Dry Brine Turkey – Leite’s Culinaria

I’m very happy I invited guests over to try this dry-brined turkey recipe because it was amazing. The turkey was perfectly seasoned and incredibly juicy, with gorgeous, crisp skin.

I coated a 12.8-lb Butterball in the dry brine mixture for 24 hours. Since I used Morton’s sea salt, I weighed 270 g. Some brine was left over, but my turkey was on the small side, so I think the recommended amount is perfect.

There was no specification about placing brine inside the turkey cavity, so I just sprinkled a little in there. I followed the rest of the recipe, using both sage and thyme and then placed the turkey in the lower third of my oven. After 3 hours, the turkey was a gorgeous bronze color and perfectly cooked.

I removed the turkey from the oven and covered it loosely with foil for one hour. I grew up in a one-oven home, so this hour was standard because we needed to cook all the side dishes after removing the bird from the oven.

I served it with my great-grandmother’s oyster dressing and homemade gravy. I can’t wait to impress my family with this on Thanksgiving! With no need to baste, I can throw this bird in the oven and forget about it, giving me back three hours of my life. I don’t care who you are—that’s priceless on Thanksgiving.