Ok, so I just finished watching the video series on brining and now I'm hell bent on converting my old gradient brining recipe for the Thanksgiving turkey to an equilibrium brine. I'm working on formulating the recipe and have gotten as far as calculating the weight of the protein minus the bones (18.54 lbs. x 60%= 11.12 lbs.), using the same for water, and coming up with 101 grams of salt for a final 1% salt content. Sound good so far? My next question is how do I calculate percent of sugar? My old recipe calls for something like 3.5%. Do I use the same or should I use less? And how about the aromatics? Should they be decreased as well? Lastly, any guesses on how much time I should allow for the brine to reach equilibrium? With the old recipe I usually do about 12-16 hours. My guess is that given the reduced amount of salt I should be brining tonight (Tuesday) for a Friday meal.
