You’ll usually brine a turkey breast for about 1 hour per pound , aiming for a total time in the 4–24 hour range in the fridge, depending on size and salt level of your brine. For many home cooks, an overnight brine (8–12 hours) hits the sweet spot between great flavor and avoiding mushy, overly salty meat.

Ideal brine times

  • Bone-in turkey breast: around 1 hour per pound, often 6–12 hours for typical 4–7 lb breasts.
  • Boneless turkey breast: shorter time, often 3–6 hours, because it’s smaller and takes on salt faster.
  • Maximum time: do not exceed about 24 hours in a standard wet brine or the texture can start to turn mushy.

Quick rule-of-thumb guide

  • 2–3 lb boneless breast: 3–5 hours. Longer can make it too salty.
  • 4–5 lb bone-in breast: 5–8 hours; many recipes simply recommend an overnight brine.
  • 6–7 lb bone-in breast: 8–12 hours, checking that the brine is not extremely salty if you go on the longer end.

Safety and texture tips

  • Always brine chilled in the refrigerator, never at room temperature.
  • If your breast is small or your brine very salty, stay closer to the lower time range to avoid an overly cured taste.
  • After brining, pat the turkey dry; if you have time, let it sit uncovered in the fridge for several hours to help the skin brown and crisp.

Bottom line: for “how long should I brine a turkey breast,” plan on roughly 1 hour per pound, with 4–12 hours covering most real-world situations and 24 hours as a hard upper limit.