Dry brining vs wet for turkey

I am also interested in thoughts on this from those who've tried both.

I have done both. One year I did Alton Brown's brine recipe. It was very good.
After many years of experimentation, I have started to notice a brined bird of any type is certainly moist, however I have noticed that the additional moisture imparted by the brine, also dilutes the flavor of the meat. It can also lead to a sponginess in the meat. A brined bird tends to have a less than desirable skin. Without care, it will be a rubbery mess. Allow allowing the bird to dry uncovered in the refrigerator for 24 hours will really help the skin.

I think I will go with a dry brine this year. When I dry brine, I separate the skin from the meat with my fingers, and work the salt mixture under the skin. 

Dry brining promotes natural moisture retention and good texture. Not to mention a better skin.

At the end of the day, whatever method you choose, will yield a excellent meal.

I’m in the dry brine camp. Much easier than a wet brine and It doesn’t take up as much room in the fridge IMO. 

I'm in the wet brine realm.  I personally have never noticed a spongy texture on a butterball post wet brine.  My bird has always come out a fan favorite.

With that said, I've never tried a virgin bird to truly see the difference.  Add it to the to-cook list.

GregW said:

I have done both. One year I did Alton Brown's brine recipe. It was very good.
After many years of experimentation, I have started to notice a brined bird of any type is certainly moist, however I have noticed that the additional moisture imparted by the brine, also dilutes the flavor of the meat. It can also lead to a sponginess in the meat. A brined bird tends to have a less than desirable skin. Without care, it will be a rubbery mess. Allow allowing the bird to dry uncovered in the refrigerator for 24 hours will really help the skin.

I think I will go with a dry brine this year. When I dry brine, I separate the skin from the meat with my fingers, and work the salt mixture under the skin. 

Dry brining promotes natural moisture retention and good texture. Not to mention a better skin.

At the end of the day, whatever method you choose, will yield a excellent meal.

I came here to say this. Have nothing to add. I’m all dry brine on birds

That would be a lot of buttermilk for a turkey !

Legume said:

That would be a lot of buttermilk for a turkey !

It is. but worth every drop

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

fishlessman said:

wonder if you could use buttermilk powder as a dry brine

I don't know about that but I recently had some fried okra with buttermilk powder in the batter and it was fantastic.

Not sure how the acids would behave as a powder vs liquid in a brine but I think I'm going to some experimentin' and see for myself

Cool idea- thanks!

im thinking keep the buttermilk powder, salt, herb brine shorter in time than a regular dry brine.  turkey is cheap right now anyways

I buy the Butterball turkeys.  Prebrined, so all I do is rub butter/spice mixture under skin, spatchcock, and throw on XL.  Everyone raves how moist my turkeys are.  Easy-peasy!  They all want my to know my “secret”, but it’s the quality of the bird and the BGE.

I go wet using two NSF Food Grade five gallon buckets. After submerging the bird in the brine I top the bucket off with ice and put the lid on. I then place it inside another bucket. The air space between the two acts as an insulator. There is still plenty of ice left 12-18 hours later so no refrigerator space is used. The bird turned out great.

Legume said:

Why not just go straight to hidden valley ranch powder.  You know you want to.

MSGenius!