Brine questions

[Captainkirk]

Can you reuse your brine ? My brine was like 90 $ would be nice to get a few  batches out of it ? If you can should I add more salt ? how soon can you vac PAC your finished product?

[muebe]

Others may have an opinion but I suggest that you never re-use a brine...

[Captainkirk]

It would be kept in a fridge its a brine of 1/2 gallon water 3/4 cup salt 1 liter honey 1 litter maple syrup one liter Rodgers syrup  2 kg brown sugar , I just wanted to reuse once or twice back to back ?

[Tenpoint5]

With the possibilities of cross contamination from the different batches and the unknown as to how much salt is remaining in the brine and how much to add. Getting sick or even worse getting someone else sick isn't worth it. Make a new batch of brine.

[Habanero Smoker]

See my reply on your other post.

[Smokeville]

Don't reuse the brine. Just make certain you get your moneys worth by not using more brine per pound of fish than you need.

I recall that on a standard brine based upon 1 gallon of water, you can do 10 pounds of fish, but others will have a better idea.

So far as vac-sealing, I let the fish cool, then put them overnight in the fridge. That allows the juices to settle. Also, if you vac seal when warm, you will get condensation inside the vac seal. When done, freeze. This avoids the possibility of botulism. Plus, many of us here feel that freezing actually enhances the smokey flavour.

Enjoy!

Rich

[Habanero Smoker]

The standard calculation for almost any brine is that you need at least 45% weight in brine (without the sugar and other ingredients) of the green weight of the meat you are brining. I generally will use 50% to make things easier, but more will not hurt. You can use 100% or 200% of the green weight, but it is a waste of supplies.

One gallon weights a little over 8 pounds plus the salt, so that will easily cure 16 pounds, in this case salmon.

[Smokeville]

Thanks HS!