Basic Brine for Smoking Meat

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(81)

This chicken brine recipe for smoking is a very basic brine recipe for preparing meats and fish for smoking. Add any personal taste preferences to the brine for additional flavor enhancement. I like to add white wine, soy sauce, and various herbs and spices. Anything that you like will work, so experiment at will.

close up on a plate of brined turkey sliced up
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Prep Time:
5 mins
Total Time:
5 mins
Servings:
8
Yield:
1 quart
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Ingredients

Original recipe (1X) yields 8 servings

  • 4 cups water

  • ¼ cup packed brown sugar

  • ¼ cup kosher salt

Directions

  1. Gather all ingredients.

    an overhead shot of ingredients for Basic Brine for Smoking Meats

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  2. Combine water, brown sugar, and salt in a medium bowl; whisk vigorously until sugar and salt dissolve.

    an overhead shot of water, brown sugar, and salt combined in a bowl

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

To Use:

Pour brine over meat, poultry, or fish. Soak for several hours to overnight. Meat should be fully submerged in brine; make more brine as needed to cover meat fully.

an overhead shot of whole chicken submerged in a brine in a large container

Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

152 home cooks made it!