Go to the Article: Brining & Curing Fish
Does equilibrium brining work for fish? If you aim for 1-2% salinity post brining, wouldn't it be easier to equilibrium brine the fish (like you recommend for ham and pork belly)? Or is it something about us wanting our fish to be fresh?
You can certainly equilibrium brine the fish, it just takes longer and requires measuring. We use this technique because more than flavor, the high salt content on the surface really makes a difference in texture in the fish. Firming it up and.
Okay, I see. Thanks for replying. I love this fishy addition to the class.
How about brining other meats? Would you brine Sous vide Chicken or say pork belly? If so, Would you use a dry or wet method?
I am confused about how to choose a concentration & time to brine my fish. This week, I made 3 brined sous vide fish: salmon in a 10% salinity for 40 minutes and sandfish (I think, although I forgot what the fishmonger called it) in 10% salinity for 30 minutes and 45 minutes. The salmon was lovely (as I followed the guidelines of your recipes), but the sandfish...
First, I cooked it at 122F (30 min brine), then again at 115F (45 min brine). The first time was amazing delicious, firm flesh (even though I prefer a softer fish), but the second time is was mushy and way too salty.
I love the timing diagrams you make for showing what happens to different meats and vegs at different times and temperatures--could you explain a bit how to develop some intuition about how to choose a given salinity or brining time? So far, I only understand that higher fat fishes want a slightly longer brine.
If I'm making lox should I do a quick brine or do I need to use a much longer brining process because I'm not cooking the fish after being brined?
can you suggest the time and temp for octopus? both fresh and previously blanched/frozen would be awesome!
Hi ChefSteps staff. Is this a contradiction in your text above? In one paragraph it says:
"The important point here is that above 2.5 percent, salt starts to draw water out of the flesh—curing. Below 2.5 percent, salt tends to plump flesh with more water, which is brining."
and in the next paragraph it says:
"Soaking a fish in a brine with 1–10 percent salt will make its muscle fibers swell and absorb the salty liquid, thus holding on to more natural juices than they would had the fish not been brined."
To sumarize: First paragraph says that salinity above 2.5% will draw the water out and the second says that from 1-10%, that includes above 2.5%, will absorb liquid and hold more natural juices.
Which one is it and how should I read this?
I just want to prep salmon for the sous vide. I tried doing salmon w/o brining and it was unpleasantly soggy. When I saw your picture of fillets in different concentrations for different times followed by one of fillets in the sous vide I thought I was going to get an awesome recommendation. Do you use the Mi-Cuit brine recipe for fillets destined for the sous vide? That is what I have been doing.
