Dry-Brined Herb Roasted Turkey (Zuni Café Style)

Do you ever become so obsessed with a recipe that you end up making it 10 times? For me, that’s the “Zuni Café” Roast Chicken! The first time I made it I thought, damn this is a really good bird! The thing is that I absolutely LOVE making roast chicken. It’s one of my favorite dishes. It’s comforting, simple but also feels fancy. What makes the Zuni Café roast chicken so good is the combo of the dry brine + fresh herbs that are tucked underneath the skin. It comes out juicy, aromatic and with the crispiest skin. Then I thought, why couldn’t I do the same technique with turkey? Here comes the Dry-Brined Herb Roasted Turkey (Zuni Café Style)!

What is a dry brine?

A dry brine is a simple salt rub that you can put on any meat like turkey, chicken, pork or beef. As the salt sits on the meat, it slowly melts and the salt and water mixture is absorbed into the meat. This is an easier way than making a wet brine which is where you dissolve salt into a large amount of water and then submerge the meat into the salt/water solution. You can embellish on the salt brine and add other spices, sugar, pepper and more. For this recipe I did a combination of salt and fresh ground pepper. The turkey is seasoned on the inside cavity, underneath the skin and all over the skin itself.

The turkey needs to sit with the salt rub for at least 24 hours (and up to 48 hours) uncovered in the fridge. This allows the skin to dry out, therefore making it super crispy. The easiest way to do this to place the turkey on a roasted rack with a sheet pan underneath to catch any drippings.

What herbs should use?

I keep it pretty classic on Thanksgiving and I like to use rosemary, thyme and sage. Using your hand, gently pull the skin away from the flesh and tuck the herbs in there. They should on the turkey breast and if you are able to on the thighs and drumsticks as well. When the turkey cooks, the herbs will permeate the turkey flesh and infuse all the delicious, herbiness flavor.

What kind of turkey should I use?

This is super important! If at all possible, try and buy either an organic turkey or a locally raised turkey. You will be able to taste the quality difference 100%. I don’t believe in buying all organic all the time (it’s expensive), however for this very special meal that happens once a year, I say go ahead and splurge a little.

If buying organic or local isn’t a possibility then just make sure your turkey does not have any additional brine or injections. If will say this on the label, so please double check before purchasing! If will read something like this “Contains up to 8% of a solution of Water, Salt, Spices, and Natural Flavor” then you will want to skip the dry brine step because your turkey has already been brined. Adding the dry brine will make it too salty.

Also if you buy a frozen turkey, don’t forget it takes multiple days to thaw in the fridge. A shortcut I found is to fill up your sink with cold water and place the turkey (should still be wrapped in the packaging) in there for at least 2-3 hours, making sure to rotate the bird and then place back in the fridge. This should cut down your thawing time down a bit.

Are we going to baste the bird?

Nope! There’s no basting of this turkey. It goes in the oven and that’s really it. Before it goes in the oven it gets brushed with melted butter to get that golden shine but beyond that, no basting allowed!

Other Aromatics!

Another crucial part of cooking this turkey is to season inside the cavity with salt and freshly ground black pepper AND also to stuff it with lots of yummy aromatics. I like to use a combo of herbs, onions, lemon and garlic. You could also use oranges, bay leaves and more. This will honestly perfume your turkey from the inside out and take it to the next step of delicious.

The oven temperature seems high!

You’re right! We start cooking the turkey on really high heat (at 450°F to establish a deep brown color). After about an hour (give or take), the oven temperature goes down to 325°F to continue cooking. Two other crucial steps in the cooking process is to let allow your turkey to come to room temperature. If it’s over 10 pounds I would recommend letting it sit for at least 1 hour and a half and up to 2 hours. Then after it’s done cooking, let it rest for at least 30 minutes. I leave it uncovered while it rests to preserve the crispy skin.

Roast Racking Essentials

You want to make sure your turkey is elevated from the bottom of the pan. Again, this is to allow the turkey to get crispy. If it’s sitting in the bottom of your pan the juices will render from the turkey and your bird will end up sitting in a puddle of juicy, therefore–a soggy bottom. I know it’s tempting to buy the foil roasting pans but you can find a cheap roasting rack and pan at so many stores now. I would make the investment. However, if you’re going the foil pan route then I would create a bed of veggies (like roughly chopped onion, celery, carrots) for your turkey to rest on it. It wouldn’t be as crispy but it will elevate the turkey from sitting on the bottom of your roasting pan.

Let’s break it down on why the Dry-Brined Herb Roasted Turkey (Zuni Café Style) is the best bird!

Dry brine makes a very flavorful and moist turkey (with less mess than a wet brine)
Herbs tucked underneath the skin perfumes and imparts tons of flavor
Uncovered turkey in the fridge drys out the skin making it super crispy when it roasts
Cooking the turkey on super high heat will create golden brown and crispy skin

Ingredients

11-13 pound turkey organic if possible
2 tbsp kosher salt
½ tbsp freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch sage
1 bunch rosemary
1 bunch thyme
1 each lemon quartered
1 head garlic cut in half crosswise
2 small onion quartered
1 medium carrot cut into chunks
1 medium celery stalk cut into chunks
2 cups water
2 tbsp butter melted

Cooking instructions

In a small bowl, combine salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Gently separate the turkey skin from the turkey flesh. Just be gentle and use your fingers and slide them in between the skin and flesh on the turkey breast, thighs and drumsticks.
Season the inside of the cavity with the salt and pepper mixture.
Next rub the salt mixture underneath the turkey skin on to the flesh.
Take sprigs of herbs and slide them underneath the turkey skin on to the turkey flesh. Recommended: place sage leaves on the turkey breast. Place thyme sprigs and rosemary on thighs and drumsticks.
Place any extra herbs inside the cavity and the lemon, garlic and 1 onion.
Season the outside of the entire turkey with the remaining salt mixture.
Allow the turkey to sit in fridge uncovered for 1-2 days.
Preheat oven to 450°F.
After 1-2 days, remove turkey from the fridge and allow to sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
Tie the turkey legs together with twine and tuck the wings underneath the turkey.
Place the turkey on the roasting rack in a roasting pan. Make sure to spray the roasting rack and pan with avocado oil spray.
Add the remaining 1 onion, carrot and celery to the bottom of the pan. Add turkey neck if available. Pour in 2 cups of water.
Brush the entire turkey with melted butter.
Check on the turkey after 45 minutes, just to make sure nothing is burning. If anything is getting born too quickly cover it with a little aluminum foil "patch." Continue cooking for another 15 minutes.
After 1 hour, turn the heat down to 325°F. Continue to cook for another hour. After the hour has elapsed, starting to taking the temperature in the turkey thigh.
Once the temperature reached 160°F in the thigh, take out your turkey and let it rest. I prefer not to cover it with the foil to keep the skin crispy. Let the turkey rest for at least 30 minutes but preferably 45 minutes.
Carve your turkey and serve! Make sure to save any pan drippings to add to your gravy.