Brining vs. Injecting

I like both I brined tonight and it was really good

In my opinion (and I have no real expertise other than the percieved genius in my own mind :crazy brining's pretty easy with poultry. You can brine pretty much anything, but chicken and turkey will take the brine much quicker and easier that other meats like pork and beef. I think it has something to do with the cellular structure of the meat.

Here's a list of brining times of different meats and cuts:

[FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]Whole Chicken[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]3-8 hrs[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]Chicken Pieces[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]1-2 hrs[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]Whole Turkey[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]12-48 hrs[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]Turkey Breast[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]4-8 hrs[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]Cornish Game Hens[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]1-2 hrs[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]Pork Chops[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]2-6 hrs[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]Pork Tenderloin[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]2-8 hrs[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]Whole Pork Loin[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]24-72 hrs[/FONT]


Since chicken pieces only take 1-2 hours and pork chops take 2-6 hours, I'm equating that to pork taking longer.

SOOOO.....

I've injected pork butts, but I've not taken the time to brine one. With chicken, though, brine is easy and quick (relatively speaking). If I'm doing wings, I brine for an hour. Whole chickens get brined for about 5-8 hours. Basically, if injecting, you're just injecting a brine but the brine is among the meat tissues instead of incorporating into them. Brine works differently.

I prefer to inject larger cuts like pork butt, but brine chicken and turkey. I even brine whole turkeys.


Here's a GREAT bunch of info on brining (where I pulled the table above from):
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/brining.html

I brine when I have time. Inject when I don't!

I have had better luck with brine solutions. Tried to inject a pork loin a few weeks back and the lack of connective tissue on the loin made it hard to keep the injection in. Going to try to brine a pork but next week and inject one as well side by side.

fharbison said:

I've always injected my chicken before smoking or grilling, but I've been reading a lot about brining lately. Any opinions (probably opening a can of worms here) about the pro's and cons of each?

Thanks in advance.

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If you are injecting a brine, this just shortens the brine time. The benefits of a brine are moistness and some flavor.

On the other hand, if you are injecting a flavor liquid (like a marinade, or maybe just a store bought injection) they work differently than a brine because they are designed to deliver flavor, and sometimes work as a tenderizer.

plowin-fire said:

I have had better luck with brine solutions. Tried to inject a pork loin a few weeks back and the lack of connective tissue on the loin made it hard to keep the injection in. Going to try to brine a pork but next week and inject one as well side by side.

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Try mixing your brine, and putting the loin in a zipper bag along with the brine. Then take your syringe and inject plenty of the brine into the roast. Because the roast is submerged in the bag, leaking is no issue. Also you avoid any spurts on the kitchen wall as you pump the loin roast.

Kitchen Wall? More like the ceiling.... Tried wrapping in food service film as well with shooting results...