Even in a normal year, making a whole turkey for Thanksgiving isn’t fun. It’s huge, takes forever to roast, and is almost always inconsistently cooked. The breast will cook faster than the thigh and leg meat, resulting in a dried out turkey breast that basically needs to be covered in gravy to be edible. And whoever came up with the idea of a wet brine? Truly ridiculous. No offense to whoever does the Thanksgiving cooking at your house, but wet-brining and roasting a whole bird just isn’t it. Baking turkey in pieces or just cooking the breasts will ensure more even cooking, and dry brining actually yields a tastier, more tender result.

This turkey breast recipe is perfect for a smaller group (because you should only be having a small gathering this year). It’s dry brined for 24 hours, and needs to sit out on the counter for an hour before baking. Once cooked to an internal temperature of 150 degrees, it also needs to rest on the counter at room temperature for 45 minutes to an hour after cooking, so plan accordingly. The resting time will allow the turkey to come up around 10 additional degrees in temperature, and will lock in all the tasty juices. This may seem like a lot of time for a single turkey breast, but the passive work you put in here will result in a meal that is worth the wait. After it’s rested, this turkey breast is tender, juicy, and deeply flavorful from the dry brine, and makes fantastic sandwiches if you happen to have leftovers. The recipe can be riffed on with different spices and flavor combinations, but just be sure to keep the salt and sugar measurements the same.

Savory Dry Brined Turkey Breast

Yield: 4-5 servings

Time: 45-55 minutes cooking, plus 24 hours to brine and 2 hours total resting time

Ingredients

• 1 turkey breast, around 4-5 lbs.
• 2 ½ tbsp. kosher salt
• ½ tsp. smoked paprika
• ½ tsp. cayenne
• 1 tsp. dried rosemary
• ½ tsp. onion powder
• ½ tsp. garlic powder
• ½ tsp. cumin
• 3 tsp. brown sugar
• ½ stick unsalted butter

Preparation

Step 1

Set a wire rack on top of a baking sheet. Pat the turkey breast dry with a paper towel and place on the rack.

Step 2

Mix together the salt, sugar and spices in a small bowl. Rub the spice mix all over the turkey breast, top and bottom until fully coated. Gently pull some of the skin away from the meat (2-3 inches of it, don’t pull all the way off) and rub the spice mix on the meat under the loosened skin.

Step 3

Once the turkey has been covered in the dry brine mixture, put it in the fridge, uncovered. Let the turkey sit uncovered in the fridge for at least 24 hours. When ready to cook, let stand on the counter at room temp for 1 hour, and preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit while the turkey rests. Remove the turkey from the rack to discard any liquid that has accumulated in the baking sheet. Dry the rack and baking sheet, and line the baking sheet with heavy-duty foil.

Step 4

Cook turkey for 20 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Pull turkey out and baste with butter, top and bottom. Return turkey to the oven, and cook for an additional 30-35 minutes, basting with butter every 10 minutes. The turkey is done when an instant read thermometer reaches 150 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the breast. If you don’t have a meat thermometer, feel free to flip the turkey over and cut into the bottom to check for done-ness.

Step 6

Turn the broiler on to medium (or just on if you can’t adjust the setting). Let the turkey broil for 1-2 minutes to crisp up the skin. Watch it carefully while broiling, so as not to burn it.

Step 5

Allow the turkey to rest on the counter for 45 minutes before slicing.

This recipe is part of The Interlude’s Thanksgiving Week. Check out the other recipes here.