Saving Pop's brine

[hooked on smoke]

Greetings,
I just mixed up a gallon of Pop's brine and only needed half of it to fully submerge a boneless turkey breast.
Can the remaing mixture be save for later use?
Thanks in advance for any support.

 

[chef k-dude]

I dont know if pink salt degrades over time, but sugar water, which that brine has a lot of sugar, can easily be kept refrigerated for a week.

 

[chopsaw]

You should be using the whole gallon .

 

[kilo charlie]

chopsaw is absolutely correct.

 

[hooked on smoke]

You should be using the whole gallon .

Uh oh. Will not using the whole gallon mess it up? I don't have a large enough container. Would a stainless steel pot work?

 

[chopsaw]

Uh oh. Will not using the whole gallon mess it up? I don't have a large enough container. Would a stainless steel pot work?

If you want to fully cure the breast , you should use the whole gallon .

If you're just brining overnight or for a couple days , then cooking hot and fast you can use the half .
I always use it by gallon volumes .

Would a stainless steel pot work?

Yes .

 

[JckDanls 07]

Yes, so the brine is made to use the whole gallon... When using partial batches your only getting a partial (less percentage) amount of cure as it is distributed throughout the whole gallon of water...

That's the way I understand it...

 

[hooked on smoke]

If you want to fully cure the breast , you should use the whole gallon .

If you're just brining overnight or for a couple days , then cooking hot and fast you can use the half .
I always use it by gallon volumes .

Yes .

Thank you for explaining that. I learned something new again. This place is great.

 

[hooked on smoke]

Good to know. Thank you so much.

 

[jcam222]

Uh oh. Will not using the whole gallon mess it up? I don't have a large enough container. Would a stainless steel pot work?

That's what I use

 

[chopsaw]

Thank you for explaining that. I learned something new again.

Always use it by the gallon . It's a great brine / cure for poultry .

I only say you can use half if not fully curing , because you already started and have it in a small container / bag .
I'm only suggesting using half in your current situation .

Did I see somewhere that you are doing turkey breast deli meat ?

 

[hooked on smoke]

Always use it by the gallon . It's a great brine / cure for poultry .

I only say you can use half if not fully curing , because you already started and have it in a small container / bag .
I'm only suggesting using half in your current situation .

Did I see somewhere that you are doing turkey breast deli meat ?

Yes, the original plan was to do turkey lunch meat. Im trying to figure this out as I go.
If anyone has insight/methods of doing this i would appreciate the help.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Brines don’t work the way you may think. When you mix up a gallon of brine it will contain a certain PPM nitrite and a certain percentage of salt based on water weight. When you pour half of that brine out each half retains the same PPM nitrite and percentage of salt. Sure you poured out half of the nitrite and salt but you also poured out half the water weight which keeps both halve relative to each other.

Just like if I mix 5 separate containers of brine, all the same mix, then pour those 5 into a larger container the strength of brine does not increase strength or ppm or percentage by a factor of 5. Instead the large container contains the exact same ppm and percentage as the individual ones did.

All that I’ve read that Pop said of his brine was to mix up 1 gallon and pour over meat in container. If the meat doesn’t completely cover with brine then mix up another whole gallon, do not mix partial gallons. He also said of the second gallon to use what you need to cover and discard the rest.

 

[ifitsdeadsmokeit]

I am under the same understanding as SmokinEdge It is about the concentration of the brine, not volume you use. I always just mix it by the gallon and that is what i use. Pretty sure it was pops that told me this.

 

[chopsaw]

It is concentration ,, by the gallon . " If 1 gallon doesn't cover make 2 "
Not " if 1 gallon doesn't cover , make 2 , use 1 1/2 and dump the rest "

 

[Fueling Around]

The left over mix should be discarded.
Nitrites dissolved in water deplete over time even without interaction with any meat.

I don't use Pop's brine. I don't know the nitrite ppm from a heaping tablespoon.
I use a calculator that includes water and meat weight to calculate my nitrite so if I only need 1/2 gallon of brine/cure I get the correct ppm.

Question
1 turkey breast only needs 1/2 gallon of brine/cure to submerge, but we should use the whole gallon per the golden rule.
How about 2 turkey breasts that are fully submerged in the same gallon of brine/cure.
Where is the difference?

 

[SmokinEdge]

It is concentration ,, by the gallon . " If 1 gallon doesn't cover make 2 "
Not " if 1 gallon doesn't cover , make 2 , use 1 1/2 and dump the rest "

Well the man himself said you can either mix 1 gallon or 1/2 gallon as needed.

Here is a thread from pops. Look at post #22

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/pops6927s-wet-curing-brine.110799/page-2

In another thread he addressed the use of part of a gallon of brine.

Question #3 from fpmitch:
“Can I mix 1 gallon of your brine and only use a pint of it in a zip bag for jerky?

Pops6927 response:
“Yes, the whole thing is concentration within a given volume. Once concocted changing volume does not change the concentration “

This is post #85, in the link below

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/pops6927s-wet-curing-brine.110799/page-5