Brine Concentration Calculator: Check or Make Any Salt Percentage

By Cedrick Reese, BrineCalculators.com

5% brine, 1 quart of water: 47.3 g salt, about 5 1/2 tbsp Diamond Crystal or 3 1/2 tbsp Morton kosher.

Find the percent of a brine you already mixed, or the grams of salt for the percent you want.

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Your brine

What do you want to do?

Water

Water weighs 1 g per ml: a quart is 946 g, a gallon 3,785 g, a liter 1,000 g. Changing the unit converts the number.

Salt you have

Sets the spoons and cups. Weigh the salt if you can; the grams are what count.

Target brine percentage (salt to water)

3.5% light, 5% standard, 6% strong for short brines. Saturation is 36 g per 100 g of water.

5% brine in 1 quart of water

47.3 g salt

about 5 1/2 tbsp Diamond Crystal

Water: 946 g (1 qt)
Salt to water: 5.0% (47.3 g sodium chloride per 946 g water)
Of the solution: 4.8% (the chemistry convention, salt over salt plus water)
Ratio: 1:20 salt to water by weight
Used for: Standard wet brine for poultry and pork: 4 to 6 hours for a whole chicken, 2 to 4 for chops, overnight for a large piece.

The percentage is sodium chloride to water. Dissolve the salt fully, then chill the brine to 40°F (4°C) before the food goes in.

Time: a wet brine on meat or poultry never runs past 24 hours, in the refrigerator the whole time (USDA FSIS).

5% in 1 quart (standard wet brine)

47.3 g salt
about 5 1/2 tbsp Diamond Crystal
4.8% of the whole solution

3.5% in 1 gallon (overnight poultry)

132 g salt
about 1 cup Diamond Crystal
3.4% of the whole solution

6% in 1 quart (chicken pieces, 1 to 2 h)

56.8 g salt
about 7 tbsp Diamond Crystal
5.7% of the whole solution

Check: 1/2 cup Morton per gallon

3.0% brine
115 g salt in 3,785 g water
2.9% of the whole solution

Check: 1 tbsp table salt per cup

7.6% brine
18 g salt in 237 g water
7.1% of the whole solution

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What brine concentration means

Brine concentration is the weight of the salt divided by the weight of the water, times 100: 50 g of salt in 1,000 g (1 liter) of water is a 5% brine. Chemistry divides by the salt plus the water instead, which reads a little lower (the same brine is 4.8% of the solution), so the calculator shows both and labels them.

Brine concentration chart

Grams of salt (sodium chloride) for common concentrations, figured on the weight of the water: a liter is 1,000 g, a quart 946 g, a gallon 3,785 g. The weights are for table, pickling, and kosher salt, which are close to pure sodium chloride; for spoons, or for an unrefined salt that needs a little more, use the calculator above.

Brine	Salt per liter	Salt per quart	Salt per gallon	Of the solution
1%	10.0 g	9.46 g	37.9 g	1.0%
2%	20.0 g	18.9 g	75.7 g	2.0%
3%	30.0 g	28.4 g	114 g	2.9%
3.5%	35.0 g	33.1 g	132 g	3.4%
5%	50.0 g	47.3 g	189 g	4.8%
6%	60.0 g	56.8 g	227 g	5.7%
8%	80.0 g	75.7 g	303 g	7.4%
10%	100 g	94.6 g	379 g	9.1%
15%	150 g	142 g	568 g	13.0%
20%	200 g	189 g	757 g	16.7%

Already mixed a brine? Switch the calculator to "What percent is my brine?" and enter the salt and water you used; it gives the strength both ways.

How this is calculated

Brine concentration is salt divided by water, so a 5% brine is 5 g of salt for every 100 g of water. Type in how much salt and water a recipe uses and this page tells you what percent it is, or type in the percent you want (3%, 5%, or 10% brine) and the water you have and it tells you how much salt to weigh out, with the spoons for the salt on your shelf. Both figures are computed in grams first.

