Brine Calculator: Salt in Grams for Any Wet Brine

Calculators by job

All 26 tools, grouped by what you are making. The full directory with a line on each is on the calculators page.

Brine a bird, a roast or a fish

Wet brines at 3.5 to 6% of the water, dry brines by the pound, and the time for each cut.

• Turkey brine calculator Salt in grams and cups by turkey weight and salt brand, wet or dry, with the hours in the fridge.
• Salt water brine calculator Salt and sugar for any wet brine from the water volume at 3.5, 5 or 6%, with time by cut.
• Meat brine calculator Salt and time for chicken, pork, beef and lamb by weight and cut, with the finish temperature.
• Dry brine calculator Salt per pound rubbed on, by cut and salt brand, with the resting time uncovered in the fridge.
• Brining time calculator Hours for wet and dry brines by cut and weight, with the limit for each cut.
• Injection brine calculator How much brine to inject by pump percentage, and the salt and sugar that go in it.
• Pressure cooker brine calculator Salt for a brine that fits the pot, then the minutes at high pressure for the cut.
• Seafood brine calculator Salt and sugar for smoking salmon, trout and shrimp, with the time and the 145°F finish.

Cure bacon, or brine by the weight of the meat

Salt as a percentage of the meat, so the cut cannot take up more than you weighed. Cure #1 is offered on the bacon page only.

• Bacon curing calculator Cure #1, salt and sugar by belly weight, with the nitrite ppm checked against the 9 CFR 424.22 limit.
• Equilibrium brine calculator Salt as 1.5% of the meat plus water, so the cut cannot over-salt, capped at 48 hours.

Ferment or pickle vegetables

Salt by the weight of the cabbage, vinegar pickles by the jar, and the pH line for water bath canning.

• Kimchi and sauerkraut salt calculator 2% salt by cabbage weight, in grams and spoons for the salt you have.
• Fermentation salt calculator Salt percentage by vegetable, dry-salted or in brine, with the weeks at room temperature.
• Pickle brine calculator Vinegar, water and salt for quick pickles by jar size, or a salt brine for fermented ones.
• Canning pH calculator Whether a pickle or ferment is at or under pH 4.6, the NCHFP line for water bath canning.

Convert a salt or check a percentage

One density table behind every tool: label figures for Diamond Crystal, Morton, table, Redmond and Celtic, measured figures for the rest.

• Salt conversion calculator Swap Diamond Crystal, Morton, table and sea salt by weight, with the spoons for each.
• Brine percentage calculator Check the percentage of a brine you already have, or make one to a percentage.
• Brine strength visualizer A gauge that shows where a salt percentage sits against the common brine bands.
• Conversion charts Gallons, quarts, liters, grams, ounces, temperature and salt by brand in one place.

Plan, scale and time a batch

Scaling, container size, cost, several brines in one fridge, a printable card, a timer, and a fix when a batch goes wrong.

• Batch scaling calculator Scale every line of a brine recipe up or down and keep the percentage where it was.
• Brine batch planner Several brines at once: total salt and water, fridge space, and when to start each one.
• Container size calculator The bucket, pot or bag a cut needs with headspace, and how much brine covers it.
• Commercial scale calculator Salt by the kilogram and the bag for large batches, with the holding temperature.
• Brine cost calculator What a batch costs from your own salt and sugar prices, per batch and per pound of meat.
• Recipe card generator A one-page brine card with the weighed amounts and times, to print, copy or email.
• Brining timer A countdown for the brine with halfway and 15-minute reminders while the page is open.
• Troubleshooting tool Too salty, mushy or under-seasoned: the likely cause and what to do next time.

Guides

The reading that goes with the tools. Every guide leads with the answer and links the calculator that does the arithmetic.

• Brine ratio chart Grams and cups of salt per gallon, quart and liter by salt brand, 3% to 10%.
• How long to brine a turkey Hours by weight for wet and dry brines, and when to stop.
• Wet brine vs dry brine Which to use for which cut, side by side.
• What is brining How salt moves into meat and vegetables, and why the percentage matters.
• How much salt for sauerkraut 2% by weight, then per pound, per head and per kilo.
• Turkey thawing time calculator Fridge and cold-water thaw times by weight, per USDA FSIS.

All guides