Brine Time Guide (2024)

FAQs

How long are you supposed to brine? ›

Brining Times: Pork chops, chicken breasts, or meats about one inch thick: 45 minutes to 4 hours. Fish: Its structure is delicate so brine no more than 1 1/2 hours. Whole chicken and Cornish hens: 4 to 8 hours, depending on size.

As a general rule of thumb, brine meat for about one hour per pound. You can go longer, but keep in mind that it's definitely possible to over-brine your meat. Most over-brining simply makes everything a little too salty, and you can soak the meat in cold water to draw out the excess salt.

Give It Time

The worst thing you can possibly do is try to rush a dry-brining project. If you try to cook a steak that you've salted before the moisture on the surface has dried, you're going to end up steaming the surface of the meat initially, preventing good browning from happening.

A bird that has been wet-brined for just 12 hours will stay juicy even if you overshoot the cooking time a little. It's one less thing to worry about.

For all-purpose brine, a good rule of thumb is: ¼ cup of kosher salt and ¼ cup of sugar for every quart of water. You can also add aromatics or other flavorings to intensify the seasoning, like whole peppercorns, garlic cloves, dried herbs, whole spices, citrus or other fruit, mirepoix or fruit juices.

However, do not leave your steak to brine for too long! Remember, we are not aging but dry brining. Since there is salt, the steak will dry and become closer to jerky if left for too long.

Some recipes call for rinsing meat after brining, while others skip this step. Do whatever the recipe calls for. Rinsing is common in recipes with a very high salt concentration or that contain sugar, since sugar can burn on the surface of meat during cooking.

How long to brine your chicken depends on what kind of chicken you're using. For skinless breasts, brine for two hours. For bone-in pieces, brine for four hours. For whole chickens, brine for at least four hours or up to overnight.

Smaller cuts like pork chops and chicken breasts can be brined for as little as 30 minutes to an hour, while a turkey really needs at least 12 hours. Remove the meat from the brine, pat it dry, and continue with your recipe. Brining makes the biggest difference for dry heat preparations like roasting and grilling.

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.

Does brining meat need to be refrigerated? ›

Place the container in the refrigerator for the period of time specified in the recipe. The amount of time will depend on the type of brine you use; however, do not brine any longer than two days and always keep the turkey and brine refrigerated (at 40°F or less). Remove turkey from brine after the recommended time.

Then you can just let the brining meat sit while you prepare the rest of the meal. Ideal brining time is about a half an hour, but I've found that even a 15-minute brine makes a difference. The meat cooks up juicier and with more flavor than it does otherwise.

Pull it from the fridge about an hour ahead of when you cook in order to allow the meat to come to temperature. Now you're ready to cook. Important note: if you dry brine, you do not need to salt your steak again before cooking.

Don't over-brine the chicken!

The salt solution is higher than your standard overnight brine, so you want to make sure to limit your brining time to 2-3 hours at room temperature or 4-6 hours in the fridge.