Bay, Sage, Thyme Dry-Brined Turkey: Gobble, gobble, gobble me up!

I probably enjoy cooking the Thanksgiving meal, more than other meal in a year, and the main reason is that I really love turkey.  I love making soup with the leftover bones, I love having turkey salad sandwiches the day after, and I love being able to go into the fridge and pick up a plate of food really easily.  It's become more complicated with Son's allergies, but I find ways to feed him from the fridge too.  After the turkey and the soup has been made, I really just spend a lot of time thinking about how the next year's Thanksgiving is going to be better.

Last year I did not have a chance to brine a turkey, and  the years before that, I always brined one.  Brining a turkey, to me, is the best thing you can do to your bird.  It must really have caught on, because you can even buy brined birds at Costco and Trader Joes.  From last year, I said I really wanted to do a DRY-BRINED bird, which is essentially salting you bird and allowing the juices to get redistributed.  I didn't have a chance last year to make one, and so this year, I have made two.

The flavor of this dry brined bird is really subtle and lovely.  I used traditional poultry flavoring dried herbs, pulverized them and rubbed them all over with salt.  I looked to Russ Parsons of the LA Times, for help in this dry brining arena and he had a great set of tips on how to do it well, which I've adapted for myself here.

You need FOUR days to get this process done right, so get your bird defrosted ASAP.  Dry brine your bird on Sunday and dry it out on Wednesday night until you cook your turkey Thursday.  The bird will be beautiful and oh so flavorful.

Bay, Sage, Thyme Dry-Brined Turkey
Dry Brine mix - enough for a 20 lb turkey
adapted from Russ Parson’s article in the LA Times, November 18, 2009

Ingredients
¼ cup kosher salt
10 bay leaves
¾ teaspoon dried rubbed sage
¾ teaspoon dried thyme
10 peppercorns

10 to 20 lb turkey, defrosted
1 cup dry white wine, optional (used in the last 30 minutes of cooking to infuse additional flavors into the bird)
a piece of tin foil, folded in half, large enough to cover the breast of your turkey. (called the breastplate)
3 to 4 tablespoons canola oil


Method
In a food processor, spice grinder, or mortar and pestle, add kosher salt, bay leaves, sage, thyme and peppercorns. Process until the mix resembles a fine powder. Set aside and prepare turkey.

Wash the turkey inside and out and pat it dry. Measure 11/2 tablespoon of flavored salt 5 pounds the turkey weighs (for a 15-pound turkey, you'd need 4 ½ tablespoons flavored salt). Sprinkle the inside of the turkey lightly with salt. Place the turkey on its back and salt the breasts, concentrating the salt in the center, where the meat is thickest. You'll probably use a little more than a tablespoon. Turn the turkey on one side and sprinkle the entire side with salt, concentrating on the thigh. Use a little less than a tablespoon. Flip the turkey over and do the same with the other side.

Place the turkey in a 2 1/2 -gallon sealable plastic bag, press out the air and seal tightly. Place the turkey breast-side up in the refrigerator. Chill for 3 days, leaving it in the bag but turning it and massaging the salt into the skin every day.

Remove the turkey from the bag. There should be no salt visible on the surface, and the skin should be moist but not wet. Wipe the turkey dry with a paper towel, place it breast-side up the roasting rack (if you can fit it into your fridge, otherwise a plate is fine) refrigerate uncovered for at least 8 hours.

On the day it is to be cooked, remove the turkey from the refrigerator and leave it at room temperature at least 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Place the turkey on a roasting rack in a roasting pan;rub the entire surface of the bird with canola oil. Put it in the oven. After 30 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees, plant the breastplate on the bird, and roast until a thermometer inserted in the deepest part of the thigh, but not touching the bone, reads 165 degrees, about 2 to 2 ½ hours total roasting, depending on the size of your bird. For additional flavor for your gravy and your turkey, 30 minutes before the end of cooking (about when the turkey is reading 150 degrees), lift up the breast plate, pour wine all over the entire bird, allowing it to drip into the pan.  Replace breastplate.

Remove the turkey from the oven, transfer it to a warm platter or carving board; tent loosely with foil. Let stand at least 30 minutes to let the juices redistribute through the meat. Carve and serve.

Printable recipe

EXTRA Tip
On the bottom of my roasting pan, I toss in the tops and ends of celery, onions and carrots.  As the turkey roasts, it drips on top of the vegetables. This helps flavor the drippings and makes for a super flavorful turkey gravy.  If you want to make turkey gravy with the drippings, I highly suggest you go this route.  The final pour of wine on top is also really a wonderful final touch.