Dry brine turkey timeline for Thanksgiving 2026
Dry brining means salting the turkey and leaving it in the fridge for a few days. It adds a step to the week, so it helps to see which day each part falls on. Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26, 2026. The calendars below count back from it. They follow two recipes I opened in October 2026, Skinnytaste and Well Plated, which agree on the method and differ on length and salt.
Pick a length
USDA says poultry can stay in the refrigerator up to 2 days after it is thawed or bought fresh, and its brining fact sheet (an archived copy) says the same for dry brining. Skinnytaste suggests 3 to 4 days for the best skin, which goes past that, so I only give the 2-day calendar. Skinnytaste's FAQ and Well Plated both use 24 to 48 hours. Everything runs in the fridge and the turkey has to be fully thawed before the salt goes on.
2 days (Skinnytaste FAQ and Well Plated, 24 to 48 hours)
| Day | What to do |
|---|---|
| Tue, Nov 24 | Thawed turkey: salt it, wrap it in plastic, refrigerate. |
| Wed, Nov 25 | Unwrap, do not rinse, refrigerate uncovered at least 12 hours (Well Plated allows up to 24, until 1 hour before cooking). |
| Thu, Nov 26 | Stand for 1 hour, then roast. |
If the turkey is frozen
The USDA's turkey brochure says a thawed turkey can stay in the refrigerator 1 to 2 days, and the fridge thaw takes about a day for every 4 pounds. A 14 lb turkey needs 4 days to thaw at that rate. For the 2-day brine it goes into the fridge to thaw on Fri, Nov 20. Plug in your own weight and date on the thaw date calculator. The brochure is on the USDA site, and I read the figures from a University of Wisconsin Extension copy.
How much salt
The two recipes use different salts and different rates. Skinnytaste says 1 tablespoon for every 4 pounds, with Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Well Plated says 1 tablespoon of Morton's kosher salt for every 5 pounds. Well Plated's FAQ says Diamond Crystal takes about 1½ times as much as Morton's (its recipe card says 1¾ tablespoons per tablespoon). Both columns below are those rates multiplied by the weight, so they are my arithmetic. Do not mix the rates: use the one for the salt in your box. Well Plated says not to rinse the turkey afterward.
| Turkey | Diamond Crystal (Skinnytaste rate) | Morton's (Well Plated rate) |
|---|---|---|
| 10 lb | 2.5 tbsp | 2 tbsp |
| 12 lb | 3 tbsp | 2.4 tbsp |
| 14 lb | 3.5 tbsp | 2.8 tbsp |
| 16 lb | 4 tbsp | 3.2 tbsp |
| 20 lb | 5 tbsp | 4 tbsp |
Roast day, 5 PM dinner
The brine does not change the USDA roasting time, so this uses the USDA table: a 12 to 14 lb unstuffed turkey takes up to 3 h 45 min at 325 °F. Well Plated stands the turkey 1 hour before roasting. Skinnytaste says 1 to 3 hours, but USDA says raw poultry should not sit at room temperature more than 2 hours (1 hour above 90 °F), so I stop at 1 hour. The turkey goes in at 12:15 PM, so take it out of the fridge at 11:15 AM. Menu: turkey, then stuffing, sweet potato casserole and rolls at 350 °F, with a 30 minute stand for the turkey.
| Time | Step |
|---|---|
| 11:15 AM | Take the turkey out of the fridge |
| 12:00 PM | Preheat the oven to 325 °F |
| 12:15 PM | Put Turkey, 12–14 lb in the oven (325 °F, 3 h 45 min) |
| 4:00 PM | Take Turkey, 12–14 lb out to rest, covered (1 h before serving) |
| 4:00 PM | Set the oven to 350 °F and let it get there |
| 4:15 PM | Put Stuffing (in a dish) in the oven (350 °F, 45 min) |
| 4:30 PM | Put Sweet potato casserole in the oven (350 °F, 30 min) |
| 4:45 PM | Put Dinner rolls in the oven (350 °F, 15 min) |
| 5:00 PM | Take Stuffing (in a dish) out |
| 5:00 PM | Take Sweet potato casserole out |
| 5:00 PM | Take Dinner rolls out |
| 5:00 PM | Serve |
Doneness: the USDA minimum is 165 °F (74 °C). Skinnytaste pulls the turkey when the breast reads 160 °F and the thighs 165 °F, and says the temperature rises while it rests; Well Plated also names 165 °F as the number for poultry. Roast until the breast and thigh both read 165 °F, the USDA minimum. Skinnytaste also roasts at 425 °F for the first hour, then 325 °F for about 1¾ to 2 hours, which is a different schedule from the one above, so choose one. Open the roast-day menu in the planner to change the dinner time.
Related pages
- The rest of the week: Thanksgiving 2026 make-ahead timeline.
- Roasting times by weight: turkey roasting time chart, or the clock time for your dinner hour on what time to put the turkey in the oven.
- The stand after roasting: how long to rest a turkey. Full menu: Thanksgiving dinner with one oven.