I will suffice to say that it is a fact that meat soaked in a brine does take in water based on many tests run on weight before and after brining.

Heat does a real number on meat and your leaner meats will tend to dry out very quickly if cooked past what is absolutely necessary.

I get emails daily asking me what to do to make meat more juicy and not so dry when it is done smoking.. brining is the answer to that problem.

I know lots of folks who brine almost everything including pork butts, ribs, etc. but I only brine poultry and fish since I see little results on the other stuff.. you will have to make your own mind up on that issue.

A basic brine is 9.5 ounces of table salt for every gallon of water which equates to right at a cup of salt per gallon of water.

I like to use kosher salt since it seems to dissolve much better than table salt however the crystals are larger and ounce of ounce it requires more kosher salt to equal the smaller grained table salt.

For this reason, if you use kosher salt (with the exception of Morton’s) you will need to use about 1.5 cups of salt per every gallon of water. Morton’s is smaller crystals than the others and I get great results using the same ratios as table salt.

You can also add other flavorings to the brine to influence the flavor of the meat such as sugar, molasses, hot sauce, beer, wine, juices, etc.

My personal recipe is as follows:

2 Gal Water
2 Cups Morton’s Kosher Salt
3 Cups Sugar
1/4 Cup Zatarains Liquid Crab Boil
4 TBS Black Pepper
1 TBS Dried Rosemary
1 TBS Thyme
1/4 Cup Molasses
1/4 Cup White Wine (not Cooking Wine)
1/4 Cup Worcestershire

Just soak a turkey about 10-12 hours in this mix for great flavor or a chicken can soak about 4 hours. I also like to soak the little cornish hens for a couple of hours for great flavor.

Use a 5 gallon plastic bucket or you can use a plastic turkey cooking bag to put the meat in and pour the brine over it.

If you are brining shrimp or fish fillets you can use a small non-reactive container and only brine for 30 to 45 minutes.

Make sure to keep the brining meat cold during the process.. it must stay between 33 and 39 to be safe from bacteria.

If you ever try it there is no turning back.. it is super easy and the end result can only be understood by tasting and seeing.

If you want to know a little more about the scientific process and why it works like it does then click over to this website for a great explanation.

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