Dry Brine Turkey Breast

Golden dry-brined turkey breast roasted with rosemary, thyme, and garlic butter.

5 from 4 votes

This dry brine turkey breast with compound butter will result in a juicy turkey breast. This is the perfect serving size for a smaller gathering.

Prep Time20

Cook Time1 40

Dry Brine Time1

Course: Dinner, holiday

Cuisine: American

Keyword: holiday, thanksgiving, turkey

Servings:

Author: August DeWindt

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

Some turkey breast, like the butterball brand will already be in a highly concentrated salty solution. Try to avoid getting this type of turkey if possible. If you do get one of these turkeys, cut the salt in the brining stage in half or it might be too salty in the end.

Nutrition