When to inject?

[itschris]

I always rub my meat the night before mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: ) the q. But when is the best time to inject. I had about a 9lb butt, I figured if I inject hours before, most would leak out. I did it about and hour before hand and it seemed to work well but I have nothing to compare it to.

Thoughts?

 

[Papa Hogg]

I inject the night before...here's my routine for butts:

Inject the meat while it is still cryovaced
Remove meat from cryovac & trim fat
apply rub
put in plastic garbage bag
put in refrigerator overnight
in the am start smoker
remove meat from fridge
apply more rub
put in smoker

 

[Smokin' Gnome BBQ]

I inject my buttts at the same time I rubb them. I inject in as few holes as I can and as many different directions with in the same hole as I can with out pushing through the other side.

 

[tkuehn5410]

Since I am pretty busy I will usually inject a couple hours before I cook them. Ideally I would inject the night before in cryovac, but it always seems I have a big function going on which keeps me busy til the next morning.

 

[Norcoredneck]

I inject the night before if time permits. I have been puttin my meat in 2.5-3 gallon bucket. I get them from a costco bakery. Their pie filling comes in it. They fit in the fridge real good.

 

[Sawdustguy]

I always rub my meat the night before mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: ) the q. But when is the best time to inject. I had about a 9lb butt, I figured if I inject hours before, most would leak out. I did it about and hour before hand and it seemed to work well but I have nothing to compare it to.

Thoughts?

If you rub your butts the night before just make sure there is very little or no salt in the rub or you will be blessed with very dry meat. You will find that alot of the Pro's season or inject the meat just before it goes in the pit. Injection is used in lieu of marinating when there is not enough time for marinating. If you inject and let the meat sit over night why not simply marinate?

 

[mkatts]

I have injected the night before and and this past weekend I didn't have time to do the night before so I injected them an hour before going into the smoker. With all other variables being the same, I got a lot more compliments this time around on the taste and moisture of the pork.

Love the idea of injecting while still in the cryovac too. I always make such a mess when the liquid finds a way back out.

 

[ipls3355]

I rub and inject right before I light my fire.

 

[Rookie'48]

I give the meat a heavy rub, inject one end of it (as much as it will take), slide that end into a 2 gallon zip-lock, inject the other end & seal it up. I do this the night before, usually Friday night, & let it rest in the fridge overnight. In the morning I take the bag out & let it set while I get the pit going. When I take it out of the baggie, I give it another rub down & leave it set until we are up to temp.
Keep in mind that I don't compete & that I'm still trying to figure out the best ways, myself:-D.
Dave

 

[thirdeye]

I try to inject 3 or 4 hours before putting the meat on the pit. One of my Eggcookinbuddies talked to me about the advantages of giving briskets a second injection when they are in the plateau. I think it's a good idea, but I haven't tried it yet.

 

[Smokin Gator]

I have gotten to where I inject the night before, pull it out of the firdge as I am getting the pit ready, rub just before it goes on.

 

[Porky]

I inject and season just before putting meat in the pit. I get nice bark and moist flavorful meat.

 

[Bigmista]

I rub and inject right before I light my fire.

Almost the same here. I start the fire and then inject. Usually done injecting and rubbing by the time the chimney is hot.

 

[itschris]

I always thought to rub the night before so it can "get into" the meat. Perhaps that's not best. Maybe I should inject first. Let me ask this... is the injection supposed to cause a reaction in the meat such as a protein type breakdown which helps for a more tender outcome, or is to actually have the physical liquid held in the meat during the q to make the meat tender and juicy. I think the two are very different. It also seems that much of the injection leaks out over the a few hours which why I pose the question.

Also, is better just to rub baby backs prior to putting them on? I've rubbing them and letting them sit overnight. Perhaps that's what's causing my ribs to be a bit tough.

I am very satisfied with my last pork butt. It was 100 times better than the first, but I'm wondering if it could be another 100 times better if I change up the rub and inject routine.

 

[ctbeerbq]

I also rub and inject the night before... which usually turns out to be about 4-5 hours before :roll: (I usually get up at 3 am so that we can have pulled pork for dinner around 6).

 

[LGerber]

While I cant compete with the pros here I can only offer my experiences. I have always rubbed the meat down the night before and on the advice of a friend I injected the last time. After I fired up the smoker I took my meats out of the fridge and injected them while the smoke was coming up to temp. All I can say is that it was the best Q I had ever cooked. I am not real sure about the best time to inject, but I would think that the longer between injection to cooking would allow more seepage defeating the reason to inject.....Like I said I am far from a pro but that is my thoughts.

 

[The_Kapn]

I dont know 'nothin from 'nothin, but....

I inject butts and briskets the night before.
I inject one quart per cut with a brine pump. Each is in a pan and then into frig or ice.
Sure, it leaks a lot, but that becomes a "marinade of sorts"--still adding flavor and moisture. :lol:

When ready to cook--add the rub and put them into the cooker.

Seems to work wonderful for me at least.

TIM

 

[Vince RnQ]

Inject the meat while it is still cryovaced

This is the first time that I've ever read about injecting butts while still in cryo. In my experience, butts expand quite a lot from all the fluid and it seems to me that the cryo, even after the vacuum is broken, would restrict the expansion of the meat.

Would someone please explain the value in doing this? It has really piqued my curiosity.

 

[Jeff_in_KC]

This is the first time that I've ever read about injecting butts while still in cryo. In my experience, butts expand quite a lot from all the fluid and it seems to me that the cryo, even after the vacuum is broken, would restrict the expansion of the meat.

Would someone please explain the value in doing this? It has really piqued my curiosity.

I do it as well... MUCH less mess plus it holds the marinade against the meat rather than allowing it to run out and away from the product.

 

[Bigmista]

I dont know 'nothin from 'nothin, but....

I inject butts and briskets the night before.
I inject one quart per cut with a brine pump. Each is in a pan and then into frig or ice.
Sure, it leaks a lot, but that becomes a "marinade of sorts"--still adding flavor and moisture. :lol:

When ready to cook--add the rub and put them into the cooker.

Seems to work wonderful for me at least.

TIM

This from a guy who cooks his briskets in 45 minutes...:twisted: