All-Purpose Mild Brine for Poultry and Pork

Kirstin in the Couv's Note:

This is a simple all-purpose mild brine for chicken, turkey and pork. It is fabulous used when grilling chicken pieces. The meat will never be dry.

• Total Time: 5 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 1 quart

• 1/4 cup kosher salt, like diamond crystal (or 3 tbsp Morton's kosher salt or 2 tbsp table salt)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 quart water

Directions:

1. Mix cold water, salt and sugar and stir to dissolve.
2. In a non-reactive container, immerse food in brine, seal and refrigerate.
3. Use 1 quart of brine per pound of meat, not to exceed 2 gallons.
4. Brine for 1 hour per pound (when brining multiple items, time is based on weight of a single item), but not less than 30 minutes or more than 8 hours.
5. WILL NOT WORK IF MEAT IS FROZEN.

Reviews

[Marianne5]

I made one batch of this recipe to brine 2 thick, center cut pork chops. I only brined for 1 hour, removed the chops from the brine, brushed with Greek salad dressing, and sprinkled with Pork Chop seasoning from Penzey's spices, then grilled them:)) They were so moist and delicious! I will use this brine from now on! Thank you for sharing :) Next time I will take a picture to post :)))

[Cook In Southwest]

I love the simplicity of this brine. The ease of preparation makes this one I will use again and again. It worked great and helped me to save an otherwise excellent recipe from death due to salt.

The recipe in question is #33671. If you are interested in what I did to modify it and save myself from death by salt, you can read up here: http://www.suncountrygems.com/food/

If you want to brine a turkey, you will need to double or triple this recipe, but it is so easy to make you will have no trouble doing so. It was just right for my rather large chicken.

[AQueen]

Excellent brine. It's nice and simple to make as written and always produces a tender, juicy piece of chicken. I've also added lemon/garlic/peppercorns. Today I substituted brown sugar for part of the white and added cinnamon/cardamom/star anise and oranges. We grilled the chicken and that was delicious too. This brine is fun because it's wonderful as is, or as a vehicle for many other flavors.