Substituting table salt for kosher salt when brining chicken
How much regular table salt should I use when brining chicken pieces?
I don't have kosher salt, just regular iodised table salt. Does this really make a difference? I thought salt was salt.
Additionally, I have never found non-iodised salt for sale in South Africa. There is, however, a big fad in "Himalayan Crystal Salt" at the moment in South Africa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalayan_salt). Would this be better to use?
Best Answer
If you can find canning or pickling salt, it's not iodized (and has no other additives, unlike some kosher salts), so won't contribute any off flavors that roux mentioned.
However, the different grain sizes will be a problem as they pack denser, so based on a chart from Marton's salt that ManiaxZX linked to in discussing differences in salts, they'd recommend cutting the salt by 20% when changing from kosher salt to table salt to canning/pickling salt.
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Can you use table salt instead of kosher salt for brining?
Here's the deal, though\u2014you can't use table and kosher salt interchangeably. For every tablespoon of our old standby Morton Iodized salt (table salt) you would need 2 tablespoons of Diamond Crystal Kosher to produce the same saltiness. So the ratio of table salt to kosher salt is 1:2.Can you use table salt to brine a chicken?
When brining, I do use table salt instead of kosher salt as it dissolves more quickly. Make sure to fully submerge the chicken or turkey with water. For chicken, the ratio is 1/4 cup salt for every 1 quart of water.Can you brine meat with table salt?
You can choose any type of salt you like, but keep in mind that different salts take up different volumes. Table salt is finer than coarse kosher salt, causing 1/2 cup of table salt to taste saltier. It's best to stick to kosher salt in brine recipes unless your recipe advises differently.What happens if you use regular salt instead of kosher salt?
If you substitute 1/4 cup of fine table salt for the kosher salt, you'll be adding about 76 grams of salt by weight \u2014 about twice what the recipe really calls for. If you substitute table salt for kosher salt, it'll taste way saltier.A Tale of Two Salts - Difference Between Table Salt \u0026 Kosher Salt in Recipes
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Answer 2
Table salt weighs about twice as much per unit volume as kosher salt. So if you only have access to table salt and a recipe calls for kosher use half as much (unless it is asking by weight) then it should be the same but make a much smaller pile.
Iodized salt does taste a tiny bit funny it's true, but many people can't taste the difference. For brining a chicken iodized table salt will work just fine. If you've never encountered un-iodized salt you are extremely unlikely to notice the "off flavors" others have mentioned.
Answer 3
As roux suggests in his comment, all that really matters is the weight. You want about 30 grams of salt per liter (or quart) of brining liquid for a weak brine, which is what you should do if you're starting out with brining. For table salt, that's about two table spoons; for kosher salt, it's about four.
Answer 4
Himalayan would be preferable, yes, as the iodine in table salt can produce a bitter taste. (Try taste-testing different salts next to each other). However, Himalayan tends to be expensive, at least compared to kosher.
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