Two weights and a division. Water is weighed at 1 g per milliliter; salt is converted from spoons to grams with the table below, then to sodium chloride where the salt is not pure.

brine %        = salt (g) / water (g) x 100          the brining convention, used here
of solution %  = salt (g) / (salt (g) + water (g)) x 100   the chemistry convention
salt (g)       = water (g) x target % / 100        make-a-brine mode
product (g)    = salt (g) / purity                 Redmond 0.96, Celtic grey 0.81, pink 0.97
water          1 cup = 236.6 g   1 quart = 946.4 g   1 gallon = 3,785 g   1 liter = 1,000 g
saturation     36 g per 100 g water (26.5% of the solution); salt stops dissolving

This page reports salt as a percentage of the water weight, the way brining recipes are written and the way Morton's guide, Destination BBQ's brining math, and every calculator on this site count it. A chemistry-style percentage of the whole solution comes out slightly lower (10 g of salt in 100 g of water is a 10% brine here and a 9.1% solution), so the result shows both and labels them.

Salt weights

One figure per salt, from the maker's label where one exists (grams per 1/4 teaspoon on the nutrition panel, scaled to 48 teaspoons per cup) and from a test kitchen's scale where it does not. Unrefined salts carry water and minerals; the label's sodium figure gives the sodium chloride share, and the calculator weighs the product up so the brine still hits the percentage.

Salt	Per tsp	Per tbsp	Per cup	Source
Table salt, pickling salt	6 g	18 g	288 g	USDA FoodData Central, 6 g per teaspoon
Morton Coarse Kosher	4.8 g	14.4 g	230 g	Morton label, 1.2 g per 1/4 tsp (ATK measures 16 g per tbsp)
Diamond Crystal Kosher	2.8 g	8.4 g	134 g	Diamond Crystal label, 0.7 g per 1/4 tsp (ATK measures 10 g per tbsp)
Redmond Real Salt	5.6 g	16.8 g	269 g	Redmond label, 1.4 g per 1/4 tsp; 96% sodium chloride
Celtic light grey	6 g	18 g	288 g	Selina Naturally label, 1.5 g per 1/4 tsp; 81% sodium chloride, sold moist
Fine sea salt	6 g	18 g	288 g	Treated as table salt (Morton's chart substitutes 1:1); approximate
Himalayan pink, fine / coarse	5.5 / 5 g	16.5 / 15 g	264 / 240 g	Measured (Is Salt); approximate, 97% sodium chloride
Maldon and other flake salt	2.8 g	8.3 g	133 g	Measured (DadCooksDinner); approximate, flakes pack loosely

What each percentage is used for

Salt to water unless the row says otherwise. Sauerkraut, kimchi, equilibrium brines, and cures are figured on the weight of the food, not the water, and have their own calculators.

Salt to water	Used for	Notes and source
1.5%	Equilibrium brine	Figured on meat plus water, not water alone, so the meat can never pass 1.5%. Up to 48 hours. Equilibrium brine calculator.
2%	Sauerkraut and kimchi	Of the vegetable weight, not a brine: 20 g of salt per kilogram of cabbage, band 2 to 2.5%. Kimchi and sauerkraut calculator.
3.5 to 5%	Fermented cucumbers	The brine the cucumbers sit in for 3 to 4 weeks at 70 to 75°F (NCHFP). Fermentation brine calculator.
3.5 to 6%	Poultry and pork wet brine	3.5% light and overnight (Morton's 1/2 cup per gallon is about 3%), 5% standard, 6% strong and short (Morton's 1 cup per gallon is about 6.1%, 4 to 5 hours). Salt water brine calculator.
6 to 8%	Short brines	Chicken pieces 1 to 2 hours, shrimp 30 to 60 minutes. Exploratorium's 1 tablespoon of table salt per cup is 7.6%. Rinse afterward.
8 to 12%	Quick brines and short soaks	Minutes, not hours, and only on thin pieces. Not a curing brine: bacon and other cures are equilibrium recipes at about 1.5 to 2.5% of the meat weight plus Cure #1 at 0.25% of the meat weight; use the bacon curing calculator.
36%	Saturated	36 g of salt per 100 g of water (26.5% of the solution) is all that dissolves at room temperature. Anything above it sits on the bottom of the container. Vinegar quick pickles use a few percent salt and an acid rule, not a strong brine; see the pickle brine calculator.

