Northwest Fishing Reports

Posted: **Mon Dec 03, 2007 9:09 pm**

I was just wondering how you make brine for meats and some fish?

Posted: **Mon Dec 03, 2007 10:14 pm**

depending apon the meat of choice. a universal brine consists of salt, sugar, vinegar, and some aromatics, by that i mean onions, and peppers. a brine also can include your choice of addition such as a meat stock or a hot sauce, or honey. the whole point of a brine is to incorporate a flavorfull juice of choice into your meats. most brines are specific to type of meat, but some can be used on multiple meats. nothing is better than a thanksgiving turkey that has been brined before cooking. you could try googling "you choice of meat" brines and see what you get

good luck!

Posted: **Mon Dec 03, 2007 10:37 pm**

I use brown sugar, rock salt, johnny's seasoning salt....That's about it...

Where you thinking about a dry or wet brine?

Posted: **Mon Dec 03, 2007 11:33 pm**

For fish I like the smokey smelt and the deluxe salmon brine recipes on the Luhr Jensen website. They are similar with the addition of soy sauce in the smokey smelt recipe.

Posted: **Mon Dec 03, 2007 11:44 pm**

Sam Kafelafish wrote: Where you thinking about a dry or wet brine?

I don't know, what's the difference?

Posted: **Tue Dec 04, 2007 12:53 am**

Dry brine is just rubbing the ingredients of the brine into the meat. Wet brine is making a liquid and soaking the meat in it for a period of time..

Posted: **Tue Dec 04, 2007 1:40 am**

I tried to Brine my turkey this thanksgiving. It was really good. The turkey meat turned out really flavorful and jucy. Here's the recipie that I used. I'll be using it again next year. FoodTV does have some recipes on Brining, but I havent tried any yet so I don't know if they are good. I have some LingCod in the freezer and I might have to try some brine on that.

Posted: **Wed Dec 05, 2007 1:14 pm**

I'm pretty sure (not 100%) that there is no such thing as a dry brine. Brining infuses flavors into meat by means of soaking - much like marinating only with a higher salt content.

Sam, you might be thinking of a "rub." Dry rubs are spices that get "rubbed" directly into the meat.

Posted: **Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:00 pm**

Nope you can do dry and wet brines...

Dry brining is basically the brine without the liquid incase you couldn't tell from the title of "dry brine..."

Posted: **Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:19 pm**

Yeah, I'm dumb. :albino:

Posted: **Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:42 pm**

Sam Kafelafish wrote:Nope you can do dry and wet brines...

Dry brining is basically the brine without the liquid incase you couldn't tell from the title of "dry brine..."

Dry brine is like...desert fishing. I my not be an expert on fishing, but cooking is something I do alot and do well. If you are rubbing the spices on dry you are not brining. Here is an excerpt from an article from America's Test Kitchen.

America's Test Kitchen wrote: HOW IT WORKS
Brining works in accordance with two principles, called diffusion and osmosis, that like things to be kept in equilibrium. When brining a turkey, there is a greater concentration of salt and sugar outside of the turkey (in the brine) than inside the turkey (in the cells that make up its flesh). The law of diffusion states that the salt and sugar will naturally flow from the area of greater concentration (the brine) to lesser concentration
(the cells). There is also a greater concentration of water, so to speak, outside of the turkey than inside. Here, too, the water will naturally flow from the area of greater concentration (the brine) to lesser concentration (the cells). When water moves in this fashion, the process is called osmosis. Once inside the cells, the salt and, to a lesser extent, the sugar cause the cell proteins to unravel, or denature. As the individual proteins unravel, they become more likely to interact with one another. This interaction results in the formation of a sticky matrix that captures and holds moisture. Once exposed to heat, the matrix gels and forms a barrier that keeps much of the water from leaking out as the meat cooks. Thus you have a turkey that is both better seasoned and much more moist than when you started.

You can open and view the full article in pdf format at the link below.

