Salt is one of the most indispensable ingredients of any recipe. Several inexperienced home cooks think of salt as something that’s job is just to add salty flavor to your dishes. However, when a professional chef is asked about salts’ significance in recipes, they will give you a long and nitty-gritty list of different salts that fit different dishes. Apart from cooking, salt is also used for brining purposes.
Brining is the process in which a solution of water and salt is applied to meat in order to enhance the flavor of the meat. You can use a multipurpose salt, but it is more efficient to use salt depending on the recipe you are preparing. Different salts give different flavors depending on the place they were harvested. Choosing the best salt for your meat can prove to be difficult sometimes. In this guide, we will assist you with choosing the best salt to widen your flavor range.
Best Salts for Brining
| Image | Best Salts for Brining | Rating |
|---|---|---|
 | 1. Diamond Crystal Salt | 99% |
 | 2. Celtic Sea Salt | 96% |
 | 3. Morton Salt Kosher Salt | 92% |
 | 4. The Spice Lab Himalayan Salt | 89% |
 | 5. Sherpa Pink Himalayan Salt | 85% |
Want to learn more?
Here are our best brining salts’ reviews.
1. Diamond Crystal Salt
Its crystals are larger in size, which makes them easy to dissolve in water. Hence, making a perfect brine flavor to nourish your taste buds. This salt is restored from the mines. It is collected by hands from the marshes, then sun-dried, only in those hot months of July and August. The large crystals also prevent your solution from getting over-salty. There is one important thing that you should have in mind while making brine using diamond kosher salt. As the salt has large crystals, you must measure it by weight or end up under-salting your brine.
It has an incredible salt flavor, quite different than the other ordinary salts, and is used mostly as a brining salt rather than in cooking, where it could lose its flavor’s uniqueness. Coming to the minerals, as this salt is unrefined, it is rich with all the essential minerals that are necessary for the human body. Its fine grains are natural, and the texture is very crunchy, which adds a delicate, flavorful touch to your recipes. Being hand-harvested, it is quite expensive than the other ordinary salts.
Why do we like it?
- Hand-harvested
- Large crystals, easy to dissolve
- Rich with minerals
- Natural fine grain
2. Celtic Sea Salt
Celtic sea salt is a forty-year-old brand. This salt is also known as Sel Gris. It has a unique salty flavor, but its moisture content can prove to be slightly unreliable if you measure your brine by volume or weight. Celtic sea salt is hand-harvested and unrefined. Which means it is rich in all the necessary minerals that you may desire. What sets it apart from the other salts is that everything, from harvesting to packing, is done by hands. So, the quality assurance is their hands and eyes. Also, this is the reason that most of the natural minerals stay preserved in this salt.
Celtic sea salt has a superior taste that enhances your meat’s flavor and takes care of your body as well. It is slightly more expensive than diamond kosher salt. The moist level in this salt is rather higher, so you might consider choosing the appropriate container for this salt because it is tough to get it through the normal shakers. It gets its grayish color from the salt beds where it is harvested. With a unique taste and a subtle flavor, it can surely be the salt of your choice.
Why do we like it?
- Versatile
- Non-GMO verified, Kosher certified
- Nutritious
- No additives
3. Morton Salt Kosher Salt
Morton also makes kosher salt that makes a perfect brine ingredient. There are other products from Morton like table salt and pickling salt that are very suitable to be used as a brine component. As Morton salt grabs many earthy flavors, it is perfect for meat dishes like season steak or Kalua pig. The thing here to keep in mind is that while preparing brine, measure it by weight instead of measuring by volume.
Its large crystals properly marinate the meat and are easy to dissolve in the solution. Although this salt contains a rather smaller amount of sodium than the other salts, it is still more flavorful. The intensity of some salts faint after cooking, but this unique salt retains its flavor from beginning to the end of cooking. Hence, choosing this salt will mean you’re not compromising on flavor.
Why do we like it?
- The extra potent salty flavor
- Traditional flavor
- Large flakes, perfect for dissolving
4. The Spice Lab Himalayan Salt
The spice lab is a family-owned spices business. They provide a large variety of salts, but their Coarse Himalayan salt can be a perfect component for your brining needs. The spice lab is widely known for the flavor and quality of its salts. Although the company is not as huge as its market competitors, its quality and decency compensate for its place. It is made with traditional methods, which is why more than 80 minerals are preserved in it.
Its flavor is very delicate that can bring out the true flavor of your meat recipes. The flavor is a bit subtle when compared to sea salt or kosher salt, but it has proved to be a perfect brining solution. Also, you can trust this product with your health because Kosher approves it. As this salt is extracted from the sides of the mountain, it is a possibility that you may find small rock particles in salt. Although these particles do not affect the quality of your brine, they can be a problem if you’re using it in a different kind of cooking. But you can filter out the rock particles quite easily.
Why do we like it?
- Natural and pure
- More than eighty trace elements preserved, including iron in excess
- Handcrafted
5. Sherpa Pink Himalayan Salt
This pink salt is a product of the San Francisco salt company. It is considered to be the most beautiful and purest salt. Being extracted from mines improves the regular salt flavor and enriches it with various health benefits. This salt cannot be a good choice for cooking. It is more of a brining salt, where its intense taste can be appreciated and completely delighted in. It suits well on a wide range of meat.
Its color comes from this unique rock containing hundreds of traces of minerals. It is also non-GMO verified and kosher certified. Where it is a perfect choice for your brining needs, it can also be used as table salt to be sprinkled over your dishes. Himalayan pink salt adds a smoky layer of flavor to your meat recipes. Find how this salt livens up your #1 dishes with an unmistakable blast of taste, making an astounding garnish.
Why do we like it?
- Anti-caking agents free
- Premium quality
- All-natural
- Amazing customer service
Brining Salts Buyer’s Guide
When you go look in a grocery shop, you see a wide range of salts, which might confuse you while making a choice. Doing a bit of research in the first place before buying can come in handy. There are many things that you should consider before buying a perfect brining salt for your meat. A few things that you should look for are as follows:
Size of Particles
Size matters a lot when choosing a salt for brining. As the different types of salts have particles of different sizes. You will have to carefully choose because if the particles are tinier, as in the case of table salt, one tablespoon will be enough to make brine. Unlike table salt, kosher salt has comparatively heavier particles. Most chefs prefer kosher salt because its particle size is larger. Due to its size, it dissolves quickly in water.
Refined/Unrefined
The most basic thing that you should look for is that the salt is refined. Refined salts are purer than the unrefined ones depending on what is filtered from the salt and what is added. However, unrefined salts also have some advantages. The unrefined salts have these additional minerals like Sulphur, Magnesium, and Potassium associated with it that are good for the immune system.
Moisture
A lot of sea salts are bundled with a portion of their moisture intact. Moisture can be a factor when preparing a brine for your meat. Some of the unrefined sea salts can contain moisture up to 4%. Moist salts do have their benefits, but they cannot go with all the dishes as usual table salts do. The moisture helps to keep all trace minerals intact.
Mineral content
Most people don’t consider this, but the amount of healthy minerals in your salt matters greatly. You can check the list of minerals on the packaging of your salt. An ideal salt contains several minerals other than sodium chloride. The more the minerals, the healthier your salt will be. For example, chloride helps your nervous system and digestive system. Sodium helps in maintaining a suitable amount of water in your body. Sulphur kills bacteria and helps protect your blood from several diseases. Hence, a salt with the right amount of minerals is quite necessary.
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