Continuing our month of answering your Thanksgiving-related questions, I'd like to address the subject of dry-brining. There's been a lot of talk lately about this technique for flavoring and moisturizing a turkey. As with many other culinary inventions, it's hard to pinpoint who first came up with the idea. But numerous sources credit the famous roast chicken served by chef Judy Rodgers at her San Francisco restaurant Zuni Café.
The secret to Rodgers's chicken is a salt and herb mixture that's rubbed on the bird, then allowed to penetrate in the fridge before cooking. After the recipe was published in Rodgers's cookbook, other cooks started applying it to Thanksgiving turkey. Technically, this is not actually brining—by definition, a brine is a wet mixture of salt and water in which an ingredient is soaked. A dry salt mixture is actually more of a "rub" or perhaps a "cure." But proponents of the technique started using the term "dry-brine" to invite both a comparison and contrast with a "wet-brine" (soaking the turkey in saltwater), which had previously been a popular method for adding moisture and flavor.
It turns out, a "dry brine" actually works just as well as a "wet brine" at flavorizing and moisturizing: Even without the presence of water, the salt helps redistribute the moisture in the bird and pull the seasonings deep into the meat, resulting in a juicy, flavorful turkey. Some people feel that a dry-brined bird actually has a better texture than one that's been wet-brined: The flesh is less mushy, more firm and meaty, while still moist. And, as anyone who've ever struggled with wet-brining a turkey will be happy to hear, the dry-brining process is much, much easier. Instead of wrangling a slippery, wet bird in a fluid-filled trash bag, you simply massage the salt mixture into the turkey, slip it into a roasting bag, and stow it in the fridge.
Cookbook author and Thanksgiving expert Rick Rodgers blogged about the technique here on the Epi-Log a couple of years ago, and his recipe was published in last year's Bon Appétit. The recipe's appearance on Epicurious prompted numerous commenters to testify that it's the best bird they've ever made.
I haven't tried dry-brining yet, and I won't be cooking my family's turkey this Thanksgiving. (I'm actually relishing the prospect of taking a year off!) But I've already decided that I'll use the technique next year. I used to be a big fan of wet brining, but it was definitely a hassle, and I was always plagued by the nagging feeling that I was doing my expensive heritage birds a disservice with such an invasive soaking.
Has anyone else tried dry-brining? Any thoughts to report? And any other Thanksgiving questions you want answered?
And of course, for many more Thanksgiving recipes, plus how-to videos, decorating ideas, and a fun menu-planning quiz, see our complete Thanksgiving package.
by Sarah Kagan
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