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How To Dry Brine and Cook an Herb Butter Turkey

An excellent dry brine that makes for a flavorful and moist turkey! You can brine the turkey from 1-3 days.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword easy dinner recipe, holiday recipe, Thanksgiving
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 15 minutes
Servings 1 turkey
Author Sun Basket Meal Delivery

Ingredients

For Dry Brine:

  • ¼ cup Kosher Salt
  • 2 Tablespoons brown sugar, if you live sugar free, skip it
  • 2 Tablespoons baking powder
  • 2 Tablespoon peppercorns, toasted
  • 1 Tablespoon coriander seeds, toasted
  • 3 sprigs rosemary
  • 3 sprigs thyme
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 3 dry bay leaves
  • Zest of two lemons
  • Zest of one orange
  • 1 fresh turkey

Herbed Butter to Cook Turkey:

  • 1 stick butter, room temp
  • 3 sprigs thyme, chopped
  • 2 sprigs rosemary, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
  • Zest of one lemon
  • Sea salt and pepper, to taste, be generous
  • Additional herbs and 1 onion to place in cavity if desired

Instructions

Dry Brine:

  • Place a pan on medium heat. Add peppercorns and coriander and toast until peppercorns start to pop. While waiting for peppercorns to pop, remove thyme and rosemary leaves from stems
  • When peppercorns begin to pop, remove from heat. Put peppercorns, coriander seeds, bay leaves, thyme and rosemary into a grinder (I use a coffee grinder) and grind until fine
  • Use a microplane to scrape the zest off both lemons and orange, only scraping until the white appears, then move to a new area
  • Mix together all herbs, zest, salt, sugar, and baking powder
  • Pat turkey dry and sprinkle with dry brine, all over that turkey! Then massage the brine into the skin for a few minutes, place in a big plastic bag, seal it tight and place in the fridge for 1-3 days...the longer the better!

To Cook Turkey: use chart above in blog post to gauge cooking time.

  • Remove bird from refrigerator, wipe off brine with paper towel and allow turkey to come to room temperature
  • Finely chop garlic, thyme, and rosemary, and then zest lemon
  • Add herbs and lemon zest to butter, generously add sea salt and pepper to butter and mix well using a fork
  • Use your hands to gently separate the skin of the turkey from the meat, then place 2/3 of the herbed butter under the skin, spreading out to cover as much of the turkey as you can. Melt remaining butter and pour over skin.
  • If desired place additional herbs and one quartered onion into cavity of bird
  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees, place the turkey in oven and immediately turn heat down to 350 degrees, cook for 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 hours depending on size. A stuffed turkey requires about 15 minutes per pound while unstuffed turkeys require 12-15 minutes per pound. Internal temperature should be between 155-165 degrees (using a meat thermometer takes the guess work out of it) See tips in blog post above for using a meat thermometer.
  • Allow bird to rest under foil tent for 20 minutes, carve and enjoy your feast!