has any of you tried splenda instant of sugar in your brines?my mom is a diabetic and i would like to cut down on sugar so she would eat some.

never heard of anyone trying it before, I would suggest just making a small batch, then post your results. I'm sure others would be interested too

Larry, I don't know for sure, but that doesn't sound like it will work to me. Maybe look at some different wet brines, they seem to use less sugar.

Splenda will NOT work!

It is a different molecule that does not have the "curing" properties of good old fashioned sugar.

Smoked salmon is a tough one for diabetics. The sugar is a no-no, but then again so is the salt when fluid retention and high blood pressure so often go hand in hand with the primary disease.

Just brine it the old fashioned way for authentic taste and mouth appeal... and have mom enjoy it in moderation.

Doctor's orders!

I did a wet brine using water, sugar free maple syrup (has splenda in it) low sodium soy sauce, garlic and onion powder, pepper and some spicy Mrs Dash. soaked it overnight, patted it dry with paper towels,put it in front of a fan to glaze up for a couple hours and smoked it with hickory. It came out looking real good and it tasted pretty good too. The lady at work I did it for really liked it,she wasn't diabetic but regular sugar has a real bad effect on her.

The good doctor has spoken.

I am diabetic too. And this is the recipe I use and it doesn't seem to screw my bloodsugar up. But everyone is different depending on the stage and type of diabetes. The salt and sugar are less then most other brines in this recipe but it still makes a very good product.

1/4 cup pickling salt
3/4 cup Dark brown sugar
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup Morton tender quick
1/2 gallon water
1 tablespoon molasses
2 tablespoons honey

Mix all ingredients in glass, plastic or stainless container.
Brine fish for 12 to 16 hours.
Rinse fish in cold water and dry with paper towels.
Put fish on smoker racks and let air dry for 1 hour.
Smoke the fish I use alder or an alder apple mix.

Here's a link for a non-sugar cure.

http://www.ifish.net/board/showthread.php?t=222238&highlight=this+is+puffin+hard+cure

here is that link

Thanks for posting these.....they are good to know.

good info. Never thought about the diabetic side of smoking fish. I have some family that would love to try smoked fish, maybe this recipe will give them that option.

RB

I don't think smoked fish is that sweet. A brine with a cup of table sugar in it probably has way more than half of that left in the brine when the fish comes out. Then you rinse, leaving even less behind.

I know this......I can eat quite a serving of smoked fish brined with sugar and see virtually no change in blood sugar. Certainly not enough to warrant substituting out the sugar used in the brine. I'd wager that the crackers people eat with smoked fish will change your blood sugar more than the smoked fish will.

Leave the sugar in the brine.