Turkey bone weight Dry brine

[DTro]

When doing the math to dry brine a turkey, how much weight of the bird should I consider bones? I'm dropping an 18 pounder and thinking of taking 2-3 pounds off the formula for bone weight. 16 lbs meat= 8 teaspoons K salt.

[Donw]

I don’t know but I found this question very interesting so I had to go searching. Looks like most answers fall in the 15%-25% range. The difference appears to be based on the age of the turkey with older ones having denser bones. Since larger birds should be older that younger birds I’d venture 20-25%. 🤔

[DTro]

Thanks, Don. I may drop the salt, considering at 15%-20% bone weight. That should get me in a pretty close range. Slightly salty is fine. Over salty is what I want to avoid. Lots of herbs and spices will make up the difference.

[PGH_RAM]

Interesting. I've never dry brined a turkey by weight before. Is there an equation you're using?

I just mix 1/4 cup Diamond Crystal kosher salt with 1 tablespoon of baking powder and sprinkle it generously. That's usually plenty for a 17-18 lb bird.

[DTro]

I'm thinking the usual 1/2 teaspoon per pound o' meat equation.Works well for me with all other meats/ birds.This will be the first year I use baking powder to crisp the skin too. Has it worked well for you?

[PGH_RAM]

DTro The baking powder trick has worked perfectly for me going on six or seven years now. I dry brine my turkey for 48 hours with that mix I posted above and the skin is always beautifully crisp--the scrape your knife on it ASMR kind of crispy.

[DTro]

Thanks PGH_RAM. Gonna give it a shot this year!