Posted: **Wed Dec 05, 2007 3:55 pm**

Drewp wrote:Yeah, I'm dumb. :albino:

nope not at all. It's a pretty new twist to the standard brining in a liquid. I've yet to try it, might have to do so next time I got a batch to smoke...I've had some dry brined and it's good....

Posted: **Wed Dec 05, 2007 9:00 pm**

Dry brining is basically the brine without the liquid incase you couldn't tell from the title of "dry brine..."[/quote]

America's Test Kitchen wrote: HOW IT WORKS
Brining works in accordance with two principles, called diffusion and osmosis, that like things to be kept in equilibrium. When brining a turkey, there is a greater concentration of salt and sugar outside of the turkey (in the brine) than inside the turkey (in the cells that make up its flesh). The law of diffusion states that the salt and sugar will naturally flow from the area of greater concentration (the brine) to lesser concentration
(the cells). There is also a greater concentration of water, so to speak, outside of the turkey than inside. Here, too, the water will naturally flow from the area of greater concentration (the brine) to lesser concentration (the cells). When water moves in this fashion, the process is called osmosis. Once inside the cells, the salt and, to a lesser extent, the sugar cause the cell proteins to unravel, or denature. As the individual proteins unravel, they become more likely to interact with one another. This interaction results in the formation of a sticky matrix that captures and holds moisture. Once exposed to heat, the matrix gels and forms a barrier that keeps much of the water from leaking out as the meat cooks. Thus you have a turkey that is both better seasoned and much more moist than when you started.

Really to "brine" simply means to soak something in a salt solution]

Posted: **Wed Dec 05, 2007 9:22 pm**

I use the recipes that came with my Little Chief smoker and add a few other spices that suit whatever mood I may be in. Don't over smoke the poultry!!! It gets dry and turns into a cigarette tasting piece of jerky.

Good info on the dry brining. Never heard of it before. At first I thought Sam was talking about dry rubs for BBQ. Learned something new.

Posted: **Wed Dec 05, 2007 9:48 pm**

They consider it a "brine" for smoking because you leave the fish in the brine, but instead of water being in the brine its just the dry ingredients and you cover the meat and let them sit in the dry brine and absorb the ingredients...

I didn't name it so there's no reason to try to prove to me that it's not "really" a brine...

Posted: **Wed Dec 05, 2007 9:59 pm**

Isn't it nice that there are so many choices about what to do with fish after you catch one?

Posted: **Sat Dec 08, 2007 12:58 am**

Micropterus wrote:Isn't it nice that there are so many choices about what to do with fish after you catch one?

It sure is.

Posted: **Mon Dec 10, 2007 4:47 pm**

I found a book at the library called "The Smoked-Foods Cookbook". It uses the word cure- which fits well with the dry method.

Posted: **Sun Dec 23, 2007 2:33 am**

if you put fish in a dry brine it will pull moisture out of the fish hence the name dry brine have used for years

Posted: **Mon Dec 24, 2007 12:02 am**

I also started trying the dry brine this year. It works just fine and its cheap and easy. Like was mentioned just a mix of salt and sugar. The recipe I heard was 1 cup rock salt to 3 cups brown sugar. I use 1 cup regular salt to 4 cups brown sugar and some garlic salt. They also say to rinse off the brine after 10 hours and let the fish air dry for another 10 hours. I have rushed the proces and threw them right on the smoker w/o washing off the pieces and letting them air dry. Big mistake, dont rush it. I start the brine at about noon. Just get a few larger bowls, put a layer of fish then cover the entire fish with the brine, then another layer of fish on top of that and another layer of brine and so on, throw the whole thing in the fridge and your good. At about 10pm I rinse the fish and put them in the oven on the oven racks over night to air dry. Then start smoking them the next morning. I actually have a chum air drying in the oven right now.

Northwest Fishing Reports

Brine

Brine

RE:Brine

RE:Brine

RE:Brine

RE:Brine

RE:Brine

RE:Brine

RE:Brine

RE:Brine

RE:Brine

RE:Brine

RE:Brine

RE:Brine

RE:Brine

RE:Brine

RE:Brine

RE:Brine

RE:Brine

RE:Brine

RE:Brine