To Inject or Not to Inject...

TentHunter

Moderator
To inject or not to inject - that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the roast to suffer
The marinades and needles of outrageous injection,
Or to take arms against a sea of fat trimmers
And, by opposing, eat moist meat.
-WillTent Smokespear

I read a post: "I am going to try a different approach, no more injections." and thought that'd make a great discussion (thanks Sparky)!

Which do you prefer and why? What other methods do you use?
 
Last edited:

Phrett Bender

New member
I can only speak for butts since I've never injected any of the 3-4 briskets I've done. I like the injected butts if cooked to an internal temp over 210, and non-injected if cooked to 200. The injections I've used have all been apple juice/cider vinegar/sugar/rub types and have been good. I am going to cook two this weekend and one will be injected with a Dr Pepper/Gatorade based juice, the first time I'm trying it. The other one will just be rubbed and cooked. I like my results best with non-injected butts, which is how I did the one that was chosen by our team for turn-in at the Royal at the beginning of the month (on the left below). They turn out very good and very moist so injecting is only an experiment to try something new and different. Doing things the same way all the time, unless for catering or for consistency, can be boring.

The butt on the left was wiped with yellow mustard and coated with GMG pork rub. The butt in the middle was rubbed with a varitey (mix) or rubs. Neither was injected. The brisket is also just rubbed. The tip of the brisket was trimmed so that when finished the direction of the grain could be easily identified. The pan of water is being heated to clean dishes and is not there as part of the cooking process.

HPIM2407-1.jpg
 
Last edited:

Big Poppa

Administrator
YOu know the old school part of me wants to cook more with just salt pepper and garlic powder and not inject...thats how they did it for years....I inject and basicall use whatever is in the fridge and pantry...every one is different unless its comp and then i use...............
 

TTNuge

New member
YOu know the old school part of me wants to cook more with just salt pepper and garlic powder and not inject...thats how they did it for years....I inject and basicall use whatever is in the fridge and pantry...every one is different unless its comp and then i use...............

We've seen your videos with the 30 different ingredients on the counter for each cook! You couldn't even cook asparagus without using three different flavors of Olive Oil. :)
 

sparky

New member
well, i have cooked a pork butt every weekend for the past 2 1/2 months. i have always used a injection of beer (you know what kind), apple juice, hot sauce and worchester (how ever you spell it). try hasty bake this last time. cook until 170 pull and wrap with alum foil and place back on grill until 195. wrap in beach towels then cooler for 1-2 hours. my butts have been coming out mushy alittle bit. been really flavorless. going to cook the next one with no injection and plowboys. you would figure after cooking 10 butts or so i would found something that taste good. it's hard to make pork butts flavorful. what does the injection do for them?
 
Last edited:

sparky

New member
never bear. how do they come out? what rub do you like to use? cook time and temp for your butts plz.
 

TentHunter

Moderator
Sparky I know what you mean by mushy. I tried injecting butts & brisket; never cared for the results (mushy spots).

I prefer to just rub, smoke a few hours, wrap in foil with braising liquid (& onion sometimes), braise a few more hours (300° pit temp) & check using the "Stick in probe - feels like butter" test.

I pull it & remove big chunks of fat but let the little pieces just render right into the meat (talk about moist).

pulledbeef.jpg


In August, for the High School Band cookout, I cooked 5 pork shoulders (3 butts & 2 picnics) using this method. All 5 were just right (wish I'd taken pics).
 
Last edited:

Bear

Moderator
never bear. how do they come out? what rub do you like to use? cook time and temp for your butts plz.

Cookshack Ribrub (lots of it!)

235* for as long as it takes to get to internal 195*

I usually do 8 pounders, and they will take about 12 hrs or so.

Fat Cap Up!
 

Pokey

New member
I've never injected, but all three of the briskets I've done we're nice and juicy/tender around the edges, but a bit tough (just a bit) and dry in the center of the flat. So I'm thinking of trying injecting the center. A little mushy might be alittle better than tough.

I've never found the need to inject a butt.

My experience is limited, though. I've only been at trhis a few months and only done a handful of butts. (Is it butts that come in handfuls?)
 

TTNuge

New member
I haven't done a ton of briskets, something I hope to remedy very soon. But the last one I did I injected with the Butcher's Injection and it was the best, moistest, most flavorful brisket I have made and the friends and family all went nuts over it. I haven't had a chance to repeat it yet but I bought more Butcher's Injection and plan on getting another brisket real soon and doing it up. If I could find a decent one locally that wasn't frozen I'd start one tonight......
 

Candy Sue

New member
I inject at contests, mainly because I think that it's impossible to get deep flavors in the meat in time. With that said, now that I think upon it, I never turn a piece of pork in without bark so why would the injection matter? Best pork I ever ate, was mustarded then rubbed wrapped in plastic and sat in the meat drawer in the frig for a week -- then I smoked it. Earlier this year, I taught a class and seasoned a butt but didn't cook it. Friend of mine cooked it about 4 days after seasoning. He said it was the best pork he'd ever eaten. I conclude that time is your friend on a non-injected butt.
 
Top Bottom