Technique · Marinade · All year
Basic Wet Brine
4.6 · community
10m
Prep
0m
Cook
Easy
Level
5
Energy
The 6% salt solution that makes lean pork and poultry juicy on purpose: salt restructures the proteins so they hold water through the heat.
What you need
Ingredients
Servings
8
Before you start
Mise en place
Yield: 1 liter — scale to submerge
Equipment
Bowl or jar
Whisk
Zip-top bags
Prep checklist
Kosher Salt — 6% of the water weight
Sparkling Water — still water, to be precise — 1 liter
3 steps
Method
1
Dissolve salt and sugar in a third of the water, warmed; add the rest cold with the aromatics. Cool fully before it touches meat.
Why this works
The ratio is the recipe: 6% salt by water weight. Everything else is perfume.
2
Submerge: pork chops 2–4 hours, chicken pieces 2–4, a whole chicken 8–12. Never longer — over-brined meat turns ham-like and spongy.
240 min — timer available in cooking mode
3
Rinse briefly, pat very dry, and cook as usual — expect noticeably juicier results and season sauces lightly (the meat brought its own salt).
From the pass
Chef's notes
Taste before serving and adjust salt and acid — the last 30 seconds of seasoning matter more than any single ingredient.
Afterwards
Keep, reheat & pair
Storage
Unused marinade keeps 5 days refrigerated. Once it touches raw protein, discard it — or boil 3 full minutes to serve as a sauce.
Freezing
Freeze protein IN the marinade: it seasons as it thaws. 2 months.
Reheating
Marinades aren't reheated — but boil any used marinade for 3 full minutes if you want to serve it as a sauce (it touched raw protein).
Make ahead
Mix up to 5 days ahead and refrigerate; marinate proteins in zip bags so cleanup is nothing.
Wine pairing
Follows the finished dish.
Beer pairing
Follows the finished dish.
On the plate
Serve it with
Sides
Applies to whatever you marinate
Garnish
Reserve a spoonful (before it touches raw meat) to finish the cooked dish
Taste map
Flavour profile
Sweet
2
Salty
4
Sour
3
Bitter
0
Umami
3
Heat
1
Per serving
Nutrition
5
kcal
0g
protein
1g
carbs
0g
fat
3g
fiber
520mg
sodium
Asked and answered
Questions
Wet brine or dry brine?
Wet = maximum juiciness, softer surface (harder to crisp). Dry = concentrated flavor and crackling skin. Lean pork chops love wet; roast chicken skin lovers choose dry.
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