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Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 21:35
by DLFL
Those really look good!

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 23:56
by Chuckwagon
Hey, hey, Butterbean!
I've suspected that you were a wizzard and now you've proven it. :lol: Wow, that cat looks good enough to eat!
Your brine works out to be a concentration of 5.55% with a salinometer reading of 21 SAL . Very nice indeed.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 04:27
by Butterbean
Chuckwagon I'm glad you mentioned the 21 degrees cause I've been begging to ask this for some time since I'm not exactly sure of the proper method of using a salinometer. My salinometer read 30 degrees but this was a measurement of the whole brine mixture and this is how I have been measuring my brines. Of course, I've questioned this since by definitiion the salinometer should be measuring salt in solution. However what has puzzled me is since sugar is often used as a substitution for salt to tone it down the saltiness should this too not be accounted for in the mixture? So with this in mind, I have been measuring the total brine solutions I make rather than just the salt. However, I don't know if I'm doing this properly since I've never read anything detailing this question nor have I ever had anyone tell me the correct way of doing this. I would greatly appreciate any instruction you can give me in this area. Thanks.

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 04:39
by ssorllih
Butterbean, I can help here. The salinometer measures the percent of saturation in a salt only solution. So a reading of 21 would mean that the solution is at 21 percent of saturation. If you add sugar you will raise the specific gravity of the solution but you won't change the total salt and you will get a false reading. So make your solution first with salt only to the degree that you want and then add the sugar

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 04:46
by Butterbean
Thank you. I thought I was probably doing it wrong but somehow I rationalized it this way. :oops: I'm going to have to adjust my way of thinking then cause my actual brines are less than I have noted. Kinda silly I guess. It is afterall a salinometer. :oops: And wouldn't you know, I got a 50/50 chance at guessing the proper way and I choose wrong. This is exactly why I don't buy lottery tickets. Thanks again.

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 05:56
by ssorllih
I once asked a mathamatician friend what the odds were for winning the lottery. He said they were about the same. I asked what he meant "about the same"? he said if you buy a ticket or not.

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 13:50
by Butterbean
That's how I feel. I'm not going to voluntarily wait in line to pay taxes.

Posted: Wed Apr 18, 2012 11:28
by Chuckwagon
Hey BeanO, :mrgreen:
You wrote:
So with this in mind, I have been measuring the total brine solutions I make rather than just the salt. However, I don't know if I'm doing this properly since I've never read anything detailing this question nor have I ever had anyone tell me the correct way of doing this. I would greatly appreciate any instruction you can give me in this area. Thanks.
Check out the following link. It should help you to calculate brine effectively. http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=5743
Ol' Rosscoe is right about the sugar in the brine. Measure it with salt only. Also, be sure to only use sugar in a brine that is quick or going to be refrigerated as it could start the fermenting process.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 22:49
by Baconologist
I smoke skinned catfish filets on a piece of parchment with holes made from a paper hole punch.
It makes it much easier to handle the filets without them crumbling.
Serve right on the piece of parchment.



Bob