Brine Calculator: Salt by Weight for Any Amount of Water

Salt by weight for common brine sizes

Why this calculator works in grams

A brine is a ratio of salt to water, and the only reliable way to hit a ratio is to weigh the salt. Salt crystals vary so much in size and shape that the same cup holds very different weights depending on the product. Illinois Extension's turkey brine shows the scale of the problem: it calls for 4 cups of kosher salt or 2 cups of table salt in the same 2 gallons of water. Two cups of difference, same intended result.

So the calculator asks for the salt percentage, not a number of cups. Enter the volume of water you need, the percentage your recipe uses, and it returns the salt in grams. If your recipe gives salt by volume, weigh one level cup of the exact salt the recipe names once, and you can convert its amount into a percentage for future batches.

Two ways recipes state a percentage

This calculator expresses salt as a percentage of the water's weight: 5% means 5 grams of salt for every 100 grams of water. Some recipes use the percentage of the total brine, water plus salt, instead. At brine strengths the difference is small, but it is not zero: a 5% brine by total weight contains slightly more salt than one at 5% of the water. If your recipe specifies which convention it uses, follow it; if it does not, the result here will be close.

Worked example: a turkey in two gallons

A turkey that needs two gallons of water to be covered, at 5%, needs about 379 grams of salt. If the recipe also calls for sugar at 2.5%, add about 189 grams of sugar. Dissolve both in part of the water, warming it if needed, then add the rest as cold water or ice, and make sure the brine is at 40°F or below before the turkey goes in.

To find how much water you need, I would put the bird in its brining container, cover it with measured water, then remove the bird. That avoids making a gallon too little or too much, and it tells you whether the container fits in the refrigerator before any salt is involved.

Keep the brine cold the whole time

Raw poultry or meat sitting in salty water is still raw meat. Illinois Extension asks that brining happen in the refrigerator, or in a cooler with enough ice packs, keeping the turkey and brine at 40°F or below during the entire process. Check the temperature with a thermometer if you use a cooler, and add ice packs rather than ice cubes, which dilute the brine as they melt.

Discard the brine after use: it has been in contact with raw meat. Illinois Extension's method rinses the turkey after brining; USDA, on the other hand, advises against washing raw poultry because splashing can spread bacteria around the sink. My preference is to skip the rinse and pat the bird dry with paper towels, then clean the area as you would for any raw poultry. Cook to 165°F as usual; brining does not change the safe temperature.

Check the label before you brine

Many turkeys are sold already salted. Kosher turkeys are salted during processing, and self-basting or "enhanced" birds are injected with a salt solution. Brining those adds more salt on top of what the producer used. Read the label, and if the bird has already been treated, a dry seasoning is a better plan than a brine.

Time is part of the recipe

Strength and time work together. Illinois Extension's turkey brine runs 6 to 8 hours, and its overnight version halves the salt and sugar. That trade-off is the useful lesson: a longer soak calls for a weaker brine. Follow the time your recipe gives for its percentage rather than leaving the meat in "just a bit longer".

Limits of this calculator

It computes salt and sugar for a wet brine. It does not plan dry brining, curing with nitrite salts, or pickling vegetables, which follow their own tested recipes. For a whole turkey, the turkey calculator covers buying, thawing and roasting times.