Name: Dry Brined and Roasted Turkey Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 2 h
Yield: 1
Ingredients: 4 cloves garlic; 1½ tbsp Fresh Parsley; 1½ tbsp fresh rosemary,; 1½ tbsp Fresh Thyme; ¾ tbsp dried Sage; 1¼ tbsp whole black peppercorns; 3 tbsp morton's kosher salt; 1½ tbsp granulated sugar; 2 lemons; 3½ tbsp lemon juice; 3½ tbsp olive oil; 18 lbs natural turkey; 1 medium onion; 3 cups turkey or chicken stock

How To Make Dry Brined and Roasted Turkey

This roasted turkey is tender, juicy, and super flavorful thanks to dry brining! It’s rubbed with herbs then baked into a delicious Thanksgiving main dish!

Preparation: 15 minutes

Cooking: 2 hours

Total: 2 hours 15 minutes

Serves:

Ingredients

4clovesgarlic,minced
1½tbspfresh parsley,minced
1½tbspfresh rosemary,,minced, the leaves from about one 9 inch sprig
1½tbspfresh thyme,minced
¾tbspdried sage,or 1 tbsp minced, fresh sage
1¼tbspwhole black peppercorns,ground
3tbspMorton’s Kosher salt,add 1½ tsp if using Diamond Crystal
1½tbspgranulated sugar
2lemons,zested
3½tbsplemon juice,the juice from 1 lemon
3½tbspolive oil
18lbsnatural turkey,not kosher, saline injected or otherwise pre salted, thawed
1medium onion,quartered
3cupsturkey or chicken stock,if needed

Instructions

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the minced garlic, parsley, rosemary, thyme, sage, ground black peppercorns, salt, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and olive oil. Stir to combine. Quarter the remaining lemons, and save them for the cavity of the turkey.
About 24 to 72 hours before roasting the bird, take the thawed turkey out of any packaging, and remove the pop-up thermometer, if it has one. Remove and reserve the giblets and neck for making gravy or stock.
Place turkey on either a cooling rack set on top of a rimmed baking sheet or directly on the roasting rack in the roasting pan.
Thoroughly pat the turkey dry inside and out with paper towels. Loosen the skin of the breast and legs.
Spread about half of the brine mixture under the skin, massaging it into the breasts and legs, ¼ on the outside, and the remaining ¼ inside the cavity. Refrigerate uncovered for 24 to 72 hours.
When ready to roast the turkey, position the rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
If it’s not there already, transfer the turkey to a roasting rack set in a roasting pan. Into the cavity of the turkey, put the quartered onion and lemon, and the rest of the fresh herbs used for the dry brine.
To truss the bird, tuck the wings under the body. Place butcher’s twine under the turkey, close to the wings. Cross the twine at the neck of the turkey, wrap each end of the twine around the tip of the leg, and tie the legs together.
Roast the turkey at 425 degrees F for about 20 minutes until the skin starts to brown in spots. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and roast for another 45 minutes.
Rotate the roasting pan, baste the turkey with the pan juices, and tent the breast with foil to prevent it from overcooking.
If the turkey hasn’t produced enough juices to use for basting, warm1 to 2 cups of extra chicken broth on the stovetop or in the microwave and use that to baste the turkey.
Continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh without touching bone registers 160 degrees F. This should take an additional 30 to 45 minutes; check the temperature and baste every 15 minutes until the bird is fully cooked.
Transfer the turkey to a clean cutting board and tent with foil. Let it rest 20 minutes before carving.