Brine Calculator

How a brine calculator works

A brine is a salt solution, and the only numbers that matter are how much water or meat you have and how strong you want the salt. Weighing beats measuring because salt comes in different densities, so a recipe that says one cup of salt can be off by more than double depending on the brand. This calculator works in grams and then converts back to cups and spoons for the salt you have.

• Wet brine: salt is a percentage of the water weight. A 5 percent brine is 5 grams of salt per 100 grams of water.
• Dry brine: salt is a percentage of the meat weight. Most cooks use 1 percent, so a 4 pound roast gets about 18 grams.
• The conversion: 1 quart of water weighs 946 grams, 1 gallon weighs 3,785 grams, and 1 pound of meat weighs 454 grams.

Once you know the grams, the calculator divides by the grams per cup of your salt: 288 for table salt, 230 for Morton kosher and 140 for Diamond Crystal kosher. That last step is the one that trips people up, and it is why two cooks following the same recipe can end up with different results. The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service is the source for the safe-temperature guidance we use here.

Wet brine: salt by weight, not by eye

A wet brine is water, salt and time. The strength is set by the salt as a share of the water, so the calculator starts with your water volume. Say you are brining a 12 pound turkey in 3 gallons of water at 5 percent:

• Water: 3 gallons x 3,785 g = 11,355 g
• Salt: 11,355 x 0.05 = 568 g
• In Morton kosher (230 g per cup): 568 / 230 = 2.47 cups
• In Diamond Crystal (140 g per cup): 568 / 140 = 4.06 cups

Same brine, and the cup count almost doubles depending on the salt. That is the whole argument for weighing. If you only have a measuring cup, use the salt-type selector so the calculator tells you the right volume for your brand.

For a smaller job, a chicken in 1 gallon of 5 percent brine is 3,785 x 0.05 = 189 grams of salt, about 0.82 cup of Morton kosher. Add the meat, keep it below 40 degrees F, and leave it 12 to 24 hours for a whole bird or 1 to 2 hours for pieces. Rinse and dry before cooking so the skin browns instead of steaming.

Dry brine: the 1% rule

A dry brine is just salt rubbed onto the surface, and it is easier to get right because there is no water to measure. Season at about 1 percent of the meat weight, let it sit uncovered in the fridge, and the salt draws out moisture, dissolves and then reabsorbs into the meat, seasoning it from the outside in.

Take a 4 pound pork roast. It weighs 1,814 grams, so 1 percent is 18 grams of salt:

• Fine table salt: 18 / 6 = 3 teaspoons
• Morton kosher: 18 / 4.8 = 3.75 teaspoons
• Diamond Crystal kosher: 18 / 2.8 = 6.4 teaspoons

Spread it evenly over every surface, set the roast on a rack over a plate, and refrigerate. A small roast needs at least 4 hours and is best overnight; a whole turkey needs 24 to 48 hours. The dry-brine method leaves the skin drier than a wet brine, which is why it is the usual pick for roast chicken and turkey when crisp skin matters.

Brine strength and time by meat

Match the brine to the meat and the clock. These are common starting points for a 5 percent wet brine, or a 1 percent dry brine:

Time and strength trade off against each other. A weaker 3 percent brine can sit overnight without turning salty, while a strong 10 percent brine is a short soak measured in hours. If you are unsure, brine weaker and longer rather than stronger and shorter, because overshooting the salt is the one mistake you cannot undo.

Food safety while you brine

Salt slows bacteria, it does not stop them, so a brine is not a free pass on temperature. Keep the meat and the brine at 40 degrees F or below from the first minute to the last. The FoodSafety.gov pages and the FDA food guidance both describe 40 to 140 degrees F as the danger zone where bacteria multiply quickly.

• Brine in the fridge, not on the counter, even for a short soak. A whole turkey needs the bottom shelf of a big fridge or a cooler packed with ice.
• Add ice, not just cold water, for large birds, and check the temperature with a thermometer after an hour to be sure it is holding under 40 degrees F.
• Use a food-grade container or a clean cooler, and keep the meat fully submerged with a plate on top.
• Discard the brine when the meat comes out. It holds raw juices and should never be reused or reduced into a sauce.

When the brine is done, rinse wet-brined meat under cold water, pat it dry, and cook it to a safe internal temperature: 165 degrees F for poultry, 145 degrees F for pork and beef with a rest. Brining does not change those targets, and a thermometer is still the only way to know you got there.

Salt types and the mistakes they cause

Almost every brining problem traces back to salt volume. The three salts most US kitchens have on hand weigh differently for the same scoop:

The gap between table salt and Diamond Crystal is more than two to one. A recipe written for Diamond Crystal, made with table salt by the same cup, is twice as salty. This is why a kitchen scale pays for itself the first time you brine a holiday turkey, and why the calculator lets you pick your salt type instead of assuming one.

A few other habits help. Stir the brine until the salt fully dissolves before the meat goes in, because undissolved salt at the bottom does nothing. Do not add acidic ingredients like vinegar or citrus for a long brine, since they can start to cure the surface. And if you use a sugar brine, dissolve the sugar along with the salt, then taste the brine: it should taste like a seasoned soup, salty but not punishing. Everything here is an estimate for planning; taste as you cook and adjust.