Gordon Ramsay doesn’t brine his turkey. Not wet, not dry. His method from Ultimate Christmas uses herb butter packed under the skin, smoked bacon laid over the breast and a rest of at least two hours.
He writes in the book: “This is my favourite way to roast turkey, with a savoury butter under the skin to keep the breast meat moist.” The butter is lemon zest, crushed garlic, parsley and olive oil, massaged over and under the skin before roasting.
Where brine adds water to lean breast meat, Ramsay’s butter adds fat. The fat melts during roasting and bastes the breast from inside while the bacon shields it from dry oven heat above. Two completely different solutions to the same problem of dry turkey.
FAQs
Does Gordon Ramsay brine his turkey?
No, not in any cookbook or video. I searched all 22 of his published books and his Christmas special. His approach is herb butter under the skin, smoked bacon over the breast, then resting the bird for as long as he cooked it. The full method is in his roast turkey recipe from the Christmas book.
In the YouTube video he explains why the butter matters. Turkey is “a very very lean bird and it dries out,” so he adds fat rather than water. The olive oil mixed into the butter stops it burning, and the lemon zest and garlic flavour the meat gently from underneath the skin.
Can you dry brine and use Ramsay’s butter method together?
Yes, and real cooks have been doing exactly this for years. On Reddit’s r/Cooking, one user combined a dry brine with Ramsay’s recipe for four Christmases running. They called it the best turkey they have ever made.
The method is straightforward. Rub the turkey with salt the night before, leave uncovered in the fridge, then pat dry and pack the herb butter under the skin. The salt seasons from outside while the butter bastes from inside.
Why does Ramsay rest his turkey for so long?
The book says “a couple of hours or more.” In the video he says he learned this at 21, cooking Christmas lunch for chefs in Paris. They made him rest the turkey for as long as he cooked it.
As the meat relaxes, the juices redistribute through the fibres instead of pooling at the centre. Ramsay’s fix for serving temperature is simple: “piping hot gravy will restore the heat.” While the turkey rests, you can roast his potatoes with chilli and turmeric in the freed-up oven.
What is Ramsay’s truffle butter turkey?
A luxury upgrade from his Thanksgiving video. Instead of lemon and parsley butter, he pipes truffle butter under the skin with a piping bag. Citrus breadcrumbs go over the top, and pancetta replaces the smoked bacon.
The principle is identical though: fat under the skin, protection over the breast, long rest. For another way Ramsay wraps turkey in fat and flavour, his turkey wellington uses mushroom and bacon stuffing inside puff pastry.
What does Ramsay serve with his Christmas turkey?
The Ultimate Christmas book lays out the full menu alongside the roast. His Brussels sprouts with pancetta and chestnuts come from the same chapter, alongside a pork, apricot and pistachio stuffing baked separately. His cranberry sauce completes the plate.
The gravy is built from the roasting tray: the bacon from the breast, onions and lemon from the cavity, reduced with dry cider and chicken stock. Crushed walnuts go into the gravy boat before the hot liquid gets poured over them. It is one of the best parts of the whole meal.
