By: Denise Bustard10 Comments
Posted: 9/6/21 Updated: 9/6/21

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This dry brined turkey with garlic sage butter has step by step photos to help you get the juiciest turkey possible! A dry brine helps lock in the juices with a fraction of the effort that a wet brine requires.

Turkey is one of my favorite holiday meals to cook up, and this dry brined turkey is an easy, go-to recipe that is sure to impress your family and guests. Serve it up with a side of make-ahead apple sage stuffing, and roasted butternut squash, with apple crisp for dessert!

cooked dry brine turkey on platter with herbs & apples

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Brined turkey is without a doubt delicious and flavorful, but using a wet brine definitely has some downfalls. A wet brine is labor intensive and kind of stressful (if you've ever tried to get a huge turkey into a brining bag you know what I mean).

This dry brined turkey is so much easier than a wet brine, and gives this turkey just as much flavor. Dry brined turkey helps lock in moisture by loosening up muscle fibres, helping them absorb more moisture. It also gives the turkey meat a delicious seasoned flavor.

A dry brine also eliminates the need for a giant pot/brining bag/extra cooler! So much simpler, and to my surprise, just as flavorful! Plus, the skin ends up much nicer.

Reasons you'll ♡ this recipe

the turkey is guaranteed to be so juicy and flavorful, with deliciously crispy skin
dry bring turkey is so much easier than a wet brine, and requires less planning and clean up!
you can start dry brining before the turkey is 100% thawed, which cuts down on prep time

Ingredient notes

Turkey - You can use a 12-20 lb turkey for this recipe. Aim for 1 lb turkey per person (this accounts for bone weight). Pick a turkey that has not been pre-seasoned or injected with anything. Kosher turkeys have already been brined so they are not suitable for this recipe.
Herbs - sage, rosemary, and thyme are the perfect combination to compliment the flavors of the turkey
Apple, celery and onion - are stuffed into the cavity of the turkey to infuse it with flavor and moisture while cooking.
Salt - use kosher salt, not table salt. Be careful with the amount of salt- if you are seasoning the skin of your turkey after rinsing off the brine, make sure you don't use salt. If preparing gravy from the juices, taste before you add any salt.

Step by step directions

1. Thaw turkey- 3-4 days before serving, thaw the turkey according to package directions. Check out this handy guide for details on safely thawing your turkey.

The day before serving

2. Prepare turkey- Pat the turkey dry. Remove the giblet and neck, and set aside for making gravy or stock (if desired). Place the turkey on a rack in a roasting pan.

3. Prepare dry brine - Mix together the dry brine, including the salt, brown sugar, and pepper.

4. Apply dry brine- Rub the dry brine all over the turkey skin (breast & back) and inside the cavity. Let the turkey sit uncovered overnight in the fridge.

The day of serving

turkey in roasting pan after dry brine was rinsed off and it was patted dry — rinse dry brine off and pat turkey dry

4. Remove brine - Remove the dry brined turkey from the fridge and rinse off the brine (don't forget to rinse the cavity, too). Pat turkey and roasting pan dry. Make sure none of the salty dry brine is in the roasting pan as this can make your pan juices too salty for gravy. Bend the turkey wings backwards and tuck under the bird.

4. Garlic sage butter - stir together the garlic sage butter ingredients including softened butter, sage, thyme, and garlic cloves. Rub the garlic sage butter all over the turkey breast, wings & back. Note: we do not add salt to this garlic sage butter, as your turkey will already be plenty seasoned with salt from the dry brine!

Tip - One way to apply the garlic sage butter is to soak a square of cheesecloth right in the melted butter. Then, lay it over the turkey breast. Keep basting every 30 minutes, and remove the cheesecloth during the last 30 minutes of cooking to brown up the breast meat.

apples, herbs and onions ready to be stuffed into the turkey — stuff cavity with onion, celery, apple and herbs

5. Stuff - stuff the cavity of the turkey with the 'cavity' ingredients including onion, apple, celery, thyme, rosemary, and sage. Pre-heat oven to 450ºF. Place turkey in the pre-heated oven, then reduce the temperature to 325°F.

overhead shot of a cooked turkey with garlic sage butter on a white platter with fresh herbs

6. Roast turkey - roast for 2 hours, basting with pan juices every 45 minutes, before taking the temperature. Check the temperature in the thickest part of the thigh and the breast, turkey is cooked through when it measures 165°F. For a 14-17 lb turkey, 2 ½-3 hours were perfect.

How long to cook a turkey

Dry brined turkey cooks faster, so make sure to check your turkey's temperature early!

Check weight - How long to cook a turkey entirely depends on the size and weight of your turkey, so make sure you take a photograph of the tag with the weight of the turkey before you discard the packaging!
Time per pound - The general rule is to roast turkey for 10-15 minutes per lb HOWEVER since a dry brined turkey can cook quicker, I recommend checking your turkey's temperature early, at around 2 hours.
To tell if your turkey is done, take the temperature of the thickest part of the thigh. Once it reaches a temperature of 165°F, it's ready to come out of the oven. I found this video helpful in finding the thickest part of the turkey thigh.
Thermometer - I highly recommend this Digital Instant Read Thermometer to take the temperature of your turkey, and an oven thermometer to make sure your oven is holding the right temperature

For the record, my 17 lb and my 14 lb roast turkeys were both done between 2 ½ -3 hours, hence my recommendation to check your bird's temperature early.

If your turkey is done early, tent it in foil to keep it moist. It will hold the heat for several hours!

7. Rest - When turkey is cooked through, remove from oven and allow to rest for 30 minutes. If your turkey is done early, tent with foil to keep it warm. If you're just waiting 30 minutes before serving, no need for foil.

close up shot of finished roasted turkey with dry brine and garlic sage butter

Recipe tips

Salt - it’s absolutely crucial that you use kosher salt and not table salt; otherwise the turkey will be too salty
Gravy- due to the brine, the juices from the turkey will be too salty to make gravy. If gravy is a non negotiable, seek a recipe that does not include a brine.
Stuffing - with dry brined turkey, I don't recommend don't stuffing your bird with traditional bread stuffing. This is because brining can make your stuffing extra salty. Instead, we're stuffing the turkey with apple, celery and onion for added flavor.
Turkey- make sure that you are not using a turkey which has already been brined; check the ingredients on the package and it should simply say ‘turkey breast’

Storage and reheating

Fridge - After cooking, cool the turkey completely before storing in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Turkey breast is prone to drying out and is best eaten within 48 hours.

Reheating - Heat in the microwave or a frying pan until steaming hot, or heat in a covered dish in the oven at 350°F for 15-20 minutes, until warmed through.

Thanksgiving Meal Plan + Shopping List!

Take the stress out of your Thanksgiving by doing some of the prep work ahead.

Check out this make ahead Thanksgiving meal plan which comes with a handy printable shopping and prep list

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Meet Denise Bustard

Denise Bustard is the creator of Sweet Peas and Saffron, a meal prep-focussed food blog. With a PhD in biochemistry, Denise takes a scientific approach to perfecting her recipes. You can find Denise's work featured on Huffington Post, MSN, Self and more.