Storing batches of brine concentrate?

Mad_dog97 · May 9, 2014

I like to use a brine for most of my poultry, and had a question as I made some brine for some turkey legs I'm going to put on the smoker tomorrow.

Has anyone ever made a big batch of brine concentrate (I usually use a quart of water to boil, and then mix in everything else)? To get it down to temp quickly I'll usually supplement with ice and cold water to get back up to the full gallon.

Could I make a large stock pot of super concentrated brine (1:4) and store it for later by the quart and then just add water later to make up the gallon? Would it need to be pressure canned, or does the salinity of the water make it safe to keep (in fridge or pantry).

Anybody have any ideas?

MS2SB · May 9, 2014

What else do you put in your brine? If it's just salt and water I would htink you'd be fine as long as you get it into jars quickly and store it in a cool dark place.

grantw · May 9, 2014

freeze it, depending on the storage time can it properly if you don't want to freeze it

fatty · May 9, 2014

if your gonna jar it, do it like crushed tomatoes...masion jars, heat washed jars at 250 in oven for 25min, add boiled brine, cap and cover with blankets till cool, you will hear a 'pop" when sealed and you can store for up to 1 year...I think...salt sugar both preservatives so i "ass-u-me" its ok...pm for more details on canning if you want...I wonder if you can freeze brine...

ButtBurner · May 9, 2014

grantw said:
freeze it, depending on the storage time can it properly if you don't want to freeze it

since there is salt in I am not sure what temp it would freeze at, but thats what i would try also

MS2SB · May 9, 2014

You could store brine in the freezer, but at a 4:1 concentration it won't actually freeze as the salt will dramatically decrease the freezing point of the water. That being said it would still be below the temperature at which point bacterial growth is possible. The salt also inhibits bacterial growth, so you should be fine to store in the freezer.

Bludawg · May 9, 2014

Sounds like an awful lot of work to me takes all of 5 min to make a brine form scratch.:tsk:

IamMadMan · May 9, 2014

I agree that it seems like a lot of work....

I use the same brine for chicken that I inject into my pork. So to save time when I am off site, I measure / weigh the dry ingredients and vac-seal the bags. I seal enough to make a quart for injecting (4) pork butts, and I also seal enough to make a gallon for brining chicken. Just add to your boiling liquid whether it be apple juice or water, cool the quart and add the rest of the cold liquid.

When I am at home it doesn't matter, just make the brine from scratch an hour ahead of the time when you need it.
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Storing batches of brine concentrate?

Mad_dog97

Knows what a fatty is.

MS2SB

is Blowin Smoke!

grantw

is Blowin Smoke!

fatty

Knows what a fatty is.

ButtBurner

Babbling Farker

MS2SB

is Blowin Smoke!

Bludawg

somebody shut me the fark up.

IamMadMan

somebody shut me the fark up.

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