Reusing pickle brine

Question

So I just finished a jar of home-made pickles. They were excellent! Not too salty, a bit spicy, very good. They were so good that I'd like to get some more pickles out of that jar. I was thinking of pickling some eggs in that same brine. Is reusing brine ever done? Are there any reasons I shouldn't do it? I've never heard of this being done, but I don't see why not.

Asked by FrustratedWithFormsDesigner

Answer

I have done some experiments pickling eggs with left over cucumber pickle brine.

Just to be safe I reboiled the brine to sterilize it.

It tasted great.

I don't do this with my eggs anymore simply because pickled eggs have more potential than cucumbers. I pickle my eggs now with different vinegars, like balsamic, for more interesting flavors and colors.

Answered by Sobachatina

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What is the proper way to brine fish?

Question

My query is regarding fish in general and specifically types like salmon, tuna and trout.

1. How long should fish be brined for? Some recipes say 4 hours and others say 8-12 hours.

2. Should the saline solution be 6% as usual.

3. How do you know if it has bined properly? Do you expect it to be plump and juicy as with poultry or how exactly?

Thanks

To answer your question, my goal in brining is to simply get as much salt as possible into the cells of the fish. . I do not care about taste, flavour or anything else, I just want salt to penetate into all parts of the fish. As you know if you want salt in your meat brining is the best method and better then normal and slow cooking which do not absorb to the same extent and in the same way.

Asked by James Wilson

Answer

If you want to cure your fish (basically a brine without moisture) it is dependent on the thickness of the meat mostly. If it's as thin as 1/4", it will take approximately 1-2 hours. If it's more around 1" thick, it could need 3-8 hours.

If you use a dry-cure method you don't have to worry about having too much salt because once you're done, you just wipe it off.

If done incorrectly (ie. not enough time), you should notice a difference in the colour between the edge and the interior. Typically, the colour becomes more pale.

The main purpose of the salt is to dehydrate the meat, not necessarily drying. If you use a brine, it obviously won't become dry.

Answered by Brino

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Does adding salt when soaking dry beans toughen or soften the skin of the bean?

Question

I have heard opinions on both sides of this. The the latest answer on this site, says salt softens bean skins quoted Cooks Illustrated (I can't see the article, but I trust CI), while another answer says salt hardens the beans' skins.

In case is varies by bean, I'm interested in:

• Kidney Beans
• Black Beans
• Small Red Beans

So which is it? Inquiring Minds want to know.

Answer

Soften. Other things that typically are added with salt will tend to toughen the beans, but it isn't the fault of the salt. For decades, chefs have circulated the oral tradition that adding salt hardens beans, but it's a myth.

Several scientific studies verify that adding salt to the soaking water for dried beans will reduce the cooking times. The first and most cited article, originally published in 1977, can be found here. As mentioned in the first answer you cited, the fine folks at Cooks Illustrated found in 2008 that 3 TBSP per gallon of water produces soft skins while not over-salting the interior of the beans. Since you can't see the full article, here is the science according to CI:

"Why does soaking dried beans in salted water make them cook up with softer skins? It has to do with how the sodium ions in salt interact with the cells of the bean skins. As the beans soak, the sodium ions replace some of the calcium and magnesium ions in the skins. Because sodium ions are weaker than mineral ions, they allow more water to penetrate into the skins, leading to a softer texture. During soaking, the sodium ions will only filter partway into the beans, so their greatest effect is on the cells in the outermost part of the beans."

Harold McGee's NY Times blog (August 9, 2008) also notes that adding salt early enough will allow complete penetration of the bean, which improves flavor.

On the other hand, things typically added with salt -- particularly sugar and calcium-rich products -- tend to toughen beans (and the salt gets the blame). This toughening effect is most notable in baked-bean recipes using things like ketchup, molasses, and BBQ sauce. You can bake these beans for days, yet the beans will stay whole and firm. The actual mechanism for this effect is not clear; one hypothesis currently circulating seems to be that these products stabilize the cell-cell "glue" (e.g., Shirley Corriher says so on Good Eats "Pantry Raid III - Cool Beans", transcript online here), but I could not find any peer-reviewed study specifically verifying that hypothesis.

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How would I add heat to a brine?

Question

I am interested in making roast chicken with a bit of a kick. I'm thinking about adding heat to the brine, but I'm not sure what the best way of doing that would be.

How would brine work with hot peppers?

Answer

Hot peppers won't work with brine, as brine is water-based and capsaicin (the pepper hotness) is not soluble in water. You would need an oil-based marinade to pass the 'heat'.

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What happens if I brine my turkey for 2 days?

Question

I have a logistical problem that leaves me with no fridge room for 2 days before Thanksgiving... I always brine my turkey, so I don't have any questions about that, but typically it's only an 8 - 10 hour brine.

Is it possible to "over brine" a turkey? Lets assume I keep it covered and keep it cold (so that we're not discussing food safety as it relates to the turkey getting warm).

Answer

It is possible to over brine meat. If you leave it in too long it will get too salty.

If you use a more dilute brine it won't get as salty but you will wash out more of the natural flavor into the water as well.

You could submerge your turkey in its packaging in ice water in a cooler for a day before brining. You could even thaw the turkey in this manner if you made sure to keep it in ice water so it didn't get to 40F.

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