Dry Brining a Turkey for Thanksgiving

Because we’re always trying to simplify our Thanksgiving celebration, this recipe for dry brining a turkey for Thanksgiving falls under the category of “super duper simple.” It requires only a few minutes of actual effort and then it’s a matter of waiting. Plus, I recommend getting your husband to do it and then it’s even less work!

I did not come up with this method of preparing a turkey and there are plenty of recipes available for dry brining but this is what we use. You can also choose to use spices that you like and not the ones I have listed. I try and avoid spices or seasonings that contain MSG and also look for ones that don’t contain too much sodium, since salt is the main ingredient here anyway.

None of my little foodies (kids or husband) could detect a difference when we compared dry brining a turkey for Thanksgiving versus when we soaked a turkey in a saltwater and spice bath solution (in a cooler) to brine it. To be honest with you, the mess involved in cleaning up after soaking a turkey in a bath of saltwater and spices and having to keep it cold was enough to make me just say no to wet brining. Bring on the dry brine instead!

Here’s why I like dry brining a turkey for Thanksgiving:

• It’s easy
• It works
• It tastes great

Could there be any simpler reasons?

Dry brining a turkey is basically rubbing salt and spices into the skin of a turkey and letting it sit for a few days. That’s it. Plan to dry brine your turkey for 3-4 days before cooking it. We always barbeque our turkey on a charcoal grill and I really like it because our kitchen is small and cooking the bird outside frees up the oven. (This also gets my husband out of the kitchen and gives him something to do instead of freelancing on my recipes!! He claims he’s just “changing it a little” – hah!)

While this recipe says cook time is ’24hours’ leaving in the refrigerator longer is better.

Notes

• I use a new (clean) kitchen garbage bag to store my turkey in while it’s dry brining. Because I try to avoid purchasing zip lock top type bags, using my kitchen draw-string type bag for this job works out just fine.
• I honestly don’t think you need to take your turkey out of the refrigerator and rub it down or massage it once it’s in the bag but my husband does this and he claims it’s essential to the bird’s goodness. Since I’m lazy in the kitchen and try to eliminate all sorts of extra steps, if it were up to me, I would not do this. I do think my husband is crazy when it comes to grilled meats and is merely creating ways to get his hands on meat. He could never become a vegetarian.

How do you like to cook your turkey? Have a tried brining your turkey?

Go Gingham related links:

Celebrate Thanksgiving more simply and enjoy the holidays more
Turkey grilling tips from the “Grill Masters” in my life!
Thanksgiving wishes from one year ago and digging for clams
Grilled Thanksgiving turkey from two years ago
Cloth napkins for Thanksgiving that are made from an old skirt
A Thanksgiving tablecloth made with quilting techniques
Pumpkin spice cake would also make a nice dessert at Thanksgiving
Homemade cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving – make it the day before!

 More related links:

• These recipes look great from Bon Appetit and they have pictures of dry brining a turkey (massaging it) with spices.
• Don’t forget about your leftovers! Ree (aka The Pioneer Woman) has a great looking recipe for leftover turkey spring rolls. Her pictures are lovely and she uses the same techniques I do for working with rice paper. If you’ve never used it before, it’s easy and fun – and, tasty!!
• I loved this Thanksgiving day round-up that Sheila from Eat to Gather put together. If you’re looking for more great recipes, check here!