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I've done the bacon explosion before, with both sausage and beef. I like the beef version because if you slice it and put in it on a bun, it's a smoked bbq bacon burger. I mean, how can that be bad right?
Living in midtown, I have some vegetarian friends too. I did a Facon explosion once. with facon, mushrooms, avacado, and almond slices. It was actually really good also.
Without being hyper critical of the method - dry brine - I'll say that there are a lot of phonies posting food info (on the interwebz, I mean), and misrepresenting traditional - wet - brine.
There is no need to refrigerate a wet brine, especially this time of year - and probably all but the hottest months, and only if one is non-air-conditioned or outdoors (use frozen water/ice pack). Wet brine is quicker and definitely goes into the meat. 4 hours is plenty. Also, no need to boil the brine with aromatics, then cool the mixture. Just add the herbs to the salt and sugar solution, and mix. Done. Put the bird in. Also, some (purposefully - must have) misrepresented the amount of salt in a brine - with no mention of sugar. 1/2 cup salt and 1/2 cup sugar in a gallon of water is fine - and may not all get dissolved depending on your local water. No need to rinse the wet brine bird. Just pat dry the upper bird parts, breast and legs/thighs.
Too much emphasis in dry brine affecting the skin. Skin? Put some mayo on the (patted dry) wet brine bird for a crispy skin. The flesh is my emphasis plus getting deep into the flesh for moistness. Most 'cleaned turkeys' are not very clean. A good brine will take care of most nastiness.
The big issue with brine is getting the meat submerged. A comparable problem for a dry brine is that IT WILL need to be refrigerated through the process.
(In looking into this, I learned how the Jews handle koshering a bird, and the broad term for butterflying - escapes me now.)
Happy eating!
What I read, from a food science perspective, was that the wet brine does work but you also loose some of the flavor of the meat to the water.
I'm looking back into this to be sure, but I've also read in the past that using Mayo or Olive oil in the "dry" brine helps:
1) the brine stick to the sides and downward facing surfaces
2) acts as a catalyst medium for the brine to penetrate the flesh
The word I couldn't remember is "spatchcock". The backbone is cut out of the bird and the wishbone is broken (by pressing down on the bird with the breast up). Results, like the butterfly technique, in a flattened bird, which hastens a done bird, and a more even cook - breast versus leg/thigh. Notes: In the video the wing tips are shown to be underneath the bird. If necessary, do this by a simple twist. Most versions I saws do not use skewers. The bird should cook much more quickly so watch it, bub.
I haven't tried this yet (have done a butterfly on lamb leg), but I would remove the backbone, rinse it off again, then brine it,
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/videos/techniques/how-spatchcock-chicken-video
Kind of like the "eagle" technique in the Vikings, only they did it to people they didn't especially like.