Second the equilibrium brining. It's changed the way I cook. I brine by this method regularly and multiple times per week. @Keith_W, if you haven't tried out the method, you definitely should. As a practical matter, ChrisZ's point about not worrying about an exact time is a real blessing. My bad if I missed it in MC, but I don't recall seeing a "losing salts and sugars" discussion there or hearing about it elsewhere. What would be the mechanism for losing salt after butchering? Maybe there's something obvious. Can't think of anything though. I also thought it was mentioned that the sugar in the equilibrium brine recipe was to offset some of the harshness of the salt. Whoops, baby woke up. Have to stop here.
