How long can brines be kept for?

[Billy Rhomboid]

Once a batch of brine has been made up, how long is it viable for, assuming it is kept cool etc?

[quietwatersfarm]

Now, there is a can of worms

Old school rules say you keep it forever topping up as you go

New view would probably be make up and use immediately and discard straight after use.

Truth is probably somewhere between the two, but better safe than sorry in my view, I wouldnt feel too sure about using one that had been hanging around for weeks on end, its not exactly a massive hassle and expense to mix.

[wheels]

I agree with QWF.

Most of the brines we use now (certainly for recipes on this site) are specific to the piece of meat we are curing, so the question doesn't really arise. My concerns about reuse would include not knowing the level of salt or the level of nitrite/nitrate.

Another concern would be the long term viability of any nitrite.

Traditional curer, Maynard Davies, in his book, talks about the reuse of brine (which he did) and advises having it tested monthly by the Public Analyst. I guess that this would be outside the budget of most home-curers.

Phil

[Billy Rhomboid]

It is a Maynard recipe brine in question in fact. I made it up before Christmas, just before we had the great cold spell but decided against putting to use at the time as I already had two lots on the go which I was concerned about the timings of due to the temperature drop and saw no point in starting another lot until the weather stabilised.
Normally I would just discard and make afresh, but its the full 10 gallons and 20lbs of salt and so on quantities which is a bit of a pain and expense to just pour down the drain unused if it is still viable.

[quietwatersfarm]

If its a Maynard recipe brine then it will probably still be plenty strong enough!!

[Billy Rhomboid]

It was the Theo's ham recipe, salt and water as above, 6 oz saltpetre, 4 lb Muscovado sugar, 4 oz allspice, 2 oz juniper berries, 4 oz coriander, 2 oz bay leaves and 2 oz black peppercorn - so not an inconsequential cost of ingredients.
It has not been used so there is no debris in the tub.

[Oddley]

How much meat is that brine meant for?

[quietwatersfarm]

...and how big is your bucket!!!

[quietwatersfarm]

How much meat is that brine meant for?

and you were worried about my ingoing salt

[wheels]

How much meat is that brine meant for?

There's no quantity stated Oddley. It just says that the ideal cut for the recipe is a 16 - 18lb ham with a short hock and to immerse them for approx 10 days. The inference is that quantities of hams were cured at once. It also says that you can leave them longer for a saltier or spicier product.

HTH

Phil

[Oddley]

Well I've analysed it and think I might give it a go on my next ham. If you think I've made a mistake with my math please say as my head is hurting.

I've guessed it at 65% absorption at 10 days. Open to suggestions on this.

Theo's ham recipe

Usage equal parts Brine and Meat:

Ingredients:
100%
79.8767 % water
3.1873 % Muscovado sugar
15.9398 % salt
0.2987 % saltpetre,
0.1985 % allspice,
0.1985 % coriander
0.1002 % juniper berries,
0.1002 % bay leaves
0.1002 % black peppercorn

Method:
Make up the brine the same weight as the meat. Boil up the brine, add all the ingredients and let get cold. Make up for any weight loss through evaporation, with water that has been boiled. The ideal cut for the recipe is a 16 - 18lb ham with a short hock. Immerse the meat for approx 10 days.

Results:
At 65% absorption
About 5 % salt
About 1 % Sugar
About 971 mg/Kg saltpetre

[saucisson]

I don't know the answer, but if it has sat cold and unused I would have thought it would be OK to use now...

[wheels]

I've made a mistake with my math please say as my head is hurting.

I've guessed it at 65% absorption at 10 days. Open to suggestions on this.

Nothing's wrong with your maths Oddley.

Whether the absorption will be 65% is another question. I'd guess that this would be a maximum. NCPaul's test results would indicate a figure between 45% and 56%.

Phil

[Oddley]

Cheers wheels.

I really should do a spread sheet or write a program to sort out the absorption times. Oh well it should be safe enough.

[wheels]

Yes, it's a recipe that I've had earmarked for a while, but there again there are so many of Maynard's recipes that I'd like to try.

Phil