Genius Recipes's Notes:
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One 12- to 16-pound turkey (frozen is fine)
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Kosher salt
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Herbs and/or spices to flavor the salt (optional -- see suggestions in step 1)
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Melted butter for basting (optional)
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Wash the turkey inside and out, pat it dry and weigh it. Measure 1 tablespoon of salt -- we used Diamond Crystal -- into a bowl for every 5 pounds the turkey weighs (for a 15-pound turkey, you'd have 3 tablespoons). You can flavor the salt with herbs and spices if you like -- try smoked paprika and orange zest, bay leaf and thyme, or rosemary and lemon zest. Grind together with the salt in a spice grinder, small food processor, or mortar and pestle.
Ask the hotline about this step!Sprinkle the inside of the turkey lightly with salt. Place the turkey on its back and salt the breasts, concentrating the salt in the center, where the meat is thickest. You'll probably use a little more than a tablespoon.
Ask the hotline about this step!Turn the turkey on one side and sprinkle the entire side with salt, concentrating on the thigh. You should use a little less than a tablespoon. Flip the turkey over and do the same with the opposite side.
Ask the hotline about this step!Place the turkey in a 2 1/2-gallon sealable plastic bag, press out the air and seal tightly. (If you can't find a resealable bag this big, you can use a turkey oven bag, but be prepared for it to leak.) Place the turkey breast-side up in the refrigerator. Chill for 3 days, turning it onto its breast for the last day. Rub the salt around once a day if you remember.
Ask the hotline about this step!Remove the turkey from the bag. There should be no salt visible on the surface and the skin should be moist but not wet. Place the turkey breast-side up on a plate and refrigerate uncovered for at least 8 hours.
Ask the hotline about this step!On the day it is to be cooked, remove the turkey from the refrigerator and leave it at room temperature at least 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Ask the hotline about this step!Pat it dry one last time and baste with melted butter, if using. Place the turkey breast-side down on a roasting rack in a roasting pan; put it in the oven. After 30 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and carefully turn the turkey over so the breast is facing up (it's easiest to do this by hand, using kitchen towels or oven mitts).
Ask the hotline about this step!Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees, return the turkey to the oven and roast until a thermometer inserted in the deepest part of the thigh, but not touching the bone, reads 165 degrees, about 2 3/4 hours total roasting.
Ask the hotline about this step!Remove the turkey from the oven, transfer it to a warm platter or carving board; tent loosely with foil. Let stand at least 30 minutes to let the juices redistribute through the meat. Carve and serve.
Ask the hotline about this step!This turkey is amazing!! ( I seasoned the kosher salt with the poultry seasoning that Williams-Sonoma sells.) I didn't salt the stuffing and it was perfect. The gravy and the soup that followed were all equally wonderful. Thanks for sharing!!!
Positvely the best turkey I've ever prepared, served and eaten - got rave reviews! Thank you - don't think I can ever cook a turkey any other way. Bought another turkey (while they were on sale) to have during the Christmas week and can't wait to do this again. Used 1 1/2 bay leaves and 1 tsp + of dried thyme, both crushed, with 2 Tbsp + 1 1/2 tsp course salt for about 12 lb turkey and stuffed chopped apples and onions in the carcass during the cooking - which added some subtle flavor to the gravy. The turkey soup I made later on was really super and the turkey broth I made also tasted yummy - that's in the freezer with some of the dark meat to be used in quick turkey soup on some cold day sure the coming soon. Next time I'll try the rosemary and lemon zest combo. Thank you for turning an average homecook into a stupendous one for my family!
Hi
Could you give me an estimate of how many teaspoons or tablespoons of the suggested spices to add to add along with the salt.
Hi hothead -- check out Russ Parsons' complete recipes for those 3 herb & spice salts here: http://www.latimes.com/features/food/thanksgiving/la-fo-calcook18-2009nov18,0,3107976.story
Tried this and it turned out fantastic. Truly the juciest turkey I've ever eaten. Glad I tok a chance on this one!
Far and away the best Turkey I have ever made! Moist, tender and delicious. Mine roasted much faster than I anticipated as well, but not a problem.
Far and away the best turkey I've ever made (or eaten). I followed the instructions exactly using a 15 lb Diestel Turkey, Italian course herb sea salt, and lemon zest. Flavorful, juicy, and oh so pretty!
Fantastic! I cooked mine at 325 on a Big Green Egg using a drip pan below the grate filled with stock, two onions, a celery stalk and a carrot. I slathered an oil slurry of sage and thyme under and over the skin. The drip pan produced an unbelievably tasty base for gravy, and the meat was incredibly moist. Hands down the best turkey I have ever eaten let alone made. Thanks so much for the recipe.
