How Much Salt Should I Use For A Smaller Volume Of Turkey Brine? | Ask Nigella.com (2024)

FAQs

What is the ratio of salt to water for brining a turkey? ›

The basic ratio for a wet turkey brine is to use 2 cups of kosher salt or coarse sea salt for every 2 gallons of water. The benefit of a wet brine is that it can work slightly quicker than a dry brine because it infuses the entire turkey in a salty solution.

Basic Brine

Place that volume of water in a container large enough to hold the brine and the meat. Add 1 tablespoon of salt for every cup of water you used and mix until the salt is completely dissolved. For example, if you are using 1 gallon (16 cups) of water, add 16 tablespoons (1 cup) of salt.

What Is the Brine Ratio? The basic ratio of salt to water for a brine is 4 tablespoons of kosher salt per 1 quart (4 cups) of water. If you are using fine table salt, reduce the amount to 3 tablespoons.

This dry-brine method calls for salt alone — 1 teaspoon of kosher salt per pound — as opposed to salt and sugar or salt, sugar and additional spices.

It is the salt that you need to pay particular attention to, as if the concentration of salt in the brine is too high then the turkey could become too salty, particularly if you are soaking it for a long period.

The most common brine proportions are 23.3% salt concentration to 76.7% water. However, you can also add to conventional sodium chloride and use either magnesium chloride or calcium chloride.

The traditional brine is made from a ratio of 1 cup of salt to 1 gallon of water. This is based on table salt. One cup of table salt weighs in at 10 ounces. So we want 10 ounces of salt (by weight) per gallon of water.

Overall process: 2 NaCl + 2 H ₂O → Cl ₂ + H ₂ + 2 NaOH.

A salometer is a device that mea- sures brine density saturation (26.4% salt at 60°F) on a convenient scale of 0 to 100. Each °SAL would therefore represent about . 26% salt by weight as fully saturated brine contains about 26.4% salt.

The rule is 10 grams (3/4 tablespoon) of salt for 1 liter (roughly 1 quart) of water. But I have to say that sometimes I lower the salt a bit if I do recipes with ingredients that are very salty already; the best example of this is cacio e pepe.

What kind of salt is best for brining? ›

Morton Coarse Kosher Salt is perfect for brining because the flat, flaky crystals dissolve extremely well in water and create a crystal clear brine. Consider brining this grilling and holiday season.

If you use too much salt (or too little water) then you will not be able to dissolve all of it. You can add salt slowly to see approximately how much can be dissolved in a given amount of water (at a given temperature). You can dissolve more salt by adding more water or heating it up.

Besides brining a whole turkey, you can also use this recipe to brine turkey breasts, turkey legs, or even whole chicken. You need need enough brine to cover the meat. Stick to the basic ratio of 4 quarts of water and 1 cup of kosher salt and scale it up or down as needed.

Both ways produce a flavorful and moist turkey but have other important considerations that may impact your choice. Wet brines infuse flavor and moisture more quickly than dry brines; however, a larger vessel for the brining process will be needed as well as enough refrigerator space.

And if you're wondering, no—you don't need to rinse the bird, whether it's been dry-brined or wet-brined, before adding more seasoning and roasting. Again, the bird needs to be dry, and Youngman also notes "it's not particularly sanitary to wash meat in the sink."

General dry brining technique calls for 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt per pound of meat, plus whatever other (dried) herbs and spices you so choose. It's important to use kosher salt as it's significantly less salty than table salt.

You should always rinse the turkey after wet or dry brining. Once rinsed, you can let the turkey air dry, uncovered, in the refrigerator for several hours, or pat it dry with a paper towel.

The easiest way to calculate the exact amount of salt needed is this simple metric calculation: To create 3% brine in 1000 millilitres (1 litre) of water: 1000 x . 03 = 30. So, it takes 30 grams (equal to 2.5 tablespoons of salt).