Brining Times & Tips

Brining Tips

Do not use the Brining Blend solution for injecting into your turkey.

1 cup of Brining Blend should make 1 gallon of brine. 2 cups of Brining Blend (the entire jar) should make 2 gallons of brine. If less water is used the brine could become too salty, causing the meat to become too salty.

Ensure that brine mixture is completely cooled before adding meat.

Refrigeration is required. The meat and brine solution must be kept refrigerated at 40° or below at all times.

Pick a container with enough room. Smaller items like shrimp or pork chops brine well in zip-top freezer bags. Larger items like chickens can brine in a large non-reactive stockpot. Turkeys may require a cooler or plastic bucket.

When brining large items like turkeys, place it in a plastic cooler and replace about one third of the water with ice.

Whenever possible use spring or bottled water for your brine.

Meat should stay completely submerged in brine. If it floats to the top, weight it down with a plate or bowl.

Brined meat cooks faster. Start checking for doneness about 3/4 of the way through the normal cooking time.

Avoid salting brined meat while cooking. Salt the finished dish to taste.

Do not wash off meat after brining; simply pat meat dry with paper towels.

We do not recommend brining "self-basting" turkeys, which are injected with a salt preservation solution. Brining them may create an overly salty bird.

Thinner and smaller cuts of meat need less brining time than larger and thicker cuts. When in doubt, brine on the low end of the time range.

It is best if you start cooking immediately after removing the meat from the brine.

Brining Times

Meat	Brine Blend	Time
4-5 lb. Pork Loin	1 cup	24 hrs.
4 to 6 Pork Chops	1 cup	4–10 hrs.
Pork Tenderloin	1 cup	4–12 hrs.
12–16 lb. Turkey	2 cups	1–2 days
17+ lb. Turkey	3-4 cups	1–2 days
Whole Turkey Breast	1 cups	12–24 hrs.
Whole Chicken	1 cups	12–24 hrs.
8 to 10 Chicken Pieces	1 cups	20–30 mins.
4 to 6 Chicken Breasts	1 cup	30–60 mins.
1-2 lbs. Shrimp	1 cup	20–40 mins.
Fish Fillets	1 cup	20–30 mins.