Do I really need to brine the turkey?

[Anonymous]

So I always brine my turkey for about 12 hours. Then cook it 'Barefoot Contessa style' (i.e. very basic, no frills, put aromatics in the cavity, pop it in the oven, and let it go).
This year due to limited space, limited time, and limited energy, I want to skip the brining. Am I doomed to dry turkey if I do?
My turkey is from Mom's and specifies that it has absolutely nothing added, so no pre salting or anything.
Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So I always brine my turkey for about 12 hours. Then cook it 'Barefoot Contessa style' (i.e. very basic, no frills, put aromatics in the cavity, pop it in the oven, and let it go).
This year due to limited space, limited time, and limited energy, I want to skip the brining. Am I doomed to dry turkey if I do?
My turkey is from Mom's and specifies that it has absolutely nothing added, so no pre salting or anything.
Thanks.

Use a roasting bag. There is a thread going on about it.

[Anonymous]

I don't usually brine the turkey and it doesn't come out dry unless I cook it too long. I use a roasting pan with a lid and put the turkey on a grid. In the cavity I rub it with salt/pepper/rosemary/sage etc. I put celery sticks, some carrot, maybe an apple, and maybe onion it it. All get dumped when serving. I also have poured a can of beer in the roasting pan. This year I'm not using the beer or onion. You can also put spices under the skin where possible.

[Anonymous]

Save yourself the effort and buy one that's already brined next year. Either way, it will be fine.

[Anonymous]

No. It's a waste of time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. It's a waste of time.

this.

[Anonymous]

I think I'm just going to tent mine and baste regularly with a stock/butter/wine mixture, the last hour I'll uncover and let the skin crisp up.

before it goes in the oven I plan to pat it with butter/herbs and put some butter/herbs under the skin, salt pepper inside and out and then stuff.

Hopefully it'll be good.

[Anonymous]

It'll be fine as long as you don't overcook it. The biggest risk is that the breast tends to overcook before the thighs are cooked through. You can try tenting the breast side in foil to slow it down, position the turkey with thighs toward the rear of the oven (usually hotter there than by the door), or rub salt under the skin about an hour before you put it in the oven (similar effect as brining, but a lot faster!).