A dry brine is a mix of salt (often with sugar, herbs, or spices) rubbed directly onto the surface of meat, poultry, or fish and left to sit, uncovered or loosely covered, in the refrigerator before cooking. Unlike a wet brine, which submerges food in a saltwater solution, a dry brine draws out surface moisture that then dissolves the salt and is reabsorbed, seasoning the food throughout and helping it retain moisture during cooking.
Salt in a dry brine breaks down muscle fibers and lets the protein hold more moisture as it cooks, producing a juicier, more tender, and more deeply seasoned result than an unbrined piece of the same cut. Dry brining is especially useful for lean cuts, such as chicken breast or fish fillets, which dry out easily during cooking.
Dry brining times range from a few hours for fish and fillets to several days for a whole turkey, depending on the size and thickness of the protein - the longer it sits, the more pronounced the seasoning and tenderizing effect. Dry-brined turkey is a common Thanksgiving technique in American cooking, and dry brining is used on meats destined for smoking or barbecue, such as Korean-style pork belly.
Dry brining differs from dry curing, which uses much longer aging times (weeks to months) and is meant primarily to preserve food rather than season it for near-term cooking.