I dry brined a turkey for Canadian Thanksgiving in October following Ina Garten's recipe for Accidental Turkey. I did not rinse. The turkey was wonderful, moist and not salty nor were the drippings which I used to make gravy.

I wet brined a turkey a few years back, and I had to rinse it. Even that wasn't good enough, or maybe my taste buds are too sensitive.

Definitely rinse. And, just my $.02, I think wet brining a turkey is overrated. While it may add moisture, it gives a spongey texture, which I don't like. It also sometimes makes the turkey too salty IMHO. I use Martha Stewart's method to keep the turkey moist - dunk cheese cloth in a mix of wine and melted butter, drape over turkey, keep the cheese cloth moist by basting with the wine-butter mixture every 20 minutes, remove cheese cloth toward the end for skin to brown. But there are many other methods for keeping a turkey moist besides brining.

The last time I wet brined a turkey (it was also my first attempt), I rinsed but apparently not well enough. The turkey was good, the gravy from the drippings inedible. Nothing I've prepared in my lifetime was as over seasoned/salted as that gravy from my brined bird ;0)

We do not rinse, but do thoroughly drain and may pat off excess moisture before applying the rub. It isn't what is on the surface that is really important here, it is what has become infused in the meat inside. We use less salt than generally called for in brine recipes (1/2 to 3/4) because most turkeys available have some injected saline -- the point being that the dissolved solids inside the bird (injected saline solution in processing) and those in the brine (your brine salt and seasonings) work to reach an equilibrium. Your goal is to basically exchange the added salt in the bird for a more flavorful solution without an overall increase in saltiness. But don't think you can just omit the salt -- DH did that by mistake one year and it was the worst texture and least flavor, almost inedible and definitely not pleasant turkey ever.

The dry salt method is better than brining, and there is no need to rinse. When you brine something, part of the flavor gets dissolved into the brine and is then discarded, but with the dry salt method, all flavor stays in the turkey. I've done both and will never go back to brining.

I suspect that works best if you are dealing with a turkey that doesn't have any injected saline. Otherwise, I would expect the turkey to get too salty and the salt is the thing I don't want more of. But there is also the factor of what seasonings you are using -- not all are in dry form for us. We use rubs a lot throughout the year, but for Thanksgiving turkey, DH insists on a brine with cider and orange in the mix. We use a light application of a rub too. We used to do the rub only and it was great turkey, but I do think the combo is the best.

Our family prefers a brine to a dry rub. We've tried it both ways and the vote was unanimous. Like lascatx points out, depends on what you're starting with. Not everyone uses the same brand/type of turkey.

We cut the salt in the brine by 1/2 exactly. Much too salty for our tastes (and 8 of 10 adults are on BP medication) otherwise.

No rinsing, not needed. We make our gravy from super-rich stock and cultured butter, not drippings.

Dry rubs are great if you're BBQ'ing or smoking, though!

I brined turkey a few times and always rinsed the bird inside and out. If you cook a turkey breast side down and flip halfway through, you'll get moist, full-flavored meat from the Pope's nose to the breast tips and avoid excess salt.

nooooooooooooo.

I am just too salt sensitive! I don't think brining is still in my future!

All of these "chefs" are so into salt and are DE sensitized to salt! Nancy

Any good chef judiciously to heighten taste and brining should enhance flavor via osmosis, not turn food into a salt lick, when done appropriately.

Except Anne Burrell, whose cooking makes me thirsty just watching her!

Fawnridge, I've definitely heard about cooking the turkey upside down and been tempted, but I think it would be so messy and hard to flip it over again.

It is messy and hard to flip a HOT turkey. It's not something I'd do twice.

If you cook to the right temperature and allow to rest properly, you will have juicy white meat. Why bother flipping it when the juices redistribute anyway?

It's messy, but doable with the right gloves. I buy these at Home Depot and replace them, even though I thoroughly wash them each time, every couple of months. They'll stave off the heat from the partially cooked turkey just long enough to flip it end over end. They're also perfect for pulling pork or slicing any hot meat where you need one hand to hold the meat steady and the other to carve.

With turkey, the trick is to flip the body cavity opening end first. Don't try to lift it by the wings or drummers! Lift from the breast and bring it over slowly. Remember to baste HEAVILY once it's been turned. It also helps to smooth out the indentations on the breast made by the roasting rack.

Why bother flipping it when the juices redistribute anyway?

By the time the meat is half-cooked and breast down, enough of those juices won't redistribute that you'll notice a difference. I didn't buy it at first, but after 30+ years of flipping half-cooked turkey, I'm a believer.

No basting here, either.

I'd love to see a reference for the juices not redistributing. I think starting upside down shields the breast from the high heat, which is why it helps with it not drying out before the legs are done.

I think I'd flip if I had a bird approaching or over 20#. I'd dread it, though!

To Nancy, the original poster, we have flipped, cheeseclothed, stuffed and not, ...done it all. For us it depends on the size of the bird and the oven. We brine. And rinse. Then let the bird rest in the fridge un-covered for a few hours to dry off.

We never use the amount of salt in a recipe. We learned early on, years ago, from a disaster recipe for chicken thighs DH wanted to make 'as the recipe exactly' even though i thought it was far too much salt and soy sauce. This was years ago and we could not eat it. It is now one of our favorites, adjusted.

Following a brined Turkey recipe without experience brining might have the same outcome. It really isn't necessary especially if your Turkey is 'enhanced'.

All our ovens are different. Sizes and heat methods. Gas vs electric. One persons perfect bird 'recipe' is not necessarily mine or yours.

Use your thermometer and check temp.

If it works this year, the same good outcome will work the next time. Same oven.

(we have a new oven so we watched it like a hawk this year)

My mother has a new oven and it was shoe leather last year. She just did what she always did but never checked temp. (we were driving/traveling) so we could not help at all...

I think an option is to tent the breast with foil, too. We let our turkey or chicken get browned and tent until done.

I think it's a good alternative for anyone who can't physically handle safely flipping a hot bird.