I once made the same roast chicken two weekends in a row, same recipe, same tablespoon of salt. The first was seasoned perfectly. The second was so flat I salted it again at the table. The only thing that changed was the box I scooped from. That is when I learned a tablespoon is a terrible way to measure salt.
Here is what almost no recipe tells you: not all salt is equally salty by the spoonful. The crystals come in wildly different sizes, and big flaky ones leave a lot of air between them. A tablespoon of fine table salt is packed solid, while a tablespoon of flaky salt is mostly gaps. Colored and natural salts like pink Himalayan or smoked black salt carry a few trace minerals, but they are still almost entirely sodium chloride.
What you care about is how much salt, sodium chloride, you’re actually adding to your food.
Nathaniel, HomeViable
| Salt | Grain size | By the spoon | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Table salt | Very fine | Most per spoon (~16 g/Tbsp) | Precise baking measures |
| Fine sea salt | Fine | High | Everyday cooking |
| Kosher salt | Medium flake | Middle of the pack | All-purpose and brining |
| Fleur de sel | Small flake | Lower | Finishing |
| Flaky sea salt | Large flake | Least (~10 g/Tbsp) | Finishing and crunch |
That gap is real: a level tablespoon of table salt weighs about 16 grams of actual salt, while the same spoon of big flaky crystals is closer to 10. Measure by volume and you can be off by a third or more. Measure by weight and a gram is always a gram.
Salt by the numbers
- Seasoning: about 1% of the food’s weight. 100 g of chicken means 1 g of salt. Go 1.5% for saltier, 0.5% for lighter.
- Wet brine: 5% for a standard at-home brine, up to 10% for the full restaurant effect.
- Dry brine: 1 to 2.5%, salted and left uncovered in the fridge overnight or longer.
Two ways to brine
A brine is just salt doing its work before the heat does. You have two routes, and they suit different nights.
| Wet brine | Dry brine | |
|---|---|---|
| Strength | 5% at home, 10% for restaurant-level | 1 to 2.5% |
| Time | Same day, about 2 hours at 10% | Overnight or longer |
| How | Fully submerge in salted water | Salt the surface, rest on a rack |
| Pays off in | Fast, juicy results tonight | Crispy skin and deep browning |
The wet brine is the fast lane, but respect the strength. A 10% brine is powerful, which is why it is a same-day move.
At 10%, you’re cooking that thing tonight. Do not let it sit overnight. We’re going to end up with pickled food.
Nathaniel, HomeViable
Why a dry brine works
A dry brine looks like nothing, just salt on bare meat resting in the fridge, but it does three useful things. It pulls water-soluble proteins to the surface, which feeds Maillard browning, the savory reaction between proteins and sugars where most of the cooked flavor lives (caramelization, by contrast, is sugars alone). It dries the surface so skin crisps instead of steaming. And it breaks down myosin, the muscle protein that contracts and squeezes juice out as meat cooks. A dry-brined chicken stays relaxed in the pan and holds onto more of its moisture.
So before you reach for the salt box, weigh it, do not scoop it. Measure by weight, aim for 1%, and brine when you have the time, and your food comes out seasoned exactly the way you meant it to.
