My neighbor Frank changed my mind about salt brines yesterday

I was out back dumping my brine down the sink after a hot pepper ferment and Frank yells over the fence asking what I'm doing. He said he saves his brine for cooking beans and braising meats, said it adds way more flavor than plain salt. I told him I just thought of it as waste water but he pulled out a jar of black beans he'd cooked in his old brine and let me taste one. That bean had so much depth I'm honestly rethinking every brine I've ever tossed. Has anyone else been hoarding their brine for cooking instead of dumping it?

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chen.james3mo ago

My buddy Kevin actually turned me onto this exact thing last year. He had a jar of leftover pickle brine sitting in his fridge for like three months and I told him to just toss it. He laughed and said no way, then showed me how he uses it to marinate pork chops overnight. I was skeptical until he invited me over for dinner and those pork chops were the juiciest, most flavorful ones I ever had. He even pours a splash into his potato salad instead of vinegar now. I felt pretty dumb for throwing away all that good liquid over the years.

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elizabethf853mo ago

Wait, he kept that pickle brine for three whole months? That's wild.

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