Dry Brined Turkeyย
Published Oct 03, 2025
This dry brined turkey is made with a herb-loaded salt rub, resulting in a moist turkey with browned, crispy skin.
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make my dry brined turkey this thanksgiving
This Dry Brined Turkey is so moist and delicious and has a browned, seasoned, crispy skin. It’s easy to do, too! All you have to do is make a herby salt mixture, rub it all over the turkey, and let the bird rest in the fridge for a day or two while the salt does all of the work.
The first time I cooked a Thanksgiving turkey, I “wet” brined it. It was a bit of a mess! It called for gallons of water and a bucket. I had to remove almost everything from my fridge to fit the whole thing. Since then, I’ve stuck to dry brining turkey.
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Dry Brined Turkey Ingredients
- Turkey: If your turkey’s frozen, make sure it’s fully thawed before dry brining! And avoid buying a pre-salted or self-basting turkey.
- For the salt mixture: For this dry brined turkey recipe you’ll need kosher salt, light brown sugar, black pepper, and dried thyme, rosemary, and sage leaves. You can experiment with the dried herbs! Tarragon, or marjoram, would also be good.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter since the dry rub for brined turkey has salt in it!
How to Cook a Dry Brined Turkey
Tuck the wings and neck skin under and tie legs together with kitchen twine and then transfer the turkey breast-side up to a roasting pan.
Dry Brined Turkey Recipe
This dry brined turkey is made with a herb-loaded salt rub, resulting in a moist turkey with browned, crispy skin.
Ingredients
- 1 (12-14 pounds) whole turkey thawed if frozen
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried sage leaves
- 4 tablespoons softened butter for roasting
Instructions
- Remove turkey from its packaging and place on a wire rack set over a large rimmed sheet pan. Remove giblets and neck to use for gravy or discard. Pat inside cavity and outside of the turkey dry with paper towels. Working from the neck end, gently loosen the breast skin.
- In a small bowl, mix together the kosher salt, brown sugar, black pepper, and dried herbs.
- Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of the mixture inside the cavity, then rub the remaining seasoning all over the turkey, including under the lifted breast skin.
- Refrigerate the turkey uncovered on the sheet pan for 24 to 48 hours.
- Remove the turkey from the fridge 1 hour before ready to cook and allow to sit at room temperature.
- Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 325°F. Tuck wings and neck skin under and tie legs together with kitchen twine and then transfer turkey breast-side up to a roasting pan. Rub the softened butter all over the skin.
- Roast until the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165°F, about 3 to 3½ hours for a 12–14 pound turkey, or 15 minutes per pound.
- Remove from the oven and let the turkey rest for 30 minutes before carving.
Notes
Nutrition: The sodium for this recipe is calculated using an estimated absorption rate from the dry brine (about 30 to 50 percent of the salt actually makes it into the turkey). Please note that Metric conversions are estimates only.
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- Pat the turkey dry before starting. For the best dry brined turkey, you want to remove as much moisture as possible as the first step! That way, the salt rub sticks to the turkey.
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- If you don’t own a roasting pan, use a sheet pan and a wire rack. I like a roasting pan because its handles make it easy to move into and out of the oven, but you’ll get the same results with a sheet pan and a wire rack!
- Storage: Kept in an airtight container in the fridge, any leftover turkey will last 3 days. You can reheat the turkey in the microwave for a few minutes until warmed through.
Nutrition
Calories: 568kcal, Carbohydrates: 1g, Protein: 81g, Fat: 25g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g, Monounsaturated Fat: 8g, Trans Fat: 0.4g, Cholesterol: 281mg, Sodium: 943mg, Potassium: 848mg, Fiber: 0.1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 332IU, Vitamin C: 0.05mg, Calcium: 47mg, Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Did You Make This Recipe?
Recipe Variations
- Add citrus. My recipe has the best dry brine recipe for turkey, and I keep things simple! For something different, you can try mixing a tablespoon or two of orange, lemon, or citrus zest into the salt rub.
- Add other spices. Mix a teaspoon or two of smoked paprika, coriander, or cumin into the salt mixture!
Recipe Tips
- Pat the turkey dry before starting. For the best dry brined turkey, you want to remove as much moisture as possible as the first step! That way, the salt rub sticks to the turkey.
- If you don’t own a roasting pan, use a sheet pan and a wire rack. I like a roasting pan because its handles make it easy to move into and out of the oven, but you’ll get the same results with a sheet pan and a wire rack!
- Use softened butter. That way, you can easily rub the butter onto the bird and under the skin. (Cold butter would make this a nightmare.) Here’s how to soften butter quickly!
- Tent the turkey with foil if it’s browning too much. That way, you’ll stop the turkey skin from burning while the bird finishes cooking!
Serving Ideas
- Green bean casserole. My green bean casserole is lighter and uses a homemade mushroom soup!
- Mashed potatoes. My olive oil mashed potatoes use olive oil instead of butter, while my garlic mashed potatoes include a garlic-infused cream and a whole head of roasted garlic! For something lighter and low carb, try my cauliflower mashed potatoes.
- Gravy. Use the turkey’s drippings to make gravy from scratch.
- Cranberry sauce. You either love or hate cranberry sauce! I love it. Two of my favorite recipes are my cranberry orange sauce and baked cranberry sauce.
FAQs
I don’t have kitchen twine! Do I have to tie the turkey’s legs together?
You certainly don’t have to! I find that trussing the turkey helps it cook more evenly and prevents the legs from drying out. I also think it makes the cooked turkey prettier!
Can I cut into the turkey right away?
I recommend letting the turkey rest for 30 minutes after roasting before carving it. This allows the juices in the bird to redistribute, which keeps it moist!
