# Using honey for Brine?



## Michael Bush

I have used honey for curing rather than brown sugar (not on fish though). Honey has a lot more water. I would leave out some of the water when converting from brown sugar to honey in any recipe.


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## Mary Q

I have used honey or maple syrup in my brines and I leave out some of the water. 
How much? I don't know; I do it by eye!


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## GSkip

I brine pork and poultry with molasses or honey, either work well. I don't worry about adding less water and they always come out great, I just keep my salt to liquid ratio 3/4 cup of sea salt to one gallon of liquid.


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## Andy_K

I smoke salmon.
I always add honey to the brine mix and then do a very good drying.
One thing I do is use a sprayer heavy in honey,olive oil and what ever I have close by to spray on during the cook.
I can't see me doing a smoke with out my sprayer.


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## minz

We have been killing the salmon this year! Just smoked some up yesterday and ate some before writing this. 
I think my recipe for brine was 1.5C salt and 1/2C brown sugar to a gallon of water, So Andy do you think ½ C honey?


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## Dave S

I will brush the fish fresh out of the smoker with either honey or maple syrup, a little goes a long way, adjust the amount to your taste.
Dave


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## Andy_K

Hi minz,
I do a half cup honey in the brine in addition to the other stuff.
Long soak in glass casarole containers (not sure if that's the correct name for those but I always stay away from any metal container).
After the soak I drip dry on racks and use a fan the help glaze the meat until it's dry to the touch, meaning no sticky stuff (or at least minimal) on your hands while handling.
I built my brine recipe by looking at a bunch of recipes on the fishing forums that I visit,then tweaked it to my liking.
We just use our fruit trees for wood but I had to use almond once and like that as well. I think my favorite is apricot.
I also like lots of apple juice,honey and liquified brown sugar in my hand squirter.
I can't help myself to not squirt the meat almost every time during inspections.
I can't rely on the thermometer so I also use a lazer temp gun ($32 at Home Depot or harbors freight tools)
I like just chill,hang out and go slow so for me it's an all day cook.
My preference is to have the salmon just a notch dryer than slightly tacky with no salty taste.


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## Thershey

Dave S said:


> I will brush the fish fresh out of the smoker with either honey or maple syrup, a little goes a long way, adjust the amount to your taste.
> Dave


d

Ditto on the post smoke brushing with honey, that sweetness on your top pallet combined with salt on the tongue is pure heaven when you take a bite. I smoke a few hundred pounds of salmon a year. I skip the water and have moved to a dry brine mix - 1 cup of non iodized salt, 1 cup of white sugar, 1 cup of brown sugar and a few spices.


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## brok342

I think Brining is an excellent technique to cure meats and to season them uniformly. Here is Thomas Keller’s recipe for chicken brine that you can use for roasting or frying chicken.
*Chicken Brine Recipe*


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## Andy_K

I totally agree with the the sweetness and salty taste nailing the top of your pallet.
It's just a good thing.
I fish and hunt underwater.
I made a sauce that we use on rock scallops that rocks.
Sweet,salty and slightly spicy.
Sauté to your taste.
Shallots
Red onions
Green onions (add at the end)
1 teaspoon of finely minced habanero 
Couple (2-3)table spoons of brown sugar
A few large squirts or table spoons of honey
About a half dozen pieces of them red hot cinnamon candy things
Keep warm then add as wanted to some quickly flash fried large rock scallops
Only flash fry your scallops 20-30 seconds per side.
Cast iron pan works best.
You can't undercook your scallops but over cooking them is way to easy.


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