Dry Brined Rotisserie Turkey with Orange and Spices

Dry Brined Rotisserie Turkey with Orange and Spices is my go-to Thanksgiving turkey. Dry brine the bird, ice the breast, and spin it over the coals. That's the whole technique, and it's the best turkey I've ever made. The orange-spice dry brine does the seasoning, the ice and the U-shaped fire keep the white meat from drying out, and the rotisserie gives you the crispy skin.

Jump to:

• Rotisserie Turkey Is the Best Turkey
• Why Dry Brine a Turkey?
• Don't Overcook the Turkey - Ice the Breast
• Equipment
• Ingredients Notes and Substitutions
• How to make this rotisserie turkey in pictures
• Rotisserie Grilling Cookbook
• 📖 Recipe Card
• What do you think?
• Related Posts
• 💬 Comments

Why Dry Brine a Turkey?

My first trick is to dry brine the turkey. For years, my gold standard for turkey brines was the apple cider brine from Weber's Art of the Grill by Jamie Purviance. I converted to dry brines, so I created a dry brine with the same flavors: brown sugar, orange zest, ginger, garlic, and cloves. (And, of course, salt.) When combined with a chunk of smoking wood in the grill, you get layers of flavor in the bird - sweet, smoky and salty, with an interesting mix of fruit and spices. This is a turkey that doesn't need gravy to be fantastic.

Don't Overcook the Turkey - Ice the Breast

The next step is cooking the turkey to the appropriate level of doneness. This is tricky. The white meat in the breast should just cook to 160*F so it doesn't dry out. The dark meat in the legs should be cooked above 170*F; it needs extra heat to break down the connective tissue. The problem is - they're both on the same bird, and cooking for the same length of time. I used two techniques to help solve this.

Following the suggestion in Weber's Barbecued Turkey pamphlet I set up the charcoal in a U shape on one half of the grill. This focuses the heat on the turkey's legs, and lessens the heat on the breast.

I also used a trick from Harold McGee. Mr. McGee recommended strapping a couple of ice packs over the breast of the bird after removing it from the refrigerator, so the breasts start out colder than the thighs. His family told him this was "too unappetizing", so he switched to zip-top bags full of ice.  Since McGee's On Food and Cooking is the bible of food science, I thought it would be foolish not to take his advice.

Inspired by: Lots of different sources.

Equipment

• Grill with rotisserie. My favorite for turkey is a Weber Kettle with the Weber Rotisserie Ring attachment.
• Aluminum foil drip pan (11"x13", "turkey size", or whatever fits your grill)
• Cotton twine for trussing
• Gallon zip-top bag full of ice (optional)
• Instant Read Thermometer (I love my Thermapen, and the ThermoPop is a good, less expensive option.)

Ingredients Notes and Substitutions

Turkey Size

I recommend a 12 to 14 pound turkey, instead of one of the monster-sized 20 to 24 pound birds, for a few reasons:

• A smaller turkey cooks more evenly - the huge breast on a large bird can dry out on the outer meat before the center is cooked enough, and the thick thigh joint (which we want to reach 175°F) will take even longer to cook.
• It's quicker and more consistent - It will take 2 ½ to 3 hours to cook a smaller turkey; a larger one will take 3 to 5 hours. And it's that "3 to 5 hours" that caused me problems - it's tough to schedule a Thanksgiving dinner around a 2-hour window.
• The smaller birds are usually younger, with more tender meat. Also, you get more skin to meat ratio, and I love crispy turkey skin.

Now, if you really want to cook a 24 pound turkey, this recipe will make the best one possible, with a couple of changes. Scale the brine up for the larger bird (double it for a 24 pound turkey). Follow the same cooking instructions, but expect the bird to take about 4 hours for a 24 pound turkey - plus or minus an hour.

Dry Brine Variations

I love this dry brine - it's one of my favorites - but it does have a lot of stuff in it. Here are two variations:

• Simplest dry brine: A simple dry brine is still great - and we can skip most of the ingredients in the complex one. Use ¼ cup kosher salt and 2 teaspoons of brown sugar. (That's it).
• Dry ingredients dry brine: The other variation is to replace the wet ingredients with dry ingredients, and make this dry brine into a spice rub. Use ¼ cup kosher salt, 1 teaspoon of dried orange peel, ¼ teaspoon dry ginger, 1 teaspoon of granulated garlic, ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves.

Fresh vs Frozen Turkey

There are two advantages to a fresh turkey.

• No pre-brining: Fresh turkeys are rarely pre-brined, which is redundant because of the dry brine. (Look for "enhanced with a X% solution" or "pre-basted" to tell if a turkey is pre-brined).
• It's not frozen: This is obvious but: a fresh bird doesn't need to thaw! A frozen bird will need an extra three days to thaw in the refrigerator before you dry brine it. (The dry brine won't stick to a frozen bird). If you get a frozen bird, that means you need to start thawing it about a week before Thanksgiving.

If you do get a frozen bird, and it is pre-brined (or pre-basted, or "enhanced with a solution"), cut the salt in the dry brine back to 2 tablespoons.

How to make this rotisserie turkey in pictures

Note: for an overview of the technique, see my rotisserie poultry post.

Dry brine the turkey

3 days before it is time to cook, Mix the dry brine ingredients, rub them evenly over the turkey, inside and out. Put the turkey in a pan, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 3 days. Remove the plastic wrap the night before cooking.

Prep the Turkey for the grill

One hour before cooking, remove the turkey from the refrigerator. Truss and skewer the turkey with the rotisserie spit, and put a zip lock bag full of ice on the breast.

Charcoal Grill Rotisserie Setup

Set up the grill for for rotisserie cooking on indirect medium heat - light a chimney ¾ full of charcoal, and when it's covered with ash, pour it out in a U shape at one end of the grill. Put the drip pan in the middle of the U, and the wood chunks on the lit coals.

OR: Gas Grill Rotisserie Setup

Set up the grill for rotisserie cooking at indirect medium heat (325*F to 350*F). If you can, put all the heat on one side - set one outside burner on high, and leave the other burners off, to concentrate the heat on the legs. Let the grill preheat for 15 minutes, then turn on the rotisserie burner to medium (if you have one), and put the drip pan on the grill.

Rotisserie the Turkey

Put the spit on the grill, with the leg side of the bird inside the "U" of coals or pointing towards the lit burners of the gas grill. Cook the turkey with the lid closed until the temperature is 160°F in the thickest part of the breast. (If you're using a charcoal grill, add add 24 fresh charcoal briquettes every hour to keep the fire going.)

Carve the turkey and serve

Remove the turkey from the grill, remove the spit from the turkey, and cut the trussing twine loose. Let the turkey rest for 15 to 30 minutes, then carve, serve, and enjoy!

Print

📖 Recipe Card

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Related Posts

• Basic Rotisserie Turkey
• Rotisserie Turkey, Dry Brined with Orange and Spices
• Rotisserie Turkey - The Big Turkey
• Rotisserie Turkey Wrapped With Bacon
• Rotisserie Turkey with Cajun Dry Brine
• Rotisserie Turkey Breast with Basic Dry Brine
• Rotisserie Turkey Breast with Honey Bourbon Glaze

Or, for other Rotisserie Turkey suggestions, check out my Rotisserie recipes index.

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