Dry-Cured Roast Turkey | Recipe Classic
First published almost a decade ago, this Yankee recipe for dry-cured roast turkey has earned its place at the Thanksgiving table.
Dry-Cured Roast Turkey
Photo Credit : Heath Robbins; Styling by Catrine Kelty (food), Caroline Woodward (props)Photo Credit : Heath Robbins; Styling by Catrine Kelty (food), Caroline Woodward (props)
Turkeys are tricky birds. The breast meat is delicate, the legs take longer to cook, and bringing the latter up to temperature often means overcooking the former. Brining (soaking the turkey in a salt-and-sugar solution) solves these problems, plumping up and seasoning the breast meat. However, it’s a messy process. Our favorite solution? The dry brine. In this method, you apply the seasonings right onto the skin of the meat. It’s simpler, and the bird comes out just as moist and flavorful. Just be sure to use a natural turkey, as many frozen ones come prebrined. You can even cure the turkey as it thaws. Happy Thanksgiving!
Dry-Cured Roast Turkey
Amy Traverso
Amy Traverso is the senior food editor at Yankee magazine and co-host of the public television series Weekends with Yankee, a coproduction with WGBH. Previously, she was food editor at Boston magazine and an associate food editor at Sunset magazine. Her work has also been published in The Boston Globe, Saveur, and Travel & Leisure, and she has appeared on Hallmark Home & Family, The Martha Stewart Show, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. Amy is the author of The Apple Lover’s Cookbook, which was a finalist for the Julia Child Award for best first-time author and won an IACP Cookbook Award in the “American” category.
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