Recipe · Kitchen · November

Dry-brined roast turkey, the no-stress version

Name: Dry-brined roast turkey, the no-stress version
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 180 min
Total time: 200 min
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients: 1 turkey, 12–14 lb, fully thawed, neck and giblets removed; 3 tbsp kosher salt (Diamond Crystal; use 2 tbsp if Morton); 1 tbsp brown sugar; 1 tbsp black pepper; 2 tsp dried thyme or sage; 4 tbsp butter, melted; 1 onion, 1 carrot, 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped; 2 cups chicken stock

Salt the turkey two days ahead, roast it hot, pull it at 160°F. Juicy breast, crisp skin, no bucket of brine in the fridge. Serves 10–12.

By Almanac Kit EditorsUpdated Oct 12, 20263 h 20 minServes 12

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You'll need

Why dry-brine

A wet brine means a cooler full of salt water and a turkey that tastes, a little, of water. Salt rubbed straight onto the skin does the same job better. In the first day it pulls moisture out; by the second it has dissolved and soaked back in, seasoning the meat all the way through. The skin, left uncovered in the fridge, dries out and roasts up crisp.

It also takes ten minutes, two days ahead, when nothing else is happening.

Dry-brined roast turkey

Prep 20 · Cook 180 · Serves 12

Ingredients

1 turkey, 12–14 lb, fully thawed, neck and giblets removed
3 tbsp kosher salt (Diamond Crystal; use 2 tbsp if Morton)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp black pepper
2 tsp dried thyme or sage
4 tbsp butter, melted
1 onion, 1 carrot, 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
2 cups chicken stock

Steps

Step 1: Two days before: pat the turkey dry. Mix the salt, sugar, pepper and thyme, and rub it all over, including under the breast skin. Set the bird on a rack in the roasting pan, uncovered, in the fridge.
Step 2: On the day: take the turkey out 1 hour before roasting. Heat the oven to 425°F with a rack in the lower third.
Step 3: Scatter the onion, carrot and celery under the rack and pour in the stock. Brush the turkey with the melted butter.
Step 4: Roast 30 minutes at 425°F, then lower to 325°F. Keep roasting until the thickest part of the breast reads 160°F and the thigh 175°F, about 2 to 2½ hours more for a 12–14 lb bird.
Step 5: Rest the turkey on a board at least 30 minutes; the breast climbs to 165°F as it sits. Strain the pan juices for gravy and carve.

Roasting pan

Cuisinart Chef's Classic Roasting Pan

Heavy pan with a rack and handles you can grip with oven mitts. Fits a 20 lb bird.

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Thermometer

ThermoPro TempSwift Thermometer

Reads in two seconds. The only way to know the turkey is done at 160°F, not dry at 180°F.

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The two numbers that matter

Forget minutes per pound; ovens and birds vary too much. Go by temperature. Pull the turkey when the breast reads 160°F and the thigh 175°F. As it rests, the breast keeps climbing to 165°F, the temperature USDA recommends. Pull it at 165°F instead and it finishes near 170°F, which is how turkey gets dry.

That’s why an instant-read thermometer matters more than any other tool on this list. Check the breast at its thickest point, not touching bone.

Thawing, the part people forget

A frozen turkey thaws in the fridge at about 24 hours for every 4 to 5 lb. A 14 lb bird needs three full days before you can even salt it, so for a Thursday dinner, move it from the freezer to the fridge the Saturday before.

Make it ahead, freeze it, vary it

Carve the leftovers off the bone the same evening; they keep four days in the fridge and three months in the freezer. Swap the thyme for smoked paprika and orange zest if you want a different bird next year.