Thanksgiving Turkey Dry Brine Recipes

THANKSGIVING TURKEY DRY BRINE

Steps:

• 1. PREP/PREPARE
• 2. Wet Brine: Wet brining has been around for hundreds of years, and moved from Europe to the United States about 75 years ago. The brining process helps the turkey (or whatever you're brining) retain moisture. The process dissolves muscle proteins, and when this happens, the fibers lose their ability to contract during the cooking process. If they can't contract, they can't squeeze out any moisture, which means a juicer bird. In addition, brining helps to season the meat before cooking. Wet brining will increase the water content of your bird, and decrease the amount of moisture due to the cooking process. However, that additional moisture is really nothing but water.
• 3. Adding Additional Spices to a wet brine: Well, in two words... Don't bother. Cell walls are semi permeable. If the pressure on one side of the wall is greater than the other, liquid will pass through to equalize the pressure... that's called osmosis. So, the higher concentration of salt solution in the brine interacts with the liquid on the other side of the cell wall, and since it's of higher concentration, it allows the liquid to pass through. In addition, because salt is a very small molecule some of the salt will also pass through the cell wall (membrane). But most spices are too big to pass through, so they wind up on the outside of the bird. Many brining recipes call for bringing in a number of aromatics-carrots, celery, onions, spices, and herbs. This makes the brine smell really good, but doesn't do much much beyond the skin.
• 4. The Bottom Line: Wet brining will increase the overall moisture of the bird, and will minimize the loss of moisture during the cooking process. It's a win-win situation, right? Well, not exactly. The additional moisture will be in the form of water; which dilutes the flavor of the turkey's original juices, and the breakdown of the fiber structure give the turkey a different mouth feel... almost like ham. If done correctly with exactly the right amount of salt, and the right temperature and time, wet brining can produce wonderful results. But, can we do better...
• 5. The Dry Brine: I will admit that it took me a bit of time to mentally work through the process of dry brining a bird. I was skeptical about the whole process... until I got into the science of the whole thing. Brining is not about a bunch of liquid; it's about concentration of elements, and in this case the primary element is salt... good old salt.
• 6. How Dry Brining Works: When you sprinkle salt on a body of a turkey, it will eventually draw moisture out and will mix with the salt solution. Then, over time the salt causes the muscle proteins to break down, and the moisture will be reabsorbed into the muscle fibers. As opposed to an 8-hour wet brine, dry brining takes up to 3 days. The brine will penetrate deeper, into the bird, and (if you're using them) bring some spices along for the ride. The Bottom Line: So, if you're not adding any additional liquid, how does this help... Good question. The dry brine will do several things: • It will flavor the natural juices of the bird without watering the whole thing down. • Because of the long process (3 days), it will penetrate deeper into the bird, and bring a few well-selected spices along for the ride. • The dry brine will not add more liquid; however, it will prevent most of the natural juices from escaping. I'm doing two birds this Thanksgiving: One with a traditional wet brine, and one with a dry brine... We'll see which one wins on Thursday.
• 7. THE DRY BRINE RECIPE
• 8. 1 tablespoon of kosher salt per 5 pounds turkey, and dry spices; ground up in a spice grinder until fine.
• 9. Chef's Note: The only additional spice that I use is dried oregano; however, you could use smoked paprika, ground bay leaf, some thyme, or rosemary... whatever suits your fancy.
• 10. Sprinkle the salt and spice mixture evenly over the bird.
• 11. Place the turkey in a sealable bag, and squeeze most of the air out, and wait 3 days.
• 12. Twice a day, open the bag and massage the salt mixture into the bird.
• 13. On the third day, remove from the bag and allow to air dry in the refrigerator for 8 hours.
• 14. Cook according to your best traditions, and baste with a bit of butter.
• 15. Chef's Note: A brined bird will cook faster than a non-brined bird by 20 percent or more.
• 16. Keep the faith, and keep cooking.