Best turkey I've ever made. I didn't have 3 days - just 1 1/2, and it was still amazing.
My dry brined turkey was a huge success.
It cooked quicker than expected though.
I had a 16 pound bird and it cooked in
3 hours. I had calculated 4 hours.
Does dry brining decrease the cook time?
Amazing!! The turkey was perfect - delicious, golden brown and easy to do. Thanks for a great recipe.
We will never wet brine again! Been brining for years and took awhile to figure out how to crisp up the skin...but this alleviated that concern! I did add sage to my salt and loved how easy it was to see where the salt was absorbed--the sage residue was there and I could concentrate on rinsing well in those spots! Basted with butter, every 30 minutes, added a little low sodium boxed chic broth to the pan because there weren't a lot of drippings at first, and really wanted a nice gravy. did not add any salt to the gravy... We always stuff our turkey...because that's the way we do it. It did not take as long as they said but it was completely cooked after resting...very, very moist.
Did start with a fresh turkey as always.
Am I the only one who did not achieve a roaring success with this recipe?
made this yesterday for Thanksgiving ... I'll never wet brine a bird again ! It came out perfectly ... juicy all around. Thanks !
Well, I liked the simplicity of this so I tried it. It turned out great and the breast meat was delicious and moist. This is definitely going to be my go-to recipe for every Thanksgiving. A+++
This was the most wonderful turkey I have ever eaten! Our guests were shocked and then impressed. It looked beautiful, was juicy, and cooked in about 2 1/2 hours for a 20 pound unstuffed bird. Magnificent!
We used a fresh (never frozen) bird, dried it off, rubbed it in butter and pepper and put some herbs under the skin. Took it out it the morning to get it down to room temp all the way through - I think this helped the cook time a lot. We took the recipe's advice and started it breast-down for 20 minutes at 450, then flipped it and kept it at 450 for another 20 minutes, then tented it with foil and turned it down to 350, basting lightly with the pan juices.
Amazing, just amazing. We totally overcooked our turkey because my husband insisted on stuffing it, and the meat was still moist and delicious. I also used the carcass to make stock and it isn't salty at all--even after concentrating it. Really wonderful concept.
I followed directions except didn't baste the turkey with butter. It was delicious, moist but it didn't look as if it were cooked. I trusted my thermometer more than my eye sight (though I tried two different thermometers) as it looked raw. Other than not using the butter, I've no idea why it didn't look good.
Just ate the bird, everyone loved it. Followed the directions to the tee, except I put herbs under the skin and leek, carrot, celery and onion under the bird. Delish and definitely will do it again.... and just maybe for every bird ever in my future. A terrific easy recipe. Just salt, time and patience. Very forgiving.
i have a 27 lb turkey brined and chilling in a cooler with ice on the porch. now how do i air dry it? it won't go in the fridge. and what about rinsing? not? and do i stay with the roasting 20 min a pound rule? it's not going to be stuffed.
Kcc, if you have room to keep some ice in the cooler and also set the turkey in, patted dry and uncovered, go for it. If not, it's okay to skip this drying stage -- it will still be good (Russ Parsons says so). Just pat it dry well with paper towels and leave it out uncovered as it comes back down to room temperature for the hour before roasting. As for timing, you kick start it at higher heat for the first 30 minutes, so it will probably roast in just under the time that the USDA recommends for a bird your size (about 5 1/2 hours). Just be sure to start checking the internal temperature in the fleshy part of the thigh at around 4 hours to gauge its progress and pull it out when it hits 165, covering any parts of the skin that seem like they're browning too fast with foil.
If I start this now do you still think it will be good - 24 hours vs. 3 days? A lot of brines say 24 hours so I think it will be ok?
Sure, go for it! Russ Parsons answered this (among other questions from readers) here in 2009: http://articles.latimes.com/2009/nov/18/food/la-fow-turkeyfaq18-2009nov18 Sounds like the shortened time won't have quite the same effect so you'll just have to watch the bird more closely to make sure it doesn't overcook.
Thank you everyone. There is about a cup in the bag so it sounds like I'm on schedule!
You are good to go. There should be about a cup of blood in the bag. Continue as scheduled
Help - new to the dry-brine method! I started dry brining Monday night. As of Wednesday morning, there is some watery/bloody liquid in the bag. Is this okay at this stage or should this have been reabsorbed by now? I was planning on taking it out of the bag late tonight and letting it air dry in the fridge overnight but am concerned about the liquid. Do I need a new turkey?
Hi Sonkie -- don't worry, this is normal! The salt first pulls some moisture out of the turkey, then draws it back in. If you used a frozen bird or didn't pat it dry before starting, it'll be even a little wetter. Tonight, just pull it out of the bag, rinse it if you want, and pat it dry well (inside and out) with paper towels for its final drying stage in the fridge.
