Dry Brine Turkey

This dry brine turkey with rosemary, thyme, and sage is an easy way to pack your Thanksgiving dinner with herby goodness. The longer you brine it, the crispier the skin will turn out and the juicier the interior.

Why You’ll Love This Dry Brine Turkey Recipe

This classic dry brine turkey is the only method you’ll use to season your turkey from now on.

• Simple. You only need dried herbs, kosher salt, and turkey.
• Little clean-up. Throw the parchment paper away and clean the baking sheet. That’s it!
• Great for the holidays. Use this dry brine turkey recipe for your Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year’s dinner parties.
• Beginner-friendly. All you need to do is pat the turkey dry, rub the dry brine on, and let it the turkey chill.

What is Dry Brining?

Dry brining is a seasoning technique that’s used to infuse proteins with flavor from a salt rub. The ingredients for a dry brine can consist of just salt, or herbs and spices too. The mixture is rubbed into the protein and then chilled. When the salt breaks through the fat molecules, it draws out excess moisture. This speeds up the process to a beautiful golden sear on your chicken, pork, turkey, steak, or fish. It also seasons the meat from the inside out because it has a chance to absorb the flavors from the rub mixture.

Ingredient Notes

The earthy, herby, fresh flavors in the recipe come from the combination of herbs in the dry brine. Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact amounts.

• Whole turkey – Just turkey breast, thighs, leg-quarters, or legs are okay too.
• Kosher salt – Go for coarse sea salt if you have some.
• Herbs – I used dried rosemary, thyme, and sage. You can also use fresh herbs.

How to Dry Brine a Turkey

For all the flavor that dry brining infuses on a turkey, you’d never guess it only requires 3 simple steps. Scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe card.

• Prep the turkey. Pat the turkey dry with a paper towel on all sides. Place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Mix the dry brine. Whisk the salt, rosemary, thyme, and sage in a small bowl. Rub the mixture all over the turkey.
• Let it chill. Cover the turkey with plastic wrap. Chill for up to 2 days and then cook it.

What Do You Do With a Brined Turkey?

After you dry brine turkey, prepare it as usual to enhance its flavor. Think of it as a pre-seasoning or basic herby seasoning. Here are some of my favorite recipes:

• Easy, No Fuss Thanksgiving Turkey. Reduce the amount of salt in the garlicky compound butter to 1/2 tablespoon because the turkey will already be pre-seasoned.
• Maple Smoked Turkey. This is another recipe to try. It has a much more complex flavor profile with smokey maple syrup, sweet ancho chili powder, and paprika. Dampen a paper towel with water and rub it on the turkey to remove any excess salt without getting it wet.
• Garlic Herb Oven Roasted Turkey Breast. If you only used a turkey breast, this recipe’s perfect. Skip the salt altogether in the garlic butter with 4 herbs. You don’t want to over-salt the turkey breast, which is already very lean and mild in flavor.

Tips for Success

The secret to a perfectly crispy-skinned dry brine turkey with a juicy interior is avoiding excess moisture at all costs.

• Don’t over-do it. Never dry brine a turkey for more than 2 days because of the bacteria it builds up after that. Raw poultry is particularly sensitive to bacteria and can cause food poisoning even if it’s stored in the fridge.
• Get creative with the rubs. Mixing 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, taco seasoning, or shawarma seasoning into the dry brine creates new flavor profiles for your Thanksgiving turkey.
• Clean up well. When you’re done with the baking sheet and any other kitchen items, like knives and cutting boards, clean them well with soap and water to avoid cross-contamination later.
• Avoid moisture. Don’t add any sauces or liquids to the dry brine mixture. Any liquids added to it cancel out the purpose of the dry brine, which is drawing out excess moisture. Stick to dry spices for best results.
• Watch the temperature If you live in a high-humidity area that’s also very hot, don’t allow the turkey to rest on the counter to come down to room temperature before cooking it. Heat and humidity speed up bacteria build-up. It’s best to prep the turkey for baking and/or roasting straight out of the fridge.

More Thanksgiving Recipes

• Air Fryer Roasted Potatoes
• Bacon Wrapped Figs with Herb Goat Cheese
• Bacon Green Bean Bundles
• Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Streusel

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