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Let me tell you, a dry-brined turkey breast is a game changer for your holiday meal. If you’ve been dealing with dry, flavorless turkey, this is the recipe that will redeem it forever. With a simple dry brine and a garlic herb butter rub, this turkey breast is juicy, tender, and bursting with flavor in every bite.
This is the best dry brine turkey breast recipe. I love eating this turkey breast with Soul Food Collard Greens and Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese. Don’t forget to save room for Southern Sweet Potato Pie.
What is dry brine?
Dry brining is a method of seasoning meat by rubbing it with a salt mixture and letting it rest before cooking. Unlike wet brining, which involves soaking the meat in a salty solution, dry brining allows the turkey to retain its natural juices while infusing it with flavor. The result? A turkey that’s juicy on the inside, crispy on the outside, and full of bold, delicious taste.
Ingredients for dry brine turkey breast
Dry Brine:
- Kosher salt: Draws out moisture, which then reabsorbs, seasoning the meat deeply.
- Black pepper: Adds a bold, earthy spice.
- Brown sugar: Balances the saltiness and enhances caramelization during roasting.
Turkey:
- Turkey breast: A lean cut, perfect for brining and roasting for juicy results.
- Butter: Adds moisture, richness, and helps the skin crisp beautifully.
- Rosemary and thyme: Provides earthy, aromatic flavors that complement the turkey.
- Garlic: Infuses the turkey with bold, savory goodness.
- Honey: Adds a subtle sweetness that balances the savory herbs and spices.
- Paprika and cayenne pepper: Adds depth and a gentle kick of spice.
- Onions, lemons, rosemary, thyme: Creates an aromatic base for roasting and flavor the juices for gravy.
Butter Injection:
- Butter: Keeps the turkey moist and adds rich flavor deep into the meat.
- Paprika and onion powder: Complements the seasonings on the outside of the turkey.
How to make dry brine turkey breast
Take the turkey breast and cut off the backbone, you can save this for turkey broth if you’d like.
Pat dry the turkey and season the turkey with a dry brine mixture of salt, pepper, and brown sugar. Season it all over, getting under the skin and on the bottom as well.
Place on a baking or wire rack over a baking tray. Let it rest in the fridge uncovered for 24 hours.
On roasting day bring the turkey out of the fridge an hour beforehand to bring to room temp. Make the compound butter in a food processor or a bowl.
Rub the turkey breast all over with the compound butter and inject melted butter for extra juiciness. Stick an oven safe thermometer into the thickest part of the turkey breast.
Roast the turkey breast on a bed of onions, lemons, and herbs, basting every 30 minutes for a golden, flavorful finish. Cover the turkey loosely with a tent of foil once the skin starts to turn golden. Take the foil off during the last 10 minutes of cooking.
Rest the turkey before slicing, and serve with your favorite gravy for an unforgettable meal.
The full written recipe with measurements is below on the recipe card.
Recipe Tip
Roast the turkey for 20 minutes per pound. I HIGHLY suggest to get an oven safe thermometer for this! You do not want to over cook the turkey.
Commonly Asked Questions
Dry brining is less messy and results in a deeply seasoned turkey with crispy skin, unlike wet brining, which can dilute flavors.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat gently with a splash of broth to keep it moist.
No problem! Skipping this step still gives you juicy turkey thanks to the brine and butter rub.
Check out more holiday recipes here =)
Dry Brine Turkey Breast
Ingredients
Brine:
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
Turkey:
- 5 ½ – 6 ½ lb turkey breast, try to get one with no solution, see notes
- 12 tbsp unsalted Butter , softened, 1 1/2 sticks
- 1 tsp Rosemary, chopped
- 1 tsp Thyme, chopped
- 4 cloves Garlic , minced
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 1 ½ tsp Paprika
- ½ tsp Cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- Sprigs of rosemary
- Sprigs of thyme
- 2 onions , quartered
- 1 lemon , sliced
Butter injection:
- 2 tablespoons butter , melted
- Pinch of paprika & onion powder or cajun seasoning
Instructions
- Cut the backbone out of the turkey breast, save on the side if you’re making stock. Pat dry the turkey breast and season all over with the dry brine seasonings. Make sure to get under the skin as well and on the bottom too.
- Place the turkey on a wire rack over a baking sheet or pan and place in the fridge uncovered. Let it stay in the fridge for 24 hours.
- Take the turkey out of the fridge an hour before you’re ready to cook and bring to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- To a small food processor or bowl add the butter, rosemary, thyme, minced garlic, honey, paprika, cayenne pepper and onion powder. Mix together until well combined.
- Rub this compound butter all over the turkey breast, under the skin and on the bottom as well.
- Inject the turkey breast in different areas with the butter injection. If you don’t have an injector that is fine, you can skip this step and the breast will still be juicy. But I highly recommend getting one.
- To a baking dish large enough to hold the turkey breast, add the onion, lemon, rosemary & thyme. Place the turkey on top of this.
- Roast in the oven at 20 min per pound. Baste after 30 minutes. When the skin starts to look golden, loosely cover the turkey with foil. In the last 10 min of cooking take the foil off and baste again.
- Take the turkey out of the oven when it reaches 160 degrees. It will come to 165 degrees while resting. Let it rest for at least 20 minutes before slicing.
- Slice & serve with turkey gravy.
Video
@theres.food.at.home Ep 6 | Dry brine turkey! This will be the last episode of the series. The full recipe is on the blog as always! Due to a family emergency, I won’t be answering any comments or DMs for a while, good or bad. I don’t have the mental capacity at this time. If you have any serious questions about a recipe, there’s a comment section on my blog under each recipe. I will respond to those 🤍. #foodtiktok #tiktokpartner #thanksgivingrecipes #turkey ♬ La vie en rose (Cover Edith Piaf) – 田东昱
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi, do you have a gravy recipe? I noticed you said you use the backbone for gravy. Thanks for the recipe, looks delicious!
I don’t at the moment. I used the backbone to make turkey stock and used that in the gravy.
This was my first year cooking for my little family, and I was feeling overwhelmed with the thought of cooking a whole turkey until I saw your video on instagram. I quickly sent it to my husband! I felt more confident after reading your recipe. It came out so good and juicy. Everyone loved it !! Thank you !!!
I’m so glad!!
1st time making turkey that wasnt ground turkey haha. So thankful for this recipie. It was a hit!!! Will def make again
Thank you!
I followed the recipe exactly and it was far and away the best turkey breast I have ever made. I was nervous at first because I’d never used an injector before and I don’t know that I injected it deeply enough, but it was still delicious. And watching the video gave me the confidence to really stretch the membrane between the skin and meat to get the brine and compound butter all over, and I think it made a big difference. Thank you for this recipe!
Thank you Abbie! I’m so happy this recipe worked out for you.