Should You Salt Your Turkey Before Roasting?

Brining Alternatives

By far the most common alternative is plain old salting. When you salt a turkey (or chicken) breast, meat juices are initially drawn out through the process of osmosis (yes, this time it really is osmosis at work). As the salt dissolves in these juices, it forms what amounts to a very concentrated brine, which then allows it to break down muscle proteins. The loosened muscle fibers allow the juices to get reabsorbed, this time taking the salt along for the ride.

Through this process—osmosis, dissolving, reabsorbing—the salt will slowly work its way into the meat.

Ive also heard people ask the very obvious question: If brining introduces bland, boring tap water into the bird, why not brine in a more flavorful solution?

Why not, indeed? I decided to find out.

With so many methods to test side by side, it became impractical to try to roast turkey breasts simultaneously. Instead, I roasted 24 chicken breasts in four different batches of six, averaging out the data across the batches. While chicken is not exactly turkey, the two are similar enough that results for one should correlate to results for the other.

Heres what I tried:

• Breast #1: plain (untreated)
• Breast #2: brined overnight in a 6% salt solution
• Breast #3: heavily salted overnight
• Breast #4: brined overnight in chicken broth with a 6% salt content
• Breast #5: brined overnight in cider with a 6% salt content
• Breast #6: soaked overnight in plain water

Breasts #1 and #6 were included as a control to ensure that the brine and salt solutions were behaving as expected, as well as a means of evaluating how closely the data would mirror that of the turkey breasts.

Heres what happened with breasts #1, #2, #3, and #6 (plain, brined, salted, and water-soaked).

As expected, the brined chicken breasts held on to significantly more moisture than either the plain chicken breasts or the water-soaked chicken breasts. Indeed, in this test, the water-soaked breasts actually ended up drier on average than the plain breasts. Take a look at the carnage:

Dry as the Gobi Desert (on an admittedly very-moist-for-a-desert day).

On the other hand, take a look at the brined breast:

As plump and juicy as a benevolent aunt in a Disney film. Tasting it, you definitely feel a case of wet-sponge syndrome. Water comes out of it as you chew, giving you the illusion of juiciness, but the texture is a little too loose, and the flavor a little bland.

Moving on to the salted breast, we find that its still significantly moister than the unsalted breast (though it was a couple of percentage points drier than the brined breast). Tasting it, youll find its undoubtedly juicier and better-seasoned, with a stronger chicken flavor. Texture-wise, its significantly different from both plain and brined turkey, with the smooth, dense-but-tender texture of lightly cured meat.

Visually, you can see clear signs of this curing with its decidedly pink hue:

With a small chicken breast, this pink, moist, cured section extends nearly to the center of the breast. On a turkey, youd see it only around the outer edges (which, serendipitously, happen to be the parts most prone to overcooking and drying out anyway).

While the brined breast was slightly juicier, flavor-wise and texture-wise, Id take the salted chicken over the brined any day.

What About the Flavored Brines?

First off, dont try to brine your turkey or chicken in cider (or any other acidic marinade, for that matter). Dont do it. Just dont. The acid in the cider will kick off the denaturization process in the meat, effectively “cooking” it without heat. The results? Ultra-dry meat, with a wrinkled, completely desiccated exterior, like this:

More interesting were the results of the broth-soaked chicken. It seems like the ultimate solution, right? If brining forces bland water into your meat, why not replace that water with flavorful broth?

Unfortunately, physics is a fickle mistress who refuses to be reined in. When I tasted the broth-soaked chicken next to the plain brine-soaked chicken, there was barely a noticeable difference in flavor at all. The broth-soaked chicken still had the same hallmarks of a regular brined bird (juicy/wet texture, blander flavor). What the heck was going on?

There are two principles at work here. The first is that, while broth is a pure liquid to the naked eye, broth actually consists of water with a vast array of dissolved solids in it that contribute to its flavor. Most of these flavorful molecules are organic compounds that are relatively large in size—on a molecular scale, that is—while salt molecules are quite small. So, while salt can easily pass across the semipermeable membranes that make up the cells in animal tissue, larger molecules cannot.**

** Good thing, too; otherwise, youd be leaking proteins and minerals out of your body every time you took a bath.

Additionally, theres an effect called salting out, which occurs in water-based solutions containing both proteins and salt. Think of a cup of broth as a college dance party populated with cheerleaders (the water—lets call them the Pi Delta Pis), nerds (the proteins—well refer to them as the Lambda Lambda Lambdas), and jocks (the salt—obviously the Alpha Betas).***

*** I make no specifications as to the gender and sexual preferences of said classes of individuals, but for the sake of this analogy, let us assume that nerds and jocks are not attracted to each other and that cheerleaders attract both nerds and jocks.

