That time I realized my brining was backwards for 5 years

I always brined my Thanksgiving turkey in cold water for 24 hours, but last year my sister-in-law who is a chef pointed out that the salt dissolves way faster in warm water, so I had been underbrining the whole time. I switched to dissolving the salt in hot water then cooling it down before adding the bird, and the texture difference was night and day. Has anyone else been doing a basic step wrong for years without knowing?

3 comments

3 Comments

miles_burns1mo ago

Salt dissolves way faster in warm water" yeah thats the part that got me too. But heres something nobody talks about - you might be overbrining now if you switched to hot water method. I did the same thing and ended up with salty spongy meat because the brine penetrated way faster than I was used to. You gotta cut that time down by like half or even more depending on how big the bird is. Might be worth doing a test run with a small chicken first to dial in the timing before you ruin another thanksgiving turkey.

the_elliot1mo ago

Hear you on that salty spongy problem @miles_burns ... I did the same thing with a pork shoulder last month and it was almost inedible. The hot water method really changes the whole timeline so you gotta keep a close eye on the clock.

milam481mo ago

Guilty of that too honestly, this really changed my whole view on brining.