Quick Answer
A wet turkey brine uses about 1 gallon of water per 6 lb of turkey with 1 cup kosher salt and ½ cup sugar per gallon; a dry brine uses about 1 tablespoon kosher salt per pound. This turkey brine calculator at practicalwebtools.com/tools/turkey-brine-calculator scales water, salt, sugar, and brining time to your bird’s weight. It runs entirely in this browser tab, and nothing you enter leaves the page.
How It Works
Enter the turkey’s weight in lb or kg
Pick a wet brine (water, salt, sugar) or a dry brine (salt only)
Read the scaled amounts and the brining time window, then check the kosher-salt note before measuring
Key Facts
- Wet brine ratio: 1 gallon of water per 6 lb of turkey
- 1 cup kosher salt and ½ cup sugar per gallon of wet brine
- Dry brine ratio: 1 tablespoon kosher salt per pound
- Brining windows: wet 8–24 hr, dry 12–48 hr, scaled by weight
- Kosher salt volumes differ by brand: Diamond Crystal vs Morton vs table salt
- lb and kg inputs with instant conversion
- 100% client-side, no signup, works offline
Frequently Asked Questions
How much salt do I need to brine a turkey?
For a wet brine, use 1 cup of kosher salt per gallon of brine, with about 1 gallon of water per 6 lb of turkey — a 12 lb bird gets 2 gallons of water and 2 cups of kosher salt. For a dry brine, use 1 tablespoon of kosher salt per pound — 12 tablespoons (¾ cup) for that same 12 lb bird — worked over the meat and under the skin.
Wet brine or dry brine — which is better for turkey?
A wet brine adds moisture and is forgiving for lean breast meat, but the bird sits in liquid and the skin needs thorough drying to crisp. A dry brine seasons through the same salt science without the water, keeps the skin dry, and needs no giant container of brine — most cooks now favor it for the crispest skin. Both must happen at 40 °F, and both deliver juicier meat than no brine at all.
How long should I brine a turkey?
Wet brine about 1 hour per pound, with a floor of 8 hours and a hard ceiling of 24 — past a day in wet brine the texture turns spongy and the meat over-seasons. Dry brine at least overnight (12 hours, about 1 hour per pound) and up to 2 hours per pound capped at 48 hours; a 20 lb bird does well with 24–40 hours uncovered in the fridge.
Can I use table salt instead of kosher salt in a brine?
Yes, but cut the volume — salt densities differ by crystal size. Diamond Crystal kosher is light and fluffy; Morton kosher is about twice as dense per cup; table salt is finer and denser still. A cup of table salt packs roughly twice the salt of a cup of Diamond Crystal, so substituting table salt for kosher means using about half the volume this calculator shows. Weighing the salt removes the guesswork entirely.
Should I rinse the turkey after brining?
No. The USDA advises against rinsing poultry at all — splashing water aerosolizes bacteria around the sink and counter. For a wet brine, lift the bird out, drain the cavity, and pat the skin thoroughly dry with paper towels before roasting. For a dry brine there is nothing to rinse by design; just pat dry and roast.
Where do I keep the turkey while it brines?
At 40 °F or below — in the refrigerator, or in a food-safe cooler with ice packs and a thermometer you check. The brine slows bacterial growth, it does not stop it, and a bird parked on the counter spends hours in the 40–140 °F danger zone. If the fridge is full, the cooler route also frees shelf space for everything else Thanksgiving demands.