Email to Cat      

Thanksgiving: Dry-Brined Roasted Turkey

Source of Recipe

Fine Cooking Issue 74


Recipe Introduction

"Dry-brining the turkey—that is, sprinkling it with salt and refrigerating it uncovered overnight—gives all the flavor of wet-brining, minus the big, awkward bucket of salt water."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ One 10- to 12-pound turkey
â—¦ ¼ cup kosher salt
â—¦ 2 medium to large yellow onions, unpeeled and cut into eighths
â—¦ 2 medium carrots, unpeeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
â—¦ 2 medium ribs celery, cut into 1-inch chunks


Recipe

The night before:
Remove the giblets from the turkey, cut off the tail, if attached, and reserve them for making turkey broth. Rinse the turkey thoroughly. Sprinkle the salt all over it, starting on the back side, then the cavity, and finally the breast. Put the turkey on a wire rack set over a rimmed pan or platter and refrigerate uncovered overnight.

One hour before roasting:
Remove the turkey from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature. Fifteen to 20 minutes before roasting, position a rack in the lowest part of the oven and heat the oven to 400° F. Put half of the onions, carrots, and celery in the turkey cavity. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Tuck the wings behind the neck and under the turkey. Scatter the remaining onions, carrots, and celery in a large flameproof heavy-duty roasting pan with a large V-rack. Set the turkey, breast side down, on the V-rack.

Roast for 30 minutes.
Pour 1 cup of water into the roasting pan and roast for another 30 minutes. Remove the turkey from the oven and close the oven door. With two wads of paper towels, carefully turn the turkey over so that it's breast side up. Add another ½ cup water to the roasting pan. Return the turkey to the oven and continue to roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thigh registers 170° F, about another 45 minutes for a turkey in the 10-pound range, or about another 1 hour for a 12-pound turkey. (Keep a close eye on the vegetables and pan drippings throughout the cooking process. They should be kept dry enough to brown and produce the rich brown drippings to make gravy, but moist enough to keep from burning, so add water as needed throughout.) Transfer the turkey to a carving board or platter, tent with foil, and let rest for at least 45 minutes and up to 1 hour before carving and serving. Meanwhile, make pan gravy from the drippings.

Makes 10 servings