Looking for low/no sugar brine for smoking salmon, flounder, and grouper.


 
B

Ben E Lou

TVWBB Member
I've got the following in my freezer that I want to smoke:


  • 1.5 pounds salmon
  • 1 pound flounder
  • 2 pounds grouper

I don't mind re-heated fish. In fact, I'm lazy and prefer to cook meat every 4-7 days and eat the leftovers over that time. Is there one brine (or three if necessary, but I'd prefer to use the same one) that I can use for these guys that has low or no sugar?
 
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Ben,

A brine doesn't have to have sugar. The only thing a brine needs is salt. Many balance out the harshness of salt with sugar, but it's not necessary especially if you rinse the meat before cooking. A basic ratio of 1 cup salt to 1 gal of water will give you a basic brine. From there, you can add any other flavors. Cracked pepper, crushed citrus, bay leaves, garlic. The options are up to you.

Paul
 
Paul K said:
Ben,

A brine doesn't have to have sugar. The only thing a brine needs is salt. Many balance out the harshness of salt with sugar, but it's not necessary especially if you rinse the meat before cooking. A basic ratio of 1 cup salt to 1 gal of water will give you a basic brine. From there, you can add any other flavors. Cracked pepper, crushed citrus, bay leaves, garlic. The options are up to you.

Paul
Click to expand...
Cool. Thanks. How long would you do the brine? There seems to be a wide range of varying opinions on that, ranging from 2-3 hours to overnight.
 
"How long would you do the brine?"
Depends on the thickness of your fillets. I'd think anywhere from 2 - 6 hours would work. Founder is pretty thin; at least the ones I catch :p, grouper can obviously be a lot thicker. Fish brines pretty fast*
*'pretty fast' meaning the basic reason for brining which is to add moisture. If you're adding aromatics and flavorants, then you need to brine longer. For fish, I'd personally opt for the basic brine and add the flavoring when I cook.

Paul
 
I was going to say brine using 2 quarts cold water + 1/4 cup table salt for 30, 60, or 90 minutes max.

Regards,
Chris
 
Ben,

Chris's comment made me think of an important point and that is the strength (salt %) of the brine. Here's a great link for sausage and smoking foods. It's a detailed piece, but not excessively so, on smoking fish.

Paul
 
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