What happens if you brine twice?

[AmandaW]

We butcher our own pigs (with my parents) and pop's brine has been my go to for years. Some years I brine the meat and then freeze before smoking and other years if we have a time crunch I'll throw them in the freezer totally raw to be brined at another time. My parents just found two old hams in the freezer that they want to use for Easter but it doesn't say on the package if they are raw or brined and it was a few year back so I don't remember what we did that year. Would it cause any issue to throw these hams back in pop's brine for another 3 weeks if they actually were brined in the first place?

 

[sandyut]

I am not a brining expert, but If it was brined for 3 weeks and then frozen, then thawed and brined for another 3 weeks, thats 6 weeks in brine. And that sounds like a bad idea to me.

 

[smokerjim]

Cut a little piece off and fry it, you should be able to tell that way.

 

[Coreymacc]

Yup, as stated, the brine clock will start again, so a sample will be best.

Corey

 

[smokerjim]

Now I'm wondering after a few years as you mentioned would the cure salt break down and cause a problem if your smoking at low temps. I dont know, maybe someone with more knowledge will jump in.

 

[chopsaw]

Cut a little piece off and fry it,

My thought as well . That way you'll know if it's already cured .

 

[zwiller]

Theoretically what happens is NOTHING. If both brines are made the same, nothing will change as the concentration of salt etc is the same. I eat some pretty old stuff but something "a few years" old is not getting served at Easter at my house. Fry test is what I'd do tho.

 

[conradjw]

Fry test (turn pinkish if brined)
Let it thaw a little take your finger against the ham then taste it to see if it is salty.

 

[luvcatchingbass]

I'm far from an expert but my first thought was a fry test.

 

[AmandaW]

Great idea! They fried some up and it was already cured. Now, since it is too early, they'll be smoking and slicing into ham steaks for themselves and I'll cure some pork loins that I have on hand for Easter instead.

 

[bill1]

3 weeks sounds like an "equilibrium brine"...in other words, you reached a point where you weren't adding any more flavor or preservative by going any longer. Thawing and brining again (assuming the same brine solution) will make no change. Since there's a small chance the meat might have gone bad, and re-brining could mask that change, I wouldn't recommend it and let my nose and eyes make that judgment.

Now how much flavor is sacrificed (or replaced with other freezer flavors/smells) depends on how well sealed the package was going into the freezer. I can't go more than a year just using lots of tightly-wrapped layers of Saran Wrap, and then placed in a ZipLock. But I think folks with true vacuum-packed sealers go at least two. Maybe they'll pipe in here...

 

[indaswamp]

The meat will definitely be more salty. If you used say 1/2 cup of salt (for illustration purpose) in the brine, as the meat cures, it pulls up salt from the brine so there is more salt in the meat and less in the brine. Now you freeze it, then pull it out and remix the brine to the same concentration of 1/2 cup. This time, there is more salt in the system, so the meat will pick up more salt because the concentration of salt in the brine has been returned to the initial strength. But yes, a fry test will tell you if it is too salty. My guess is it will be.