Safety

Keep the brine and the food at or below 40°F (4°C) for the whole brine, per USDA FSIS. Chill the brine before the food goes in.
A wet brine on meat or poultry stops at 24 hours whatever the percentage; at 6% and above, use the short end of the time.
Never reuse brine that has held raw meat. Use glass, food-grade plastic, or stainless steel, not aluminum or copper.
Cook poultry to 165°F (74°C) and other cuts to 145°F (63°C) with a rest, per USDA FSIS. Brining changes the seasoning, not the safe temperature.

What you'll need

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Digital kitchen scale that reads to 1 g, for the salt and for the water if you weigh it instead of measuring it.
0.1 g pocket scale for small batches, where 2 g of salt is the difference between a 4% and a 6% brine in a cup of water.
Quart or liter measuring jug with the graduations you will actually use, so the water figure is not a guess.

How this page is checked

This calculator was built by Cedrick Reese for BrineCalculators.com. The salt weights come from the makers' nutrition labels (Morton, Diamond Crystal, Redmond, Selina Naturally) and from America's Test Kitchen's and DadCooksDinner's scale measurements where no label figure exists; they are the same table every calculator on this site uses. The percentage bands are checked against Morton's brining guide and the NCHFP fermented dill pickle recipe, the saturation figure against the standard solubility of sodium chloride at room temperature, and the two conventions against Destination BBQ's brining math.

When a maker changes a label the figure in the shared table changes and this page recomputes with it. Anything here that disagrees with a current label or with the linked sources is a bug; use the contact page to report it.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good brine percentage for chicken or turkey?

3.5 to 6% of the water weight. 5% is the standard on this site: 47 g of salt per quart or 189 g per gallon. Morton's brining guide works out to about 6% (1 cup of Morton Coarse Kosher per gallon) for a 4 to 5 hour brine and about 3% (1/2 cup per gallon) for an overnight one. Chicken pieces take 6% for 1 to 2 hours; a whole turkey takes 3.5 to 5% for 12 to 24 hours and never longer. The turkey brine calculator sizes that by the weight of the bird.

Why does my brine percentage matter more than the recipe's measurements?

Because a volume of salt is not a weight of salt. A recipe that says 1/2 cup kosher salt means 67 g if the cook used Diamond Crystal and 115 g if they used Morton, 72% more salt in the same measuring cup. In a gallon of water that is the difference between a 1.8% brine and a 3% brine. The percentage is the number that carries between salts, so check it once and you can use any salt on the shelf, weighed to the same grams.

Can I substitute different salt types in my recipe?

Yes, by weight, and the grams do not change. By volume they do: 1 tablespoon of table salt (18 g) is 1 1/4 tablespoons of Morton Coarse Kosher (14.4 g per tablespoon) or about 2 tablespoons of Diamond Crystal (8.4 g per tablespoon). Fine sea salt measures like table salt. Pick the salt you have in the calculator and it converts the recipe's volume to grams for you; the salt conversion calculator does the same for whole recipes.

What brine percentage is best for fermentation and pickling?

Sauerkraut and kimchi are not brined at all: they use 2% salt by weight of the vegetables (2 to 2.5% is the band), and the vegetables make their own liquid. Fermented cucumbers do sit in a brine, and this site uses 3.5 to 5% salt to water. The NCHFP fermented dill recipe (1/2 cup pickling salt to 8 cups water) works out to about 7.6% and makes a saltier pickle. Below 2% a ferment softens and spoils more easily; above 5% it slows down. Vinegar pickles are a different calculation and live on the pickle brine calculator.

My brine came out too salty. What went wrong?

Usually the salt. Table salt measured in a recipe written for Diamond Crystal delivers 2.15 times the salt for the same spoon, so a 5% brine becomes nearly 11%. The other causes are time (a 6% brine on chicken pieces is a 1 to 2 hour brine, not an overnight one) and skipping the rinse. Check the recipe in the calculator: if it comes out above 6%, shorten the time; if it is above 8%, add water until it is not.

Do I need to rinse meat after brining?

