We used the instructions in the article below, using only salt. We had a small, ~13-lb. turkey, and used about 3 T. kosher salt.
Just rub the turkey all over with the salt, and put the turkey in one of those oven-bags, in a tray, in the fridge. Do this early enough that it gets three whole days in the salt. The night before cooking, take it out of the bag, pat it dry all over, and put it back in the fridge with no covering, overnight.
Our plan was to put it in at 450 for 1/2 hour, and then reduce the heat to 350, until the probe in the breast read 160 degrees (we have the kind that constantly monitors the temp, and ‘dings’ when the pre-set temp is reached in the breast.) I don’t know how different it would be starting with a frozen turkey. We used a fresh one, purchased two days before we began the salting. Don’t rinse the turkey before cooking, and don’t add any more salt, just pepper. Hubby rubbed it with olive oil (not EVOO) and peppered it. He also tented it after 1/2 hour, with foil. (That was also the point where he would normally have cut the heat down to 350 for the rest of the cooking. It could be that things worked out despite our error, because we were doing a relatively small turkey.)
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/nov/18/food/fo-calcook18
Boatbums directed us to search on Genius Brined Turkey, which I did; but I couldn’t access it (problems on my computer with some websites.)
You can add herbs, instead of just using salt. Next time, we’ll experiment. The breast meat was the most impressive - not dry and ‘shreddy’, but very firm and moist, a texture you would normally associate with thigh meat.
-JT
Husband just informed that I made a mistake - he didn’t tent the turkey completely, but created a ‘breastplate’ just for the breast, a la Alton Brown.
-JT
I tried the woven bacon strips over the whole turkey this year. Incredible, moist turkey. It was amazing. Everyone loved it.
Thank you! We didn’t get to cook our turkey yet - we were invited over to some new friend’s house instead. Having just moved, that was a lovely surprise.
I’ll try it though. Brining in our cooler the last 2 years (especially keeping it cool in southern California!) was time-consuming not to mention questionable, LOL!
Dry brining is the best. We start on Saturday before Thanksgiving and use fresh chopped herbs mostly thyme and sage with the salt. Last day Wednesday uncovered in the fridge. Leftovers - I always strip the carcass after the big meal and put the meat in the fridge and the bones right in the turkey soup pot and stick it out in the cold garage. Friday is turkey soup day and it used to also be turkey pot pie day. Standard pie crust and use chopped up turkey, some stuffing. masked potatos, onion, a few frozen peas, and leftover. You could pretty much add any other leftover vegetable.