Now, at a completely jock-free party, the nerds actually have a shot at the cheerleaders, and end up commingling with them, forming a homogeneous mix. Open up the gymnasium doors, and a few of those cheerleaders will leave the party, taking a few nerds along for the ride. Unfortunately, those gymnasium doors are locked shut, and the only folks strong enough to open them are the jocks. So what happens when you let some jocks into that party?

The cheerleaders, who were initially fine socializing with the nerds, will quickly and selectively flock to the jocks. The nerds end up finding each other, huddling into small groups, and twiddling their thumbs. When the jocks finally go to bust the gymnasium doors open at the end of the party, they leave hand in hand with the cheerleaders, leaving the nerds in the dust. In our sad tale, those Tri-Lambs never get their revenge.

The exact same thing is happening in a broth-based brine. Water molecules are attracted to salt ions and will selectively interact with them. The poor proteins, meanwhile, are left with only each other, and end up forming large aggregate groups, which makes it even harder for them to get into the meat. When the salt breaks down muscle fibers sufficiently to allow the uptake of water (the equivalent of our jocks breaking down those doors), plenty of water and salt gets into the meat, but very little protein does.****

The result? Unless youre using an extra-concentrated homemade stock, the amount of flavorful compounds that make it inside your chicken or turkey is very, very limited. Given the amount of stock youd need to use to submerge a turkey, this doesnt seem like a very wise move.

**** This phenomenon is used in biology to remove specific unwanted proteins from solutions. As more salt is added to a solution, proteins will form larger and larger aggregates, until they are eventually large enough to be visible to the naked eye and precipitate out of the solution. Those proteins can then be removed with centrifugation. By knowing the salt concentration that causes different proteins to precipitate, scientists can target specific proteins to be removed, while keeping the rest in solution. The excess salt can then be removed via dialysis (essentially microscopic straining).

Best Thanksgiving: How to Brine a Turkey & How to Salt a Turkey

FAQ

Should you salt a turkey before roasting?

Every piece of poultry and pork, plus thicker cuts of beef and lamb, and even meatier fillets of fish like swordfish and grouper get seasoned at least one day …Nov 14, 2022

What is the downside of brining turkey?

• You need a large vessel to submerge the turkey in brine, like a cooler or a big bucket
• You need to keep the turkey and brine cold, which can take over a couple of days for an extra-large turkey

Should you add salt before or after roasting?

What about roasts? Salting an hour before cooking allows the formation and re-absorption of brine, as described above. The thickness of a roast, however, means that salting 24 hours or more beforehand will give better results. If you have the time and the forethought, go for it.

How much salt to put on a 15 pound turkey?

I find that using 3 tablespoons of kosher salt for a 12 to 15 pound turkey is plenty enough to ensure juicy, well-seasoned meat.

Why should you salt a Turkey before cooking?

Salting the turkey in advance helps to season it not only on the surface but also throughout the meat and helps to draw moisture out of the skin which results in a crispier texture. The salt also acts as a natural brine, helping to preserve the moisture in the meat, resulting in a more tender and juicy bird.

Should I salt a brined Turkey before cooking?

Ideally, season the turkey 1-2 days before cooking. If you only have 12 hours, that will still make a difference. Should I salt a brined turkey in advance? Pre-salting is not necessary if you plan to brine the turkey. The brine provides plenty of seasoning. Can I stuff the turkey after salting? Yes, you can stuff the turkey after seasoning it.

Can you cook a salted Turkey without rinsing?

The salted turkey can go straight into the oven, no rinsing required. The salt permeates the meat, dissolving as the turkey cooks. Apply the salt at least 24 hours before roasting, up to 48 hours. The longer it sits, the more flavorful the meat. Let the salted turkey air dry uncovered in the fridge. This helps achieve ultra crispy skin.

Should you season a Turkey before or after roasting?

Pre-salting reduces stress and saves you time on Thanksgiving morning. Seasoning your turkey the night before roasting delivers big rewards in terms of flavor, moisture, and texture. The salt penetrates deep into the meat, dries the skin, and relaxes muscle fibers – all adding up to a better bird.

Should you brine a Turkey before roasting?

Rinse if brining – If you plan to brine the turkey, rinse off the salt before submerging it. The salt used in brining provides enough seasoning. Season again before roasting – Right before roasting, you can add any other seasonings like pepper, herbs, and spices.

How do you salt a roast turkey?

Salted Roast Turkey with Chipotle Glaze and Caramelized-Onion Gravy It’s simple, really. Salt the turkey, cover it, then stick it in the fridge. Overnight the salt draws moisture from the interior of the bird to the surface, where it combines with the salt and other seasonings.