For a basic brine recipe I use water, kosher/sea salt and brown sugar.
Mix all of the ingredients together in whatever container is needed for the amount of meat you have. You can use a turkey bag
When you remove your meat from the brine, rinse thoroughly with cool water. Pat dry and your meat is ready for spices/rubs and off you go!
Basic Brine Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 gallon water
- 1 cup kosher/sea salt (1/2c iodized)
- 1 cup brown sugar
Instructions
- Mix all of the ingredients together in whatever container is needed for the amount of meat you have.
- Add your meat and don’t forget it MUST be refrigerated. You can brine for a few hours, overnight, or for several days!
- When you remove your meat from the brine, thoroughly rinse with cool water. Pat dry and your meat is ready for spices/rubs and off you go!
{ 36 comments… read them below or add one }
Have you ever tried using orange juice?
I have! With Pork I believe it pairs well. Great idea.
Have a ? . Smoking some venison . Friend told me 1gal 2cups of salt 1 cup sugar 1 cup brown sugar and 1 cup of Morton’s tender mix . Seems like a lot for one gal of water
Would you recommend adding garlic to your brine
Absolutely. I use garlic all the time. Love it. You can add any herbs/seasonings/ingredients you prefer. Have fun messing with it!
Trying this for the first time tonight, probably will brine for 4-5 hours. New smoker with a new smoker… Wish me luck
Fixing the third time. Only recipe I use. Try a little Pure maple syrup w/the b sugar or a bunch of instead of.
I read on one recipe they add a little bit of apple cider vinegar. Is that OK to do? Thanks bud.
Just be careful with vinegar. It can begin “cooking” the meat. I wouldn’t use it overnight.
Hi Kevin,
If the chicken was frozen and then thawed, can it still be brined? If so how long do you recommend to keep it the refrigerator.
Thanks!
Shane – definitely still safe to brine. I do that all the time. I would say it’s safe for a few days in the fridge before cooking. But I usually try to cook chicken that has been frozen as quickly as possible, just to be safe.
Just put a hip of venison in this simple brine, I will take it out Friday afternoon and it will be cooked in a garbage can Saturday afternoon. I’ve done lots of turkeys this way but never brined and I’ve never done venison I will let you know Saturday evening how it turned out! Cheers.
When brining 4 chickens, can I double or triple the recipe without being too salty?
Charlie – yes – if you stick with the measurements, you should be safe. But just to be cautious, you could cut back the salt a bit.
Thanks for your response! I did four chickens and tripled the recipe and got excellent reviews. Live your site!!
Why is brine necessary?
Hi Sonya, I wrote a separate article about why I think brine is important. Take a look and see if this answers your questions! Brine Que Tip
Kevin, whats the minimum amount of time ????
I’ve never brine befor and the bird has just goneback into the fridge
Kathy – any time is better than no time! Truly. But in general, I like to give it at least 30-60 minutes.
thanks…. smoked sckiken tonight!
can you use this brine on seafood
I haven’t tried – but I’m SURE you could. Just be careful with the salt – seafood really takes in any flavors you brine with. I’d either cut back the salt or just brine for a shorter period.
Dry brine fish 1 cup kosher salt and 2 cups brown sugar pat dry brine on fish min 3 hours
Hi there, can this brine be used for meat as well ,such as pork
Dave – you can use this brine on anything. Water/Salt/Sugar is a safe and basic combo for any meat.
Thanks Kevin.
Can you add things like sherry or wine? Or will it mess up the brining process?
Absolutely! Add whatever flavors you prefer. Anything you add will definitely change/enhance the flavor you give the meat through the brining process.
These come out fabulous and remember if you looking you not cooking
I am looking forward to having my husband smoke the chicken for tomorrows dinner guests. I was wondering if I could use pickle salt instead of kosher salt?
Thank You
Michele Forster
I’ve honestly never used pickle salt, but I’m sure it would be fine. Maybe just use less if it’s a more potent salt.
Why use kosher salt?
I prefer the taste of kosher and sea salt to iodized. You can you iodized, just use less. It’s more potent.
Is the brine for one or two whole chickens? I see two in the bag…
It can be for as many chickens as you can fit! The basic brine recipe is just that – basic. A starting point. Feel free to increase or decrease as needed for how many chickens you’re doing.
Thanks…smoked two chickens today…meat was tender and they tasted awesome…