Are you ready for the easiest way to cook a moist turkey? Try making Dry Brine Turkey—it’s the greatest and most reliable way to cook a perfectly juicy Thanksgiving turkey that will steal the show during the holidays!
Are you looking for the secret to achieving a succulent, flavorful smoked turkey? Look no further than dry brining! This simple technique involves coating your turkey with a salt-based rub, allowing it to rest for 24-48 hours, and then smoking it to perfection.
This guide combines insights from two trusted sources, Fit Men Cook and Well Plated, to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of dry brining for smoked turkey.
Why Dry Brine?
Dry brining offers several advantages over traditional wet brining:
- Enhanced Flavor: Salt draws out the turkey’s natural juices, creating a more concentrated and flavorful final product.
- Improved Texture: The salt breaks down the muscle fibers, resulting in a more tender and juicy turkey.
- Crispy Skin: Dry brining helps to dry out the skin, leading to a crispier texture after smoking.
- Simplified Process: Compared to wet brining, dry brining requires less prep and cleanup.
Dry Brining Ingredients:
- Kosher Salt: This is the key ingredient for dry brining. Use a coarse-grained kosher salt like Morton’s for optimal results.
- Herbs and Spices: Enhance the flavor profile of your turkey by adding herbs like rosemary and sage, or spices like cumin, paprika, and garlic powder.
- Olive Oil Mayonnaise: This ingredient, recommended by Fit Men Cook, helps to baste the turkey during the smoking process, keeping it moist and flavorful.
Dry Brining Instructions:
- Thaw and Dry: Ensure your turkey is completely thawed and patted dry with paper towels.
- Prepare the Dry Brine: Combine kosher salt, herbs, and spices in a bowl.
- Season the Turkey: Rub the dry brine mixture all over the turkey, including under the skin and inside the cavity.
- Refrigerate: Place the turkey on a wire rack set over a baking sheet and refrigerate uncovered for 24-48 hours.
- Prepare for Smoking: Remove the turkey from the refrigerator and let it rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour before smoking.
Smoking the Dry-Brined Turkey:
Follow your preferred smoking method and temperature guidelines. Fit Men Cook recommends smoking at 225-250°F for 35-5 hours, depending on the size of the turkey.
Additional Tips:
- Use a meat thermometer: Ensure the turkey reaches an internal temperature of 160-165°F before removing it from the smoker.
- Baste with olive oil mayonnaise: During the last hour of smoking, baste the turkey with olive oil mayonnaise for extra flavor and moisture.
- Rest the turkey: Let the turkey rest for at least 20 minutes before carving and serving.
Dry brining is a simple yet effective technique for achieving a succulent, flavorful, and perfectly smoked turkey. By following these steps and using the insights from Fit Men Cook and Well Plated, you can impress your guests with a delicious and memorable meal.
Meal Prep Tip
Up to 1 day before brining the turkey, prepare the brine mixture as directed. Cover and refrigerate the brine until you’re ready to use it.
I recommend dry brining a turkey for at least 24 hours. If you have less time, do a wet brine, which works in as few as 12 hours. If you want to brine a turkey in 1 day, do a wet brine.
When brining a turkey, thawed is preferable because you know it will be completely thawed before it enters the oven. However, you can brine a frozen turkey if your turkey is close and you still have 24 hours left (which you should since you are doing a dry brine).
No, dry brine does not need to be rinsed off of the turkey. The salt you use in the brine will flavor the turkey as it cooks, which is another reason this recipe for dry-brined turkey is so simple!
Absolutely! Simply scale down the amount of brine to suit your piece of meat. This dry brine works well with other cuts of meat too.
Use this dry brine for grilled, smoked, or roast turkey—or any other variation that you and your family enjoy cooking!
Why Do a Dry Brine?
Each brining method has its pros and cons.
Nine times out of 10, I prefer a dry brine over a wet brine.
- A dry brine is easier than a wet brine. Simply combine the brine and apply it to the turkey by rubbing it on. There’s no worry about boiling, submerging, etc.
- A dry brine is less messy than a wet brine. A stock pot and bucket don’t require you to transfer gallons of liquid into or out of them.
- No special equipment. There’s no need for a bucket or bag—you can brine the turkey directly on a standard rimmed baking sheet.
- No need to rinse. You can avoid a messy step by rinsing the turkey of the dry brine, unlike with a wet brine.
One drawback of a dry brine is that it requires more time than a wet one, and some people contend that the turkey in a dry brine is *not as* juicy and moist as one in a wet brine.
- Plan for at least 24 hours of dry brining time. If you’re short on time (12 hours), try a wet brine.
- Regarding moisture content, both dry brine and wet brine produce incredibly juicy and moist turkeys.
- The slightly more moist and plump wet brine is up to you to determine if the additional hassle is worthwhile.
For a visual of dry brine vs. wet brine, see this Baked Chicken Breast post. I put both brining techniques to the test and snapped pictures of them so you could compare them side by side.
- Turkey. Make sure to start with a turkey that isn’t salted or seasoned in any way because you will be salting it yourself. Steer clear of self-basting turkeys, which are injected with a salt solution, and kosher turkeys, which are already salted.
If you aren’t sure if your turkey has been salted, just check the ingredients. You shouldn’t see salt listed.
- Kosher Salt. Yes, the type of salt you use does matter. I used Morton kosher salt. It is imperative to use kosher salt for turkey because table salt is insufficiently coarse and will give the meat a metallic taste. For every tablespoon of Morton’s kosher salt, add an additional 1 ½ teaspoon if you’re using Diamond Crystal brand.
- Rosemary. One of the best herbs to use with turkey is chopped fresh rosemary, which gives the skin of the bird a warm, seasonally appropriate flavor.
- Lemon Zest. To give the turkey brightness. Lemon pairs well with rosemary.