Would this work for a deep fried turkey?
I've never tried it but I don't see why not! I would think you'd want to give the skin plenty of time to dry uncovered in the fridge, so it gets nice and crackly.
Hi, I just found your site and think this recipe sounds awesome! My question is this: I normally slow cook my turkey overnight so my oven is available on Thanksgiving for all the other stuff I make. Its now Tuesday so I'll have to follow the quick-brine method but can I still put it in the oven to slow cook @ about 11p.m. Weds. night?
If you normally slow-cook your turkey, there's nothing about this technique that will hurt that. Let us know how you like it!
Just delivered the first two birds to the PreK for first round of school parties. OMG, so good, this is exactly what you want a turkey to be, its turkey. I have brined over the years and it works and is really good but this is better, no doubt in my mind about it. Two more turkeys to go this afternoon to Kgarten, and my two birds for Thanksgiving are dry brining now. This recipe alone is worth $9.99 and I would still splurge for the pinot, it the holidays after all.
This is great news! I'm so glad you liked the results. Follow-up question -- where the heck did you store 6 brining turkeys?
I have an extra fridge in the garage. I put each in a bag then stacked them, two to a container in one of these http://tinyurl.com/7x55go7 I still had room for all the apples and cabbage that were root cellaring in there. Yeah I know why the hell do you have those but remember I used to cater back in the day.
Just put it together tonight (I know it's not 3 1/2 days, but I JUST got the turkey, running behind this year) and very excited for the results...mouth is watering in anticipation!
I don't have a great answer to that. I did the honey-salt paste under the skin, then followed it with a duck fat and shallot mixture. I also rubbed the outside of the skin with oil. It came out a gorgeous mahogany color and was quite crispy.
I only have 36 hours from the time I receive my turkey until I cook it. I'd love to dry-brine it, but am not sure if I can shorten the steps. Please help. Thank you.
Russ Parsons answered this (among other questions from readers) here in 2009: http://articles.latimes.com/2009/nov/18/food/la-fow-turkeyfaq18-2009nov18 Sounds like the shortened time is doable, but won't have quite the same effect so you'll have to watch the bird more closely to make sure it doesn't overcook.
Thanks very much, Kristen. I'll definitely use this method. Happy Thanksgiving!!
Oh, and I'm picking up the turkey the day before we smoke it - yikes! I guess not enough time to reap the full benefits?
Hardlikearmour, how did you get the paste to stick to the skin? I wasn't confident the paste was sticking and abandoned it in favor of pure kosher salt.
I put the paste under the skin - which is how Cook's Illustrated does the dry-brine with just salt - so it worked well, but is obviously more work on the front end. I also put a duck fat mixture under the skin before cooking, so having the skin loosened ahead of time makes the day-of prep a little easier.
Is 3 days necessary? I'm picking up my turkey the day before Thanksgiving, so I've only really got 24 hours. Any quick tips? I've got a garlic scape compound butter in my freezer - could incorporate that.
Russ Parsons answered this (among other questions from readers) here in 2009: http://articles.latimes.com/2009/nov/18/food/la-fow-turkeyfaq18-2009nov18 Sounds like it's doable, but won't have quite the same effect.
p.s. I'd salt it first for the 24 hours, then rub the butter under the skin in the hour it comes to room temp before roasting. The butter sounds great!
What about gravy? Can you make pan gravy out of the drippings, or will they be too salty? Would it make sense to put an onion, carrot, and celery on the bottom to flavor the drippings for gravy? Also, do you stuff the bird inside with anything? Thanks! This looks great. Also, i assume you can't stuff this turkey with regular stuffing...does anyone stuff anymore?
The drippings won't be too salty -- just be sure you don't use overly salted stock, so you have more control over the seasoning in the end. The onions, etc. sound great, and you can stuff with whatever aromatics you like too! Technically you can stuff the bird with regular stuffing, but you just have to make sure it cooks through to 160 degrees, as with any other stuffing. Personally, I'm a dressing-on-the-side girl. Here's more from Russ Parsons on all sorts of questions like this: http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-calcook-20101118,0,2023481.story
Can the turkey go on a sheet pan covered with plastice wrap instead of in a bag? Also, if salting while defrosting you will have to skip salting the inside because you won't be able to remove the neck and gizzards. Will that effect the results?
Hi True Blue -- I think the plastic wrap idea sounds great as a workaround, and if you wrap it well enough, it will probably hold in moisture better than those turkey oven bags do (they leak a little). I didn't have any trouble getting the giblets out of my frozen bird, but yours are stuck, you could try running some lukewarm water in the cavity until they're thawed enough to pull out, then pat the inside dry with paper towels before sprinkling with salt.
