Brine solution trick

Chef Arnoldi

To make a brine solution before smoking Salmon, pour 4 cups of water into a non-reactive bowl. Add a small potato about the size of a golf ball to the water. It will sink to the bottom. Now begin pouring salt into the water, mixing gently, until the potato bobs to the surface of the water. Discard potato. [p]Place salmon fillets in brine and allow to soak in a cool place for 1 hour before smoking. [p]Remove salmon fillets from brine solution and pat dry. Set aside.
In a measuring cup, blend together honey and whisky. Gently brush fillets with blended honey and whisky mixture.
Soak wood shavings or chips (apple or elder) in water for about 1 hour.
Stabilize BGE at about 250 degrees F.
place salmon fillets on the grill with place setter underneath for indirect heat.
Sprinkle damp wood chips over lump.
smoke fish for about 45 minutes. Check progress halfway through cooking. You are looking for a bronzed, shiny exterior and a firm buttery interior. [p]

RayS

Chef Arnoldi,[p]Sounds good. How much honey and whiskey?[p]rays

Unknown

Chef Arnoldi,
Do you know in what recipe for brine calls for sugar? And what is the benefit of using sugar?[p]Tell me about the floating of the potato in relationship to the amount of salt dissolved in water.[p]You're the chef, I'm the doc. . .

The Naked Whiz

lynnea,
The potato initially sinks because it is more dense than fresh water. As you add salt to the water, the density of the water increases. When the density of the water begins to exceed the density of the potato, the potato will float. Things less dense than water float. Things more dense than water sink. [p]This is Archimedes principal. The amount of force or buoyancy pushing up on the potato is equal to the weight of the water it displaces. The weight of the fresh water displaced by the potato doesn't equal or exceed the weight of the potato, so the force pushing up on the potato isn't as great as the weight of the potato. Therefore, the potato sinks because there is not enough force to hold it up. [p]When you make the weight of the displaced water greater by adding salt and making the water more dense, then the weight of the displaced salt water DOES exceed the weight of the potato, and therefore, the force upward exceeds the weight of the potato and the potato floats. [p]TNW

Marvin

Chef Arnoldi,
Have you compared the salinity of this trick to the usual cup per gallon formula?

Chubby

The Naked Whiz,[p]Damm ...Whiz!!!![p]You may be tooooo smart to be on this forum!![p]Chubby

Kelly Keefe

rays,[p]This was on The Thirsty Traveler show on FoodTV the other day. The link below should take you to the recipe. If not, go to FoodTV.com.[p]Kelly
Jefferson City, MO
[ul][li]Smoked Salmon[/ul]

RRP

The Naked Whiz, well said and easy to follow even for the "scientifically challenged" but I guess the other question ought to be not why the potato floats or doesn't but does this higher density make for a better brine? Or is it merely a measure to show you have reached a maximum amount of salt and no need to add anymore thus saving on the cost of salt? Or if a man says something dumb that a woman doesn't hear is it still dumb?

The Naked Whiz

RRP,
Well, now I have to guess. My guess is that when the potato floats, the brine is just right. Someone may have just played around to figure this out. I have no idea tho'.
TNW

Stogie

I used this "trick" many years ago to gauge the amount of salt needed to make great jerky(I have it posted on my jerky page). I used an egg and kept adding Kosher salt until it floated. This gave me the exact amount needed. My mother used this in her cooking and is how the old timers used to do it.[p]I will say, once you know the proper amount, it is much easier to simply measure the salt.

Unknown

The Naked Whiz,
Thanks so much for your response. Shortly after I posed the question, I remembered Archimedes and his work, density, and all that.[p]The significance of this piece of information (the potato float) is this: IF you try to make saturated saline the old fashioned way with the new breed of table salt, you probably won't succeed. Why? Because the additives in Mortons, etc., include dextrose, silicon dioxide and others, do not dissolve at room temp MAKING IT LOOK AS IF you have a saturated solution. Hence, the APPEARANCE OF, but not the actual reality of, the proper concentration of salt in water.%0