Injected vs non-injected, backyard butt battle live.

[landshark530]

So I've been wanting to improve my pork butts a and have been researching injected vs non-injected versions but there doesn't seem to be a clear consensus. I wanted to know the following?
Is injecting worth in on the average 8-10 pound butts I'm buying?
Is the flavor different, better, etc.
Is there a difference in smoking time with the additional moisture. The butt got about 10-12 ounces of injection.
Is there a measurable difference in tenderness, or even a noticeable difference.
Is injecting a complete waste of time?


So I'm doing my own little throwdown on the smokemaster.
2 8# butts toe to toe... or butt to butt, one injected and one not. To sweeten my test my neighbor, who's from Texas, loves bbq, and is regularly seen licking my windows when my pit is fired up brought me a butt to smoke.

He's had my cue plenty of times and loves it, so he'll also get an injected butt in a "your taste buds are blind" taste test.

I injected the butts last night while still in their packages and rubbed them up this morning.

The butts hit the pit at 0800, I'll update hourly as I push through the hunny do list.

Using apple oak and some hickory for my offset.

[Ol Hickory]

forgive my ignorance. I have only ever injected briskets. What do you use to inject butts?

[landshark530]

If this doesn't turn out to be an epic fail I'll let you know the exact concoction.

1 hour in and the texas college butt is at 117 degrees. The pits running 275 +/- 20.

I'll the temp probe into one of those cheesehead butts when the college butt gets wrapped, it's a bit smaller and firmer than the others.

[T&S BBQ]

I started out injecting, now just smoke till color then wrap. Turns out great.

[ebijack]

[Fwismoker]

My thoughts have always been why add flavors before the cook when you can add them after the cook via a finishing sauce.

If I wasn't using a finishing sauce I'd be curious if an injection could really add some favor.

[landshark530]

Originally Posted by Fwismoker

If I wasn't using a finishing sauce I'd be curious if an injection could really add some favor.

Hopefully I can answer that question.

10:00 am and the small butt is in the fast lane. 150 degrees and cruising right along.

11:00 am and the small but is at 154 degrees and doing good.

[Decoy205]

I think injections are good for adding some salt to the inside of a large cut. It's not necessary but can turn out good results.

[itschris]

This exactly what I did to get where I'm at now. I did side by sides like you in varying combinations for about a year with blind tastings from family and friends to get a consensus. Time after time the results where the same... No injection, fat cap down, and foiled. The only benign thing was the mustard slather...no one ever noticed a difference either way but I do it anyway to help the rub stick most times. Good luck...take good notes and find your way Grasshopper!!!

[Fire Flinger]

Originally Posted by Decoy205

I think injections are good for adding some salt to the inside of a large cut. It's not necessary but can turn out good results.

If you want to add salt to the interior of the meat would you ever consider brining with a relatively strong brine solution or do you think the meat is just too thick for that method to work?

[pga7602]

Finally... please let us know if injecting is a waste of time.

[landshark530]

12:00 pm and the small butt is at 160, be foiling that sweet butt soon.

1pm pm and all the butts are wrapped, they all hit 165 or better.

[landshark530]

Originally Posted by Fire Flinger

If you want to add salt to the interior of the meat would you ever consider brining with a relatively strong brine solution or do you think the meat is just too thick for that method to work?

From my research there are theories that the salt is a carrier of the flavor, and then then the vinegar opens the pores on the meat so that it can absorb more flavor. So a injection with vinegar and salt seems to be what I see in injection recipes.

I have Marvin's book that he uses a ton of MSG (accent, etc) in his injection.

We used to use that in my culinary art classes in the 80's when doing production cooking, by the handful. I haven't used it in years do to health problems and issues people say it creates.

MSG, as I learned back in the day, works to open up the pores on your tongue so you supposedly taste more, at least that's what our instructor chef told us as he throws hand fulls of msg into a pile of steamed vegies.

[landshark530]

Picture at 1pm foiling.

I always think that these butts are getting done way too fast, that I'm missing the 8+ hour "low and slow", but 4~5 hours is my normal foiling time frame.

[landshark530]

2:15 pm. The small butt came off and is resting.

The bigger buts are in the 170's a moving along nicely.

3:30 pm buts at 190, they are both foiled in a separate pan with a little apple juice.

4:30 pm, one butt hit 200 and came off and is resting in the cooler. I didn't peek so I done know if it's the injected butt.

My neighbor picked up his college butt and I'm waiting for his report. He has twin teenagers who spend the summer in Texas and they have bbq tastebuds....so I have a mini panel of judges.