Hi all, greetings from a new poster. I've entered the (new to me) world of curing.
Last weekend I followed the Loxmania recipe for Nova Lox, which is a dry cure, followed by a brine, then desalinization, pellicle/glaze formation and eventual cold smoking.
The recipe is here - http://www.sausagemania.com/loxmania.html
I am REALLY pleased with how it turned out. Since it was a test run I used the most inexpensive salmon I could find, used lower-end ingredients, etc., and it is still delicious!
I have a question - if I choose to add flavorings during the dry cure ( dill, pepper, & caraway perhaps ) will a later brine step be counterproductive to flavor formation?
My understanding of brining is that the moisture in the meat is replaced by the moisture in the brine + salt. So I'm concerned about replacing my just-flavored moisture with unflavored brine, so it would seem to be a blunder.
So the question might be does a brine replace the moisture and flavor gained during a previous dry curing step?
Thanks, I appreciate any reply!
-John
Last weekend I followed the Loxmania recipe for Nova Lox, which is a dry cure, followed by a brine, then desalinization, pellicle/glaze formation and eventual cold smoking.
The recipe is here - http://www.sausagemania.com/loxmania.html
I am REALLY pleased with how it turned out. Since it was a test run I used the most inexpensive salmon I could find, used lower-end ingredients, etc., and it is still delicious!
I have a question - if I choose to add flavorings during the dry cure ( dill, pepper, & caraway perhaps ) will a later brine step be counterproductive to flavor formation?
My understanding of brining is that the moisture in the meat is replaced by the moisture in the brine + salt. So I'm concerned about replacing my just-flavored moisture with unflavored brine, so it would seem to be a blunder.
So the question might be does a brine replace the moisture and flavor gained during a previous dry curing step?
Thanks, I appreciate any reply!
-John