[ ./recipes/basics/brining.md ]
★ INTERNATIONAL · BASICS
Brining (Salt % & Times by Meat).
SERVES
1
TOTAL
105m
ACTIVE
10m
LVL
EASY
// SUMMARY
The restaurant trick behind juicier, better-seasoned meat: a wet brine seasons all the way through and helps it hold moisture while cooking. The catch is that the right salt strength and time change with the protein — too strong or too long and you cure it instead of season it. This is the Fallow London reference table: pick the row, mix the brine, submerge, wait.
// INGREDIENTS
| 1 | l | water (weigh it: 1 L = 1000 g, the basis for the salt %) |
| — 50–250 g fine salt (the % of the water weight — see the table below) | ||
| — optional: aromatics — bay, peppercorns, garlic, thyme, a little sugar | ||
// METHOD
- 01
Work out the salt from the water weight. Brine % is grams of salt per 100 g water, so a 10% brine is 100 g salt per 1 L (1000 g) water. Combine and stir until fully dissolved.
- 02
Submerge the meat completely in the cold brine — it must stay fully covered. Weigh it down with a plate if it floats.
- 03
Refrigerate for the time in the table below. Do not overshoot: past the time, the meat turns from seasoned to cured and salty.
- 04
Remove, rinse briefly under cold water, and pat thoroughly dry. For crisp skin (chicken, duck, pork), leave uncovered in the fridge to air-dry a few hours before cooking.
// NOTES
- — The table (salt % of water weight → time):
- — % = g salt per 1 L water. 5% = 50 g/L, 10% = 100 g/L, 15% = 150 g/L, 25% = 250 g/L.
- — Weigh salt rather than using spoons — table, kosher and flaky salt have very different volumes for the same weight, and the % is by weight.
- — The headline time above (1 h 45 min) is the chicken row as a stand-in; always use the table for the actual protein.
- — Timing scales roughly with thickness. A thin fillet needs less than a thick, bone-in piece — check the table as a starting point and adjust for size.
- — The pork row (25% / 25 h) is a heavy, near-cure brine — use it for larger cuts, not thin chops.