavors cross-mixing (for instance, my husband's leftover Korean takeout in the fridge)…would it be okay to at least cover it with foil or something, you think?
Keeping the bird exposed to air actually helps with the moisture retention process! The skin starts to seal some, and that helps keep all the yummy juices inside the bird. But I totally understand your fear! We're lucky to have a beer fridge that we just clear off the top shelf to do our brining in, but if you do have other strong flavored food in the fridge, you could do a lose covering of foil—I'm not sure it'll keep all the other flavors out, but it should be enough to where you don't have Korean takeout flavored turkey on your table. 🙂
We smoke our turkey every year, for as long as I can remember. And my grandpa always got smoker salt from the local locker. Then we shoot up the bird with a salt water and seasoning blend using a syringe. So flavorful!
Happy Thanksgiving!! 🙂
Mind. Blown!!!!! I can't wait to try this!
This looks amazing, I'm very impressed with how crispy and drool worthy the skin looks. In my family people always walk by my Uncle as he's carving and try to steal some skin before dinner!
Silly question though....I have always had stuffing that was made in the bird. So how do you make it otherwise? Do you have a recipe you can share?
Thanks!
You can just cook the stuffing in a regular casserole dish (I believe technically, then it is called "dressing"). And if your family is particularly interested in having a stuffed turkey on the table, then you can spoon it into the turkey.
This is a really great cornbread dressing recipe (but it isn't our "normal" dressing—I don't have that one up!).
I always cook my stuffing in my crock pot. I drizzle a little of the drippings before making gravy. It is always moist and saves space in the oven for other things! Low for 2 hours or so.
Cheers,
Lana
Thanks so much for sharing this! I definitely want to try this and introduce my dad to the wonders of brining. Can I ask, why baking powder? I have not seen that in some other recipes, so I'm curious!
Baking powder (and some butter!) is the best way to get a super crispy and beautiful skin! It really has nothing to do with the brine itself, but it sure does make for a delicious and pretty bird. 🙂
Butter? The recipe doesn’t mention butter?
You can just put pats right on the outside of the bird. You can watch Cassie do it in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8wwFVV8Vwk