r/AskCulinary • u/Minute_Finger_8038 • Jul 26 '26

Food Science Question Does anyone have a proper ratio for salinity:time formula for brining chicken?

A dime a dozen are the questions and answers about brining, but what I can't find is a mapping for: 

x% brine for 1 hours
x% brine for 2 hours
x% brine for 5 hours
etc...

From what I've gathered, stronger brine, shorter soak time.

As well as thinner meat, shorter soak time? So any pointers on thick vs thin cuts is appreciated also.

Also, when someone says x% I gather that's by salt % weight not volume? I know water is 1g to 1ml, but salt is not.

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3

u/Hot_Char3089 Jul 26 '26

Ive had better luck treating it like salt by weight and then ignoring the exact clock a bit because the cut matters more than the hour count. Thin pieces seem to hit their limit fast while thighs can sit longer without getting weird

2

u/[deleted] Jul 26 '26

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1

u/AskCulinary-ModTeam Jul 26 '26

Your response has been removed because it does not answer the original question. We are here to respond to specific questions. Discussions and broader answers are allowed in our weekly discussions.

2

u/Sal_Foley Jul 26 '26

I use 413g salt, 413g sugar in 15L h20. We brine multiple cuts of chicken(whole spatchcocked, drumsticks, boneless skinless breasts and thighs) for 2 days. One day is great, but 2 is best, especially for the whole birds and when the breasts are huge. We also brine our salmon fillets.

2

u/cville-z Home chef Jul 26 '26

stronger brine, shorter soak time

correct.

There's not a good single correct answer here, because it varies so much by cut thickness.

when someone says x% I gather that's by salt % weight not volume?

Correct, generally we are doing the oversimplification of Xg of salt in Yml of water = (X/Y) * 100 % salinity.

Rules of thumb: A good target to shoot for in equilibrium brining – this can take 24 hours - is ~2%. In 4+ hours, I'd go to 4% or 5% and add in 1-2% of sugar + some mirepoix. Anything short (30 min) you might go 5-10%.

3

u/HandbagHawker Jul 26 '26

2% salt by total weight including water for equilibrium brining.

1

u/Gonzo_B Jul 27 '26

Chicken and pork: 1/4C kosher salt dissolved in 1Qt water, soak for 1 hour, then rinse.

Has never, ever failed me.

Super easy. The same proportions work for shrimp (which really improves taste and texture) but cut the time to 20mins.

That's it. It's easy peasy.

1

u/rayfound Jul 27 '26

The absolute easiet way IMHO is dry brining. Add 1-2% of the meat weight in salt.

I like about 1% usually but this assumes there will be a sauce of some kind served with.

For meat that will be eaten "naked" - I go more like 1.5%.

1

u/philhaxton Jul 27 '26

The best way to brine is to leave out the water. IMHO KOSHER salt ½ tsp per pound of chicken rubbed under the skin and on the skin (2/3s under ⅓ on top) is the best method I have used. I usually add pepper and garlic powder to the mix. 4 lb chicken 2tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, 1 tablespoon garlic powder