I read in a lot of places about injection with juice and cider vinegar . I do it and I think it works great .. But some guys thing the vinegar toughens the finish product.
What do you think?
What do you think?
Injection
- Thread starter lemans
- Start date
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5oclocksomewher
Smoking Fanatic
I don't inject, however, I do use a 50/50 mix apple juice and apple cider vinegar to spritz my meat. I don't use a water pan so I think the spritzing helps with the moisture.
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woundedyak
Smoke Blower
If you are using just apple juice, I would cut your vinegar down to a third. Too much with turn your meat to mush.
- May 12, 2011
- 22,172
- 7,150
That subject is contested even among Chefs. One side says, Acid cooks meat like in Seafood Seviche, and therefore can toughen meat. Others argue that Acid breaks down protein making it a good tenderizer. I have not injected Butts because I have found no need to. I do use a vinegar based finishing sauce but that is for flavor. Get yourself a big Pork Butt and cut it in half. Inject one with the vinegar juice mix, and the other with just juice. Smoke them and compare results. The other option, if you are happy with the results you get, don't change a thing...JJ
5oclocksomewher
Smoking Fanatic
fatty patty
Fire Starter
fatty patty
Fire Starter
Injections aid in breaking down tendons and fat. They do not toughen meat.
fatty patty
Fire Starter
Injections do not toughen meat. Injections add flavor and moisture. As for injections not being necessary for pork butts? Name me a grand champ that doesn't inject? You can't. They create the flavor profile for finished product. Injections are numerous, FUN, creative, and allow for an endless number of flavor profiles. If you don't inject then you're relying only on your bark and sauce for flavor. I think after 14-16 hours of smoking relying on a quick sauce or store boughten goop is sacrilege.
- May 12, 2011
- 22,172
- 7,150
To answer your question...MELISSA COOKSTON...Rub, Mustard and Turbinado Sugar. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.. The addition of an Injection is a personal choice, but there is ZERO difference if you inject with Vinegar for an hour or two before smoking or use a Vinegar Finishing Sauce at the end. FYI, there are no Tendons in Pork Butt, in any case Tendons being made of Elastin, require a very long cooking time in Water to dissolve, like in making a soup. Pho Bo, a Vietnamese Beef Soup, is an example of one that is frequently made with Beef Tendon. A little bit of Vinegar injected into Meat and Tendon will have little effect and even if it did, would have turned the meat itself into Mush before it tenderized the Tendons enough to be edible. There are many of us that make our own Rubs and Sauces, mine are far superior to any store bought," Goop. " ...JJ
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5oclocksomewher
Smoking Fanatic
Not to beat a dead horse, but I remember watching an episode of bbq pitmasters a year or two ago a I clearly remember Johnny Trigg aka the godfather of bbq making the statement "I have never and I mean never injected a piece of meat." I'm not saying it's wrong to inject, just stating there are some folks who think the meat provides ample flavor and juiciness. I've never injected, so maybe I don't know what I'm missing. But for now I'm pretty satisfied with the results I get.
stabone
Fire Starter
In my opinion/experience, if you are doing competitions...you should inject if you want to get a call. We took 2nd in pork our last competition and we injected it so much that it felt like a water balloon. The flavor difference is pretty substantial in my opinion. Also, we inject our butts and briskets as soon as we can after getting set up. The longer it can rest..the better. Now, this doesn't mean that you can't make great Q without injecting; I have made plenty of awesome butts without injecting....however I did spray them down heavily every hour and foiled at 160. To each his own I guess, but the guys that I know that are winning....all inject.
fatty patty
Fire Starter
If you haven't injected a pork butt try Lilly's 6 time champion world champ injection recipe. Look it up online. I'll try to post it later. It's just perfect for pork.
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stickyfingers
Smoking Fanatic
timberjet
Master of the Pit
I will inject a Chuck roast with cajun butter, but have never felt the need for a Butt. It really does something to a chucky that is fantastic.
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