Flight Path Farm Style Heritage Turkey

This recipe combines America’s Test Kitchen’s heritage turkey technique (separating the legs, dry brining, and roasting low and slow), a dry brine, and a "secret" ingredient – dried ground Koji rice – for a deeply seasoned, tender, and flavorful bird. We have also incorporated Serious Eats’ technique of raising the skin's pH with baking powder for extra-crispy skin.

You may notice very few drippings when roasting; that’s normal. The dry brine and koji both help retain moisture by breaking down connective proteins, so the meat contracts less and stays juicy. (Use the neck, giblets, pelvis, and wing tips to make a stock for gravy.)

Get a Thermometer

If you don’t already have one, get a good meat thermometer; it’s essential. Heritage turkeys and dry-brined birds cook faster than conventional ones, so time cues aren’t reliable. Cooking times will vary, depending on the size of the turkey, how long it is salted and rested, and your particular oven; use temperature, not time, as your guide. Click here to learn how.

Start Three Days Ahead (or as early as you can)

Ideally, begin 3 days before roasting. The turkey rests salted for two days, then uncovered on the third for crisp skin.

• If using only salt (no koji): 1–2 days is fine.

• If you’re short on time: even 24 hours (or overnight) helps, though koji works best with at least 48 hours.

You’ll also need a rimmed baking sheet with a wire rack that fits inside.

Get a Scale While You're Buying a Thermometer

Salt volume varies dramatically by grain size: 1 Tbsp coarse salt ≈ 8 g; fine table salt ≈ 20 g. A small digital scale ensures accuracy -- worth it for a $100+ turkey!

And Now with Stock and Gravy advice

We’ve added separate recipes for stock, gravy, and rendered turkey fat. Click here!

Too Complicated?

Prefer something simpler or more traditional? Check out this recipe for an easier approach.

Ingredients

• 10-12 lb heritage turkey

• 6 tablespoons granular (dried) rice koji, ground to a fine powder [semi-optional -- see notes at end of recipe]

• 25 grams salt, equivalent to about 3 tablespoons Diamond kosher salt (large grains), or 2 tablespoons Morton’s kosher salt (small grains) [see note at end of recipe for more info on amounts of salt]

• 1.5 teaspoons baking powder (not baking soda)

• 10 more grams salt, equivalent to about 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Diamond Kosher Salt/2 teaspoons Morton's Kosher Salt

• 1 T vegetable oil [optional]

Steps

1. Three days before roasting -- koji salt brine

   1. Prepare the koji-salt brine: Grind your dry koji rice to a fine powder and mix with 25 g salt.

   2. Prep the turkey: Remove neck and giblets from the body cavity (reserve for stock). Check the outside of your turkey for any stray pin feathers and remove. Optional exfoliation: Rub the bird with a handful of kosher salt to remove residue, then rinse and pat dry.

   3. Separate the legs: Place turkey breast-side up on a cutting board. Remove the legs from the breast crown: with turkey breast side up, using a sharp knife, slice through skin between breast and thigh down to joint on both sides. Using your hands, pull each leg quarter back to expose joint between leg and breast. Remove legs by cutting through hip joint and then skin beneath, separating each leg quarter. Then, remove the remaining boney bit from the breast: slice through the membrane and thin layer of muscle connecting breast to backbone. Bend backbone away from breast to break where it meets rib cage; use knife to remove completely. (Reserve this bit of backbone for making stock for gravy.)

   4. Remove the wing tips (optional): With a sharp knife, cut off the distal two parts of the wing (the wing time and wing flat); reserve with neck and pelvis for making stock/gravy later.

   5. Apply the koji brine: Using your fingers, gently loosen skin covering legs and breasts, separating as much skin from the meat as possible without tearing. Rub koji/salt mixture under skin, directly on the meat, on the undersides of any exposed meat, and all inside the breast cavity, distributing evenly. Place the pieces in a large resealable bag or wrap tightly in plastic. Refrigerate on a tray for 2 days.

2. One day before roasting -- drying the skin

   1. Mix baking powder with the remaining salt.

   2. Remove turkey from plastic, pat dry, and rub the baking powder and salt mixture all over the skin. Place on a rack set over a baking sheet, uncovered, in the fridge overnight.

3. Day of your feast -- roasting the turkey

   1. Remove the turkey from the fridge 1 hour before cooking.

   2. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 250 degrees. Lightly grease rack and return to baking sheet.

   3. Transfer the breast to large plate and set aside. Arrange leg quarters skin-side down on the greased wire rack set over the baking sheet.

   4. Roast until thighs reach 140°F, about 45–75 minutes. (Use temperature measured with a meat thermometer, not time, as your guide.)

   5. Flip legs skin-side up; add the breast (skin-side down) to the rack. Roast another 45–60 minutes (less if it took you less time to get to 140 degrees in the prior step, more if it took you longer).

   6. Flip the breast skin-side up and continue roasting until the breast hits 150–155°F and thighs reach 175–180°F, 1–2 hours more.

   7. Remove any part that finishes early and let it rest. Once done, rest all turkey parts for 30–60 minutes.

4. 20 Minutes before eating -- crisp the skin

   1. Increase oven to 500°F (or as high as your oven will go).

   2. Either stack the turkey-rack-sheet assembly on second baking sheet to prevent excess smoking, or throw some sliced veggies and a splash of water on the baking sheet. You will set off the fire alarm if you don't do one of these two thinks

   3. Brush turkey with oil and roast 5–10 minutes, until the skin is golden and crisp.

   4. Rest turkey for 20 minutes, without a foil tent on top (it causes the skin to steam, making it soggy), then carve and serve.

Notes

• 250°F is not a typo. Heritage poultry benefits from “low and slow” roasting for tenderness and moisture. For a faster roast, increase to 300–325°F.

• Salt ratio ≈ 0.7% of bird weight (about 35 g total). Adjust as needed: 0.5–1% range recommended.

• Apply koji mixture under the skin to prevent premature browning; baking powder on the skin promotes crispness, but is also optional.

• Koji can be replaced with fresh shio koji condiment or omitted entirely; just extend the salt-only brine to at least 24 hours.

• Use the neck, giblets, and backbone to make a stock for gravy; this recipe yields few drippings (a sign the moisture stayed in the meat).

• You can spatchcock to speed up cooking, but separating the legs gives better results for heritage birds with stronger connective tissue.

Pro Tip: Save the bones! Pressure cook or simmer them for rich broth. Add apple cider vinegar to help extract minerals. Here’s how.

Video Resources:

• A similar method for breaking down the turkey and dry brining (without koji) can be found here. The cook also sections wings and breasts; you can, too, although I would keep the breast on the bone for stability. This same presenter makes a rosemary herb salt that looks like a nice alternative to our koji salt.