I am planning on cooking my bird in the Weber. Any thoughts?
Nanny Linn, check out Russ Parsons' story on grilling the dry-brined bird, which he perfected last year: http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-calcook-20101118,0,2023481.story
This method sounds very, very intriguing! Will it would on a Butterball?
Butterball's website says that the breast meat of their turkeys has been "deep-basted" -- which involves a salty solution, so brining could make the bird too salty. But on this Chowhound thread, someone mentions that Butterball also sells fresh, unbasted turkeys -- if you have one of those, you might be fine (check the ingredients and sodium count to be sure): http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/458212
So why does the Butterball website have all of these brining recipes??? Based on the 2007 chowhound link above, it sounds like their hotline is out of sync with their website unless they've changed their 'recipe' since then.
Who knows? Maybe the brining recipes are intended for their fresh birds, or maybe the effect of the sodium in the "deep baste" is actually pretty negligible. Not sure, since I haven't tried this recipe with a Butterball (kosher birds, which get salted briefly in processing, were fine though). Some people on the Chowhound thread did report brining a Butterball with good results.
Can I do this with a roasting chicken? And if so does it need the full three days?
Absolutely! In fact, this recipe was inspired by Zuni Cafe's dry-brined roast chicken. Here's the recipe on Serious Eats (it calls for 3/4 tsp sea salt per pound, and 1-3 days brining time): http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2007/09/the-best-roast-chicken-recipe-try-it-with-me.html
I abandoned the wet brine method after reading this in the LATimes way back when. It IS genius! I've had a perfect bird, thanks to this method. That said, the only additions I make are a compound butter with herbs and garlic that I smoosh under the breast. I also give the turkey a good EVOO rubdown. Other than that, I don't do a thing.
One thing that is not mentioned....be warned: this brined bird will cook faster than what you're used to. Plan accordingly! lol
OK riddle me this - I am now thinking I should dry brine the 20 legs we will be smoking for TDay - that should work fine right? AND - I love HLAs honey addition - honey smoked turkey legs??
Reporting in - SUCCESS! We did 3 legs in salt and garham masala, and 3 in salt and honey per Hardlikearmor's suggestion. Both were delicious - but the honey one ruled the day so that is how we are going on TDay. We smoked them for about 4 hours, they were GORGEOUS deep bronzed, and absolutley perfect salt / sweet / smoke flavor.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I was *just* contemplating the way I'll prep my Thanksgiving turkey. I've done a wet brine for the past 5+ years, but this method seems so much simpler and more effective, with the added bonus of taking up less fridge space!
I made this recipe last year - my first hosting T-giving - and it was both easy and delicious! It's on my plan for this year as well!
I love the dry brine method! I found that if you make a paste with honey & kosher salt (2 parts salt to 1 part honey) the salt dissolves and disappears quickly. I've done it with a couple of chickens and a turkey and the salt pockets are gone within 24 hours.
I need to add that I put the salt-honey paste under the skin.
Does any salt need to be rubbed underneath the skin? or just on top?
I have put the unbrined turkey back in the fridge, any advice?
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With a bird this good-looking, you really don't want to do much to it.
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With Parsons' precise salt ratio -- 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt for every 5 pounds of meat -- you can be confident you won't over- or under-season the star of the table.
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A turkey sealed in a 2 1/2-gallon zippered bag takes up a lot less fridge space than one soaking in a vat of wet brine. (An oven bag will do in a pinch, but be prepared for it to leak.)
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For the last 24 hours, take the turkey out of the bag to air dry in the fridge. Give it a good pat dry, inside and out -- the drier you get it, the better the skin will crisp.
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You can baste the skin with butter, but it's not necessary. In one test, Parsons found that the butter helps with browning, but not necessarily with crispness.
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Start roasting the turkey breast-side down for the first 30 minutes.
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This helps keep the white meat nice and juicy.
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When it's time to flip, grab two clean kitchen towels or oven mitts (or big wads of paper towels).
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Now flip! You'll have more control than if you try to pick it up with tongs or a carving fork (which is really a recipe for turkey-on-the-floor).
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Depending on the size and shape of your bird (and roasting rack) it might get these crazy indentations at this stage -- don't panic! They'll pop back out as it finishes roasting.
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About 1 1/2 hours later (or earlier if your bird is tiny), start checking the turkey's temperature in the fleshy part of the thigh. At 165 degrees, pull it out to rest.
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Rest that turkey at least 30 minutes.
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Now get carving!
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Ooh sooo yummy!! This time, used lemon zest and rosemary combo with the course sea salt and put the cut up the lemon in the cavity during cooking - truely fab! Thank you for sharing.