How to use the brine calculator
- Enter the amount of water and choose the unit. Volumes in cups, quarts, gallons, fluid ounces and liters are turned into grams of water, or you can enter pounds or kilograms directly.
- Enter the salt percentage by weight from your recipe. The 5 percent shown is only an example, and recipes vary.
- Weigh a tablespoon of your own salt and enter it as grams per tablespoon, or keep the example figure if you only need a rough volume.
- Read the salt by weight first, then the volume. Add the brine time from your recipe if you want it shown with the results.
Formula
Water grams = volume x grams per unit (1 mL of water = 1 g)
Salt grams = water grams x salt percent / 100
Salt ounces = salt grams / 28.3495
Tablespoons = salt grams / grams per tablespoon, cups = tablespoons / 16
Percent of finished brine = salt / (water + salt) x 100
The percentage is of the weight of the water, not of the finished brine. A US gallon is 3,785.41 mL, a quart 946.35 mL, a cup 236.59 mL and a pound 453.59 g.
Worked example
One US gallon of water weighs about 3,785 g. At 5 percent by weight, the salt is 3,785.41 x 0.05 = 189.3 g, which is 6.68 oz. If your salt weighs 18 g per tablespoon, that is 10.52 tablespoons, or about 0.66 cup.
The finished brine weighs 3,975 g, so the salt is 4.76 percent of the total, which is 5 / 105. If you want to compare strengths, the table lists 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 percent for the same water: 113.6, 151.4, 189.3, 227.1 and 302.8 g.
Weigh the salt
Salt measured by weight is the same whether it is fine table salt or coarse flakes, because the mass of sodium chloride is what makes a brine. Volume is another matter. A tablespoon of fine salt packs more crystals than a tablespoon of large flakes, and kosher salt brands differ from each other. That is why grams are the main answer here, and the grams per tablespoon is an editable field. The 18 g default is an example, not a measurement of any brand. Weigh a level tablespoon of the salt you own and type that in.
Percent of water or of the total
Recipes state a brine strength either as a percent of the water weight or as a percent of the total weight of salt plus water. They give different salt amounts, so check which one your recipe means. This tool uses the water weight, and it also shows the percent of the finished brine so you can compare with a recipe written the other way.
Food safety and time
This tool does not tell you how long to brine anything. The hours you enter are shown back to you and nothing more. Brine and refrigerate the food, keep it cold in the refrigerator, and follow food safety guidance from the USDA for handling raw meat and poultry. If you plan a turkey, the turkey cooking time calculator handles the oven side of the plan.
Other ingredients in the brine
Sugar, spices, herbs and other liquids are not counted. If you replace some water with stock or juice, enter only the water, and remember that other ingredients can carry salt of their own. Use the cooking measurement converter for other kitchen amounts.
Assumptions and limits
- Salt is a percent of the water weight. The 5 percent default is an example only, so use the figure in your recipe.
- Volumes of water are converted at 1 g per mL, which is a close approximation for cool water, and US customary units are used for cups, quarts and gallons.
- Grams per tablespoon is an example value you should replace with the weight of your own salt. Cups are 16 tablespoons.
- No safe brining time is claimed. Keep the food cold in the refrigerator and follow USDA food safety guidance. Weights are rounded half up for display.
Frequently asked questions
How much salt do I need for a gallon of brine?
It depends on the percentage in your recipe. At an example strength of 5 percent by water weight, one US gallon needs about 189 g of salt. At 3 percent it is about 114 g and at 8 percent about 303 g.
Why does a tablespoon of kosher salt weigh less than table salt?
Larger, flakier crystals leave more air between them, so fewer grams fit in the spoon. The amount also differs between kosher brands, which is why this tool asks for your own grams per tablespoon.
Is the percent of the water or of the whole brine?
Here it is a percent of the water weight. The result also shows the share of the finished brine, so 5 percent of the water equals 4.76 percent of the total.
How long should I brine?
This calculator does not say. Follow your recipe, keep the food cold in the refrigerator, and follow USDA food safety guidance for the type of meat you are handling.