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Dry Brine, Butterflied Roast Turkey

My hybrid recipe to roast the most delicious Thanksgiving turkey in half the time. No wet brine bucket, no wasted space in the fridge, all tasty. Start the brine up to 3 days in advance.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Brine Time 1 day
Total Time 1 day 2 hours 45 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 8 people
Calories 400 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 16-18 lb Turkey
  • 10 tbsp Kosher Salt Spice mix
  • 2 tbsp Baking Powder Spice mix
  • 4.5 tbsp Rubbed Sage Spice mix
  • 4.5 tbsp Dried Thyme Spice mix
  • 4 tsp whole black peppercorns Spice mix
  • 1.5 tsp whole allspice berries Spice mix

Instructions
 

  • Grind all of the spices together in a spice grinder until the peppercorns are coarsely ground. Set aside.
  • Thaw turkey and remove the package with the neck, gizzard, and liver. I toss that out but you do you.
  • Get out a sheet pan with an inset cooling rack. You need something to elevate the turkey slightly off the bottom of the pan.
  • *See full description above* BE CAREFUL HERE
    Flip the thawed turkey on its back (breast down). With a pair of sturdy kitchen shears, cut along both sides of the spine to remove it.
  • Flip the turkey back over (breast up), unfold to lay out flat, and press down until it truly lays flat. You might hear some cracking and that is ok. Fold in the wings and drums to fit on the sheet pan if necessary
  • Liberally coat both sides of the turkey with the spice mix. Be generous
  • Cover the turkey. I use a huge ziploc bag for toys and clothing that I can just slide the entire sheet pan into. Put in the fridge at least overnight but up to 3 days.
  • Thanksgiving day: remove turkey from fridge 1 hour prior to cooking
  • Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F
  • Drizzle a little oil on the outside of the turkey if you want the skin a little crispier
  • Roast the turkey for 30 minutes at 500 F
  • Reduce the temperature to 350 F and cook for an additional 1.5 - 2 hours
  • Remove the turkey when internal temperature reaches 161, loosely cover with foil for 15 minutes, then eat.

Notes

This recipe is a hybrid, combining my favorite parts of several turkey recipes. Special thanks to Alton Brown for the dry brine, J Kenji Lopez-Alt for the spatchcock technique, and numerous other chefs for the parts in between.
Keyword Thanksgiving