BRINE?

gdawgs24 · February 2

I was wondering if anyone knew how long a brine will stay good. I made enough to brine 6 chickens at once. Just didn't want to throw it away if I can save it. Ay thought?

Nature Boy · February 2

As long as no raw chicken has touched it, you should be good for a few weeks. Less if you used fresh fruit or other perishable ingredients.

Cheers!
Chris

Richard Fl · February 2

Unless you want to do some more poultry sooon, I would trash it since they were chickens.

nolaegghead · February 2

Never re-use brine, if you already brined the chickens. If it's unused, the shelf life of a 5-10% brine is quite long if refrigerated. It's not totally aseptic, but it does inhibit bad bacteria.

gdawgs24 · February 2

one more part to this does it matter if brine is still warm when I put chickens in

Charlie tuna · February 2

I would throw it out, brine is cheap to make !! And warm brine will decrease the brine time. The brine i use state's brine for twelve hours, or use warm water and brine for six hours.

td66snrf · February 3

nolaegghead said:

Never re-use brine, if you already brined the chickens. If it's unused, the shelf life of a 5-10% brine is quite long if refrigerated. It's not totally aseptic, but it does inhibit bad bacteria.

Nola,

I've seen your posts and respect your knowledge and opinions. Without coming off like a smart a$$, would you please educate me why reusing a brine is unacceptable. I've done it for years with no repercussion. I freeze what I have left and save it. My theory is you're putting raw meat right back in where you had raw meat and then cooking it to a safe temp so I don't see the issue. I have found that if you use it more than twice it does lose it's potency.

Tim in SoCal

nolaegghead · February 3

td66snrf said:

nolaegghead said:

Never re-use brine, if you already brined the chickens. If it's unused, the shelf life of a 5-10% brine is quite long if refrigerated. It's not totally aseptic, but it does inhibit bad bacteria.

Nola,

I've seen your posts and respect your knowledge and opinions. Without coming off like a smart a$$, would you please educate me why reusing a brine is unacceptable. I've done it for years with no repercussion. I freeze what I have left and save it. My theory is you're putting raw meat right back in where you had raw meat and then cooking it to a safe temp so I don't see the issue. I have found that if you use it more than twice it does lose it's potency.

Tim in SoCal

The salt concentration changes after you use it, and salt is cheap - brine is cheap. The spices can be expensive if you use them, but they're also diminished in concentration. I read this in a couple books and from some other sources. May be BS, but the time/brine formula is like time/temp in cooking - you're right about the safety, as long as you don't push it. Reproducibility is important in cooking, so you can tweak a recipe or process and deliver the same high quality every time.

Here's a quote I found from Ruhlman on his blog:

ruhlman March 16, 2012 at 2:14 pm

Never a good idea to reuse brine. salt concentration will be off, but given that’s its high salt, as long as you keep it cold there’s no safety issue if you reuse right away.

td66snrf · February 3

Nola,

Thanks for responding so quickly. So if I understand you correctly there isn't an sanitary issue but there is a potency breakdown.

Tim

nolaegghead · February 3

Yeah, seems a shame to throw it away if you have a good investment of spices in it. I try to stand on the shoulders of giants, but I always remain skeptical, as the giant's are sometimes hanging on to giant un-truths. Good for you questioning why. :D

I suppose you could get a hydrometer that deals with 4-11% brines (there abouts) and correct your salt concentration, if you're doing back-to-back brining. I'm certain commercial industry has some cost saving measures, once a game-breaker parameter is quantified.

td66snrf · February 3

Nola,

Thanks again for your input. I'm currently brining my wings for tomorrow's superbowl in a brine that I did for my Christmas turkey. To me it's just why throw it away if you can use it again and it's the convenience of not having to make it again.

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