Oven Roasted Dry Brine Turkey (Perfectly Juicy!)

Roasting a turkey in the oven is a simple process once you’ve mastered a few key steps! This dry brine turkey recipe is simple to do and yields tender, juicy meat every time.

Roasting a Turkey with a Dry Brine

Turkey is one of my favorite meals, and it’s not something I reserve for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I make it for most holiday meals, and sometimes, we have turkey “just because.”

It’s not as simple to roast a moist and flavorful bird as just seasoning it and popping it in the oven until the little temperature probe pops. Turkey is a very lean meat, meaning it’s easy to overcook and dry out. Adding salt and seasonings directly before baking also means it isn’t able to penetrate the meat, so while the skin might be flavorful, the thick slices of meat inside will not be.

I’ve also used an herbed water brine in the past. It’s great, but when there are tons of things going on in my kitchen, I found it messy and a bit too much to handle.

Now, I start my turkeys off with a dry brine. This is a salt rub that is left on the turkey overnight, allowing time to penetrate the skin and get into the meat. This also helps break down the muscle tissue prior to baking, meaning you’ll end up with more tender meat.

What is a Dry Brine?

A dry brine is a simple technique used to season and tenderize meat — especially large cuts like a turkey — without using liquid. Instead of submerging the bird in a saltwater solution (a wet brine), you rub it with a mixture of salt, and sometimes herbs, sugar, and spices, then let it rest in the refrigerator for a period of time (usually 24 hours).

How It Works

The salt from the dry brine:

1. Draws out moisture from the turkey’s surface.
2. Dissolves into that moisture, creating a concentrated, natural brine right on the meat.
3. Reabsorbs back into the meat, seasoning it deeply and helping draw the seasonings used on the turkey back into the meat.

Why It’s Used

• Juicier meat: The salt helps the turkey hold onto moisture as it cooks, so the breast meat stays tender and the dark meat stays succulent.
• Crispier skin: Unlike wet brining, which can make the skin soggy, a dry brine leaves the surface dry so it roasts to a beautiful golden color.
• Better flavor: Because the salt and seasonings penetrate the meat rather than just coating the outside, every bite is seasoned—not just the skin.
• Less mess: No heavy buckets of saltwater to manage or dispose of!

What You’ll Need

• A Whole Turkey
• Kosher Salt
• Black Pepper
• Fresh Herbs (rosemary, thyme, and sage)
• Butter
• Apple, Onion, and a few Stalks of Celery

Kitchen Tools:

• Roasting Pan (I LOVE this one with a lid. It’s heavy duty and no moisture escapes.)
• Kitchen Twine
• Roasting Bags (I don’t use these to cook the turkey in, but they are great for the dry brine process. Placing the turkey in a roasting pan and covering it with plastic wrap also works.)
• Instant-Read Thermometer (I trust these more than the temperature probes often in turkeys when you buy them).

How to Roast a Turkey

*Note: This process begins the day before. Make sure your turkey is fully defrosted 1 day before you plan to bake it to start the dry brine process.

Step 1: Remove any innards from the turkey. Dry the turkey with paper towels. Use 1 Tablespoon of coarse sea salt per 4 lbs of meat. This means for a 10 pound turkey, you’re using 2 1/2 tablespoons. For a 20 pound bird, use 5 tablespoons. Rub the salt into the skin and the cavity of the bird. I also loosen the skin over the breast and push some salt up onto the breast.

Step 2: Place the turkey in a plastic roasting bag and allow the turkey to brine overnight in the fridge. This tenderizes the meat and helps the seasonings flavor deeper into the bird.

Step 3: Into a small bowl, add butter, herbs, and black pepper. Combine the herbs into the softened butter. *No additional salt is required since the salt is already on the turkey.

Step 4: Coat the turkey skin with the softened herb butter. Gently pull the skin away from the turkey breasts, and place some of the herb butter directly onto the meat under the skin.

Step 5: Chop the apple, celery, and the onion, and place into the cavity of the turkey.

Step 6: Add the turkey breast-side up in a large roasting pan with a rack. Cover the pan with a lid. Roast the turkey at 325º F for 1 1/2-4 hours, depending on the weight of the turkey. See cooking time chart below. Remove the lid from the turkey and check the internal temperature. It needs to get above 165º F in the deepest part of the turkey breast. Leaving the lid off the pan, return the turkey to the oven for an additional 20-30 minutes, until the skin is a deep golden brown.

Tip: If your roasting pan does not have a lid, wrap the pan tightly in several layers of foil, or use a plastic roasting bag.

How Long to Cook a Turkey

I have found the ideal temperature for baking a turkey is 325º F. The following times are based on that temperature.

Turkeys should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165º F. I remove the lid from my turkey when the thermometer probe reaches about 160º F, because it will continue to cook as it’s browning and then even more as it’s resting. The recommendations below are estimate times for an unstuffed turkey, and are not a replacement for using a thermometer.

• 4-8 pounds (a breast): 1 1/2 to 3 hours
• 8-12 pounds: 2 3/4-3 hours
• 12-14 pounds: 3-3 3/4 hours
• 18-20 pounds: 4 1/4-4 1/2 hours
• 20-24 pounds: 4 1/2-5 hours

What to Serve with Roasted Turkey

• Cheesy Garlic Green Beans
• Cauliflower Cheese
• Cornbread Dressing (the best stuffing EVER!)
• Thick and Creamy Cauliflower Mash (lighten up your holiday table!)

How to Use Leftover Turkey

Repurpose your Thanksgiving leftovers with these incredible recipes!

• Turkey Lentil Soup
• Leftover Turkey and Sweet Potato Enchiladas
• Leftover Turkey Collard Wraps

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