562345 Sat Oct 04 13:57:48 -0700 2008 12 31 Home Cooking 0 4081871 How long does brine last in the fridge? It was a stanard brine: salt pepper sugar spices but also fresh smashed garlic cloves Sat Oct 04 13:57:48 -0700 2008 57335 sweet100s 1 4081953 The ocean is a brine. It has lasted unrefrigerated for quite some time. Sat Oct 04 14:55:34 -0700 2008 4081871 36661 Sam Fujisaka 2 4082491 Good point; it's the fresh smashed garlic cloves I'm mostly worried about. But I guess you saw the "but also fresh smashed garlic cloves... " Are you suggesting that a brine preserves those indefinitely? Sat Oct 04 22:52:00 -0700 2008 4081953 57335 sweet100s 3 4082502 Salt is the world's best preservative. Sat Oct 04 23:03:22 -0700 2008 4082491 206877 jpc8015 3 4082653 Yes, the brine would preserve the garlic almost idefinitiely if the salt level is anywhere near saturation. Sun Oct 05 04:15:40 -0700 2008 4082491 36661 Sam Fujisaka 4 4082674 Am I too conservative? I can't imagine brining something in a saturated saline solution! Well, not more than five minutes anyway. '-) More than that, I envy anyone who has enough room in their refrigerator to store brine for the long term. <sigh> Jealously is a painful emotion. Sun Oct 05 04:54:04 -0700 2008 4082653 112096 Caroline1 5 4082853 That's how you make lox. Smoked fish is also soaked in a brine that's saturated Sun Oct 05 07:58:16 -0700 2008 4082674 89493 scubadoo97 5 4083672 Sam, Before I add in the other half of the water (as ice water), my standard brine recipe (1 cup kosher salt : 1 cup of sweetness : 1 gallon water) behaves like it is very near saturation. (based on what I learned from this topic: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/467115 After doubling the water, I'd guess it's definitely not saturated. But I don't know. Do you? >> I envy anyone who has enough room in their refrigerator to store brine for the long term. Caroline, I bought a garage fridge specifically due to my obsession with making a delicious turkey-ranch sandwich, a multi-day process which starts with brining 2 bone-in skin-on turkey breasts. I definitely would not have room in the kitchen fridge. Plus I like to keep lots of raw poultry away from everything else, esp during the 'skin drying' phase when it's not covered. Garage fridges are inexpensive if you catch them on the 10% off appliances sale (Sears, Home Depot). Definitely get a full-size one, but dont' get a fancy one. I believe mine was in the high $2xx's, or low $3xx's. Sun Oct 05 15:46:34 -0700 2008 4082674 57335 sweet100s 6 4084178 sweet100s, saturation is the point at which no more salt will dissolve. Your final solution is far from saturation. Actually, I don't know what is ideal. I just throw in a lot of salt and enough water for the task, and throw it all out when I've brined the bird. Wish I could get such a fridge at anywhere such a price here in Colombia. All the best. Sun Oct 05 20:13:50 -0700 2008 4083672 36661 Sam Fujisaka 7 4084444 Sam, but in Columbia you have access to beautiful gold jewelry. More than a fair tradeoff ;-) !! re: precise proportions & brining Based on doing this ~ 15 times, I've found it important to measure my ratio of salt :: water so that my meat doesn't get too salty. That happened once, and it was a waste of a ton of time! (not to mention food). What seems to work best (based on 15 data points) is: - with 2 4-7lb bone-in skin-on turkey breasts - using a brine made with ratio 1 cup kosher salt : 1 cup of sweetness : 1 gallon water : spices - brine for 1.5 hours per pound of meat On the early test runs, I brined one and not the other to see if there really was a difference. There was. Mon Oct 06 01:28:12 -0700 2008 4084178 57335 sweet100s 8 4084489 Thank you. I'll do it your way next time. The emeralds here are nice. Mon Oct 06 03:50:18 -0700 2008 4084444 36661 Sam Fujisaka 9 4084688 Oooh! Oooh! Emeralds! You ship me a big box of them and I'll ship you a big box of refrigerators! Deal? '-) Mon Oct 06 06:18:40 -0700 2008 4084489 112096 Caroline1 6 4084714 Yikes! I've already got a huge side-by-side in the kitchen, a bar regrig in the master bedroom, another one upstairs for guests, and a huge almost-walk-in freezer in the pantry. All of that, and I'm wasteful. I would probably throw the brine out. Actually, when I stop to think about it, I'm not wasteful about everything. I'm very ecologically conservative, and EVERY refrigerator and/or freezer is energy star rated, my heat pump is the most energy efficient on the market, and almost every lighbulb in the house is CFL. But I'd throw away salt like there's no tomorrow! Unless I could time travel back to when it was worth its weight in gold. '-) Mon Oct 06 06:25:04 -0700 2008 4083672 112096 Caroline1