Dry-Brined Spatchcocked Turkey

How to Dry Brine a Turkey

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A dry brine is not only an easier technique, but it also results in crispier skin and more flavorful meat than a classic wet brine. Those final six to 12 hours of drying will ensure crackling, crispy turkey skin.

Kelsey Jane Youngman

Updated on October 26, 2023

Tested by

Food & Wine Test Kitchen

Active Time:

45 mins

Total Time:

3 hrs 15 mins

Yield:

10 servings

For the juiciest — and easiest — turkey, there's just one way to go: the Judy Rodgers way. The late chef of Zuni Café in San Francisco was the master of poultry, and the method for her famous roast chicken — using a dry brine to render meat deeply flavorful and very tender — applies to turkey as well.

After the initial layer of salt pulls moisture out of the meat, it's drawn right back in, where "salt changes the proteins — they 'open up,' enabling them to entrap more moisture than before," Rodgers wrote in The Zuni Cafe Cookbook. As for that crispy skin? Let the bird chill uncovered for the last hours to dry the skin out so it becomes shatteringly crisp in the oven.

In the F&W Test Kitchen, we spatchcocked the turkey for quicker, more even cooking and roasted it over a bed of lime and ginger for a fresh flavor profile that goes beautifully with a coconut-lemongrass gravy.

Spatchcock

Place turkey, breast side down, on a work surface. Using poultry shears and beginning at tail end, cut along each side of backbone, separating backbone from turkey. Remove backbone; save for stock or discard.

Flatten turkey

Spatchcock Turkey Technique Flatten — Greg DuPree

Turn turkey breast side up on work surface. Using the heels of your hands, press firmly against breastbone until it cracks and turkey breast flattens.

Pre-season

Loosen skin from breast and legs by gently pushing your fingers between skin and meat. Rub kosher salt under skin, on skin, and in turkey cavity.

Air chill

Place turkey on a wire rack set snugly inside an 18- x 13-inch rimmed baking sheet. Tuck wing tips under turkey (so they don't burn when roasted). Turn turkey breast side down. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 36 hours.

Prepare aromatics

Spread ginger, limes, and garlic in an even layer on a clean rimmed baking sheet. Top with a wire rack. Add turkey, breast side up; pat skin dry with paper towels. Refrigerate, uncovered, 6 to 12 hours.

Butter and roast

Remove turkey from refrigerator. Let turkey stand at room temperature 1 hour. Place butter under loosened skin of breast and legs. Pour stock into baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven as directed.

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Ingredients

1 (12- to 14-pound) fresh or thawed frozen natural whole turkey, patted dry
3 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt (preferably Diamond Crystal) or 3 tablespoons Morton kosher salt, divided
2 (3-ounce) limes, quartered
1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, cut into 1/4-inch coins
1 garlic head, halved crosswise
1/2 cup unsalted butter (4 ounces), cut into 8 pieces
2 cups unsalted chicken stock

Directions

Place turkey, breast side down, on a work surface. Using poultry shears and beginning at tail end, cut along each side of backbone, separating backbone from turkey. Reserve for stock or discard. Turn turkey breast side up. Using the heels of your hands, press firmly against breast-bone until it cracks and turkey breast flattens. Trim any excess fat around neck.
Starting at neck end, loosen and lift skin from breast and legs by inserting fingers and gently pushing between skin and meat (do not detach skin completely). Rub 1 tablespoon salt under skin. Carefully replace skin. Rub remaining 2 1/2 tablespoons salt all over skin and in turkey cavity, rubbing more salt where meat is thickest. Place turkey on a wire rack set snugly inside an 18- x 13-inch rimmed baking sheet. Tuck wing tips under turkey. Turn turkey breast side down. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate 36 hours.
Spread limes and ginger in a single layer on a clean rimmed baking sheet (lined with aluminum foil, if desired); add garlic head halves. Place a wire rack on lime mixture in baking sheet. Remove turkey from refrigerator. Uncover turkey, and place, breast side up, on rack in prepared baking sheet; pat dry with paper towels. Refrigerate, uncovered, at least 6 hours or up to 12 hours.
Remove turkey from refrigerator. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 450°F with oven rack in lower third of oven. Place two butter pieces under loosened skin of each breast and two butter pieces under loosened skin of each leg. Pour stock into baking sheet.
Roast turkey in preheated oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of breast registers 150°F, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through roasting time. Transfer turkey to a cutting board, and let rest 30 minutes.

Greg DuPree