A quick rinse under cold water and a thorough pat dry, yes. It takes the surface salt off so the outside is not saltier than the inside, and a dry surface browns instead of steaming. The salt that has gone into the meat stays where it is. It matters most after a brine above 6% or one that ran the full time.

How long can I safely brine meat?

For a wet brine, never more than 24 hours, and the stronger the brine the shorter the time. At 5%: chicken pieces 1 to 2 hours, a whole chicken 4 to 6 hours, pork chops 2 to 4 hours, a pork loin or a turkey overnight and up to 14 hours (Morton's overnight rule) or up to 24 hours for a large turkey at 3.5%. Keep the brine and the meat at or below 40°F (4°C) the whole time, per USDA FSIS. Refrigerate; never brine on the counter.

Can I reuse leftover brine?

Not once raw meat has been in it. It carries whatever the meat carried, and boiling it does not make it a good idea; pour it out. Brine that was mixed but never touched food keeps in the refrigerator for a few days, and fermenting brine from a finished batch of vegetables can start the next batch.

What's the difference between wet brining and dry brining percentages?

The denominator. A wet brine percentage is salt divided by water: a 5% brine is 5 g of salt per 100 g of water, whatever you put in it. An equilibrium brine is salt divided by meat plus water, usually 1.5%, so the meat can never get saltier than that. A dry brine is salt as a share of the meat alone, about 0.6 to 0.9%. This page does the first one; the equilibrium brine calculator and the dry brine calculator do the other two.

Does adding sugar or other ingredients affect the brine percentage?

Sugar, herbs, garlic, and peppercorns do not; the percentage is salt to water and they are neither. Ingredients that contain salt do: soy sauce, fish sauce, miso, stock, and most spice blends. Count their salt toward the total or leave it out of the added salt. If a recipe leans on one of those, weigh the plain salt, calculate the percentage, and treat the result as a floor.

How do I make a 5% salt solution?

Weigh the water and add 5% of that weight in salt: 50 g of salt in 1 liter (1,000 g) of water, 47 g in a quart, 189 g in a gallon. That is the brining convention, salt divided by water. If you need 5% of the finished solution the way a chemistry text means it, use 52.6 g of salt per 1,000 g of water (5 divided by 95). Pick your salt in the calculator to get the spoons for that weight.

Is brine percentage measured against the water or the whole solution?

On this site, and in brining recipes generally, against the water: 10 g of salt in 100 g of water is a 10% brine. A chemist would call the same mix 9.1% because the salt is counted in the total (10 divided by 110). The calculator shows both figures so you can compare either kind of source. The two are close at brining strengths (5% of the water is 4.8% of the solution) and drift apart at the top: saturation is 36 g per 100 g of water, which is 26.5% of the solution.

References

Disclaimer

Educational purpose only: this brine percentage calculator and all associated content on BrineCalculators.com are provided for educational and informational purposes only. The tools, calculations, and recommendations are designed to assist home cooks in understanding brining principles and should not be considered professional culinary, food safety, or medical advice.

Accuracy of calculations: the salt weights are taken from manufacturer labels and America's Test Kitchen measurements, and actual salt weights may vary depending on brand, crystal size, humidity, packing method, and other factors. Weigh salt in grams on a digital kitchen scale rather than relying on volume measurements.

Food safety responsibility: you are solely responsible for ensuring food safety in your kitchen. This calculator does not account for all variables that affect food safety, including ambient temperature, refrigerator temperature accuracy, meat freshness, cross-contamination risks, individual health conditions, and proper cooking temperatures. Always follow current USDA and FDA food safety guidelines, which may be updated after this page was written.

Curing salt warning: curing salts (Prague Powder #1 and #2) contain sodium nitrite and/or sodium nitrate, which can be toxic if used improperly. This calculator provides salt percentage calculations only and does not replace proper curing formulas; use the bacon curing calculator and consult authoritative sources such as the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline before curing meat.

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Consult professionals: for commercial food preparation, dietary restrictions, food allergies, or any health-related concerns, consult qualified professionals. When in doubt about food safety, follow the USDA guideline: when in doubt, throw it out.

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