To inject or not to inject?

[sattie]

Watching another show on FN and they were talking about injecting meat with I guess would be better described as flavor more than a marinade. (Move this post if needed!) I for one have never tired this and while I was watching this, it did not seem right to me. All I could think of is that when eating whatever meat it is that has been "injected", that I would get these big bursts of flavor in my meat. Just does not seem very appealing to me for some odd reason.

Who here injects their meats? What meat cuts are best suited for this? What do you inject with?

[Andy M.]

It's used it to introduce flavors into deep fried turkeys with success.

The trick is to insert the needle and slowly draw it out as you inject the marinade so you are spreading it out rather than leaving it all in one place. There may be some unevenness of flavor distribution but 'so what'. The same would happen if you pushed cloves of garlic into slits made in a roast.

You really should give it a try. Be sure to use a liquid with no 'stuff' in it such as spices or other solid matter. They clog up the injector. If you want to use a salad dressing or similar, strain off the liquid so you can inject it.

[texasgirl]

The only time I have injected is the turkey I fry and that is a cajun butter injection. It make it VERY juicy and a good taste to it.

[Jeekinz]

I turned mine into a brake bleeder before I got a chance to use it.

I'm really not interested in the Ronco one. There's just something wrong with getting a bite of whole, barely cooked garlic cloves.

A marinade or sauce sounds cool.

[Uncle Bob]

Cajun Injector- Injectable Marinades, Seasonings, Fry Mix, Bread Pudding and Injectors

I've had fun & good results with this....Don't use it all the time...but works well.

[GrillingFool]

I like to inject my "London Broil", chickens, turkey and roasts.
Usually I will mince up all my flavorings and let them sit in my
liquids of choice for an hour or so, then strain the pieces out.
(Usually it is butter for fowl, low sodium broth for beef.)

My Microplane will make garlic, shallots and ginger fine
enough to pass thru the needle, which is nice.

I remember my mom, who was a nurse back in the late 50s,
using a glass syringe and needles she copped from work to
inject the Thanksgiving turkey. (The syringes disappeared when
we kids got old enough to be "wild". Mom was taking no chances, LOL!)

[YT2095]

I`v been injecting foods (yes you can inject more than just meat) for years, most often with needles but occasionally for a roast I`ll use a power drill whilst it`s still frozen and introduce the herb/garlic mix into the hole as a Coarse material.

it`s One of the many things Liquid smoke is handy for too ;)

[meshoo96]

i injected a roast once (that was before the cheaply made injector broke) and it was great. I marinated it after the injection and then slow cooked it. it came out really tender and flavorful. i didn't have the issue with bursts of flavor.

i was also watching FN yesterday and there was the BAMA-QUE competition on and someone had injected and my mouth was watering remembering mine...though i know mine wasn't probably nearly as delish as that looked...

[QSis]

I use the one that Uncle Bob posted. I've tried others, bigger, more expensive, but keeping going back to the Cajun Injector, as it works the best for me.

I mainly use it to inject turkey breasts that I'm grilling over charcoal on my rotisserie. I use the jarred Cajun Injector marinades (I love the Creole Butter one the best), but it's easy to make your own.

There are pockets of heavier flavor in some meats, with some injections, by some cooks, but they are delicious - kind of like getting a garlic sliver and a rosemary leaf in your slice of roast lamb. It doesn't matter much to the at-home cook.

I've also injected competition pork butts (the way you saw on the Bama Que show - Chris Lilly is an EXPERT injector!), and competition beef briskets (it REALLY makes a huge difference with brisket).

A lot of BBQ competitors inject their meats with mixtures containing a product called FAB. FAB comes in beef, pork and chicken flavors and is a powerful flavor-enhancer. It tastes sort of like powdered bouillion, before you mix it with water or apple juice or whatever your secret liquid is. The do's and don'ts of using FAB are a whole other story.

Here's my brother injecting a brisket at the Massachusetts State BBQ Championship.


By QSis

Lee