HOW TO DRY BRINE A TURKEY FOR THANKSGIVING

Steps:

• Remove the neck and giblets from the turkey and save for gravy. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels and put on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Combine 1/4 cup salt, the sugar, rosemary, sage, thyme, celery seeds, and 2 teaspoons pepper in a spice grinder. Pulse until the herbs are finely chopped and the salt is pale green.
• Rub the turkey inside and out with the salt mixture, rubbing some under the skin of the breasts. Refrigerate, uncovered, at least 8 hours or overnight.
• When ready to roast the turkey, rinse it well and pat dry with paper towels. Stuff the cavity of the turkey with desired flavors and ingredients. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Put the turkey breast-side up on a rack set in a large roasting pan and tuck the wings under the body. Add desired seasonings and flavor to the outside of the turkey. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Position an oven rack in the lowest position (remove the other racks) and preheat the oven to 350˚. Roast the turkey 1 hour, then baste with the pan drippings, adding up to 1/2 cup water to the pan if the drippings are getting too dark. Continue to roast the turkey, basting every 30 minutes and adding more water to the pan if needed, until the skin is golden brown and a thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 160˚, 1 1/2 to 2 more hours. Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and let rest 30 minutes before carving.

DRY BRINE TURKEY

Steps:

• Pat turkey dry with paper towels. Season the inside and outside of turkey with kosher salt, focusing on the breast and thighs. Place turkey, breast-side up, in the roasting pan and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate turkey for about 2 days.
• Flip turkey breast-side down, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 1 more day.
• Remove plastic wrap and place turkey on a rack over a baking sheet the night before you plan to roast. Allow turkey to air-dry in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.
• Bring turkey to room temperature, 1 to 2 hours; pat dry with paper towels. Season turkey with black pepper and place onion and celery in the cavity.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Place turkey, breast-side down, in a roasting pan.
• Roast in the preheated oven until skin is golden, about 30 minutes. Remove turkey from oven and flip to breast-side up. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C); continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), about 2 hours.
• Transfer turkey to a large platter and loosely tent with aluminum foil; allow turkey to rest about 30 minutes before carving.

THANKSGIVING TURKEY BRINE

Steps:

• Mix water, chicken broth, and salt together in a 5-gallon bucket with lid until salt dissolves. Add garlic, rosemary, onion, basil, savory, marjoram, thyme, tarragon, oregano, pepper, and coriander and mix well. Stir 2 cups ice into brine.
• Place turkey into brine, filling cavity with brine. Add enough ice to bucket to cover turkey. Secure lid on bucket. Swish bucket from side-to-side to chill water. Refrigerate turkey and bucket, refilling with ice every 2 hours as needed, 12 to 24 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Remove turkey from brine and pat dry. Discard brine. Place turkey on a rack inside a roasting pan.
• Bake turkey in the preheated oven, basting every 30 to 40 minutes, until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, 5 to 6 1/2 hours. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove the turkey from the oven, cover with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.

DRY-BRINED TURKEY

Steps:

• Two days before serving, rinse the turkey and pat dry. Rub all over with the salt, slipping salt under the skin where possible and rubbing some into the cavities; use about 1 tablespoon per every 4 pounds of bird. Put the bird in a large plastic bag and refrigerate.
• On the second night, turn the turkey over.
• A couple of hours before cooking, remove the turkey from the bag and pat dry.
• Put in a roasting pan and allow to come to room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 450°F.
• Sprinkle half the pepper into the main cavity of the turkey and add the thyme, parsley, half the onions, and half the apples. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Put the remaining apples and onions in the neck opening and tuck the neck skin under the bird.
• Rub the butter under the breast skin and over the thigh meat. Sprinkle the bird with the remaining pepper.
• Roast for 30 minutes.
• Remove the turkey from the oven and reduce the heat to 350 degrees. Cover the breast of the bird and the wing tips with foil. Add 1 1/2 cups water (or white wine) to the roasting pan and roast the bird for another 2 hours or so, depending on size; figure on 12 minutes a pound for an unstuffed bird. Remove the foil from the breast in the last half hour so it browns.
• When the turkey has roasted for 2 hours, begin to test for doneness by inserting an instant-read thermometer (digital is best) into two different places in the thigh, making sure not to touch bone; it should be at about 160 degrees.
• When it is done, tip the turkey so the interior juices run into the pan. Remove the turkey to a rimmed baking sheet or a serving platter, cover with foil and then a damp kitchen towel, and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, pour the fat and drippings from the pan into a measuring cup. Add the 1/2 cup white wine (or broth) to the pan, stirring to deglaze it, and pour that into same measuring cup. The fat and drippings can then be used to make gravy.