Dumb question but I’m not sure.
Since it’s a dry ingredient, it should almost certainly be by weight. Seeing that it’s an Alton Brown recipe, I feel even more confident in saying that; many non-professional cooks who write up recipes might go by ounce volume on a dry ingredient, but I don’t think he would.
Thanks. Is there a rule of thumb or something that would make that clear to me whenever I see things like this? Is it dry=weight and wet=volume? Is it that simple?
That’s my understanding, yes. Dry = weight, wet = volume. Unless specified otherwise.
By weight that’s a 12% brine, which is pretty standard for pickles and the like.
Yes, this is the official “rule” as it is, but so many recipes ignore the convention. Spices are a great example. they are dry ingredients, and should be listed by weight, but more often, they are measured by teaspoons and tablespoons. If the recipe is multiplied, they may be converted into volume-ounces, and now you have a problem.
Many recipes I’ve seen will say “oz” for weight and “fl oz” for volume.
Umm, in the video of him making the receipe he weighs it.
One clue is in the specified quantity of molasses: 8 ounces or 3/4 cup. A full cup is 8 fluid ounces, so 3/4 cup is 6 fluid ounces. This means it specifies 8 ounces of weight for molasses. Since it uses “ounces” to mean weight for molasses, I would expect it to do the same for salt.
I do the Good Eats brined pork thing all the time, and the salt doesn’t have to be exact. I’ve even gotten so lazy that I don’t even measure it out anymore, I just dump some in and stir it up. The difference that even any brining makes is very large. Relax, share, and enjoy.
Not only does he show, but also says, “Be sure to weigh it, because it does not take up the same volume as kosher salt.”
I can testify that it doesn’t. As can a batch of pickles I made years ago.