Testing some ideas

[ZeroEvol]

Good morning! Okay, so over the weekend I did some testing. I took some boneless country style ribs (cut thick) and tried different injections and different rubs. I also took some chicken thighs and tried them. Here is what I had:

Pork 1 - McCormicks Southwest marinade injection, plain rub.
Pork 2 - Apple cider vinegar injection, plain rub.
Pork 3 - Apple cider injection, brown sugar and rub.
Pork 4 - apple cider, cider vinegar, rub injection, brown sugar and rub.
Chicken - brined over night in salt and McCormicks Smokey Ranchero grill mates rub. Then cover chicken with the same rub before smoking.

Over all we def liked the pork with the brown sugar better than the ones without. I prob could have cooked them a little longer, they were tender, but they didn't fall apart quite how I wanted. The chicken, I prob should have tossed some bbq sauce on towards the end, but I didn't. I will say, the chicken was extremely tender due to the brining. Sorry, I didn't take more pics, the only one I have is they pre cook. Oh yeah, I also grow my own Thai and Carolina Reaper peppers. I tossed a couple Thai peppers in on the top shelf and it dried them really well.

 

[GaryHibbert]

Interesting bunch of comparisons. I'm not really surprised with your results. I really like brown sugar in my pork rub. Never tried injecting apple cider vinegar though. Straight or diluted??
POINT
Gary

 

[noboundaries]

Experiments are good, especially side by side comparisons like this. Point to you!

I haven't found much difference in the taste of pork from brining or injecting, although I do prefer the commercially injected pork butts and picnics.

Like you though, not so with Chicken. Brining and injecting chicken does make a big difference in taste and texture. If smoking/grilling dark meat pieces, I don't bother with either injecting or brining. Whole poultry (chicken and turkey) though always gets brined, plus I inject the brine into the breasts.

 

[ZeroEvol]

Interesting bunch of comparisons. I'm not really surprised with your results. I really like brown sugar in my pork rub. Never tried injecting apple cider vinegar though. Straight or diluted??
POINT
Gary

Straight. I used the Bragg Organic raw Apple Cider Vinegar. I think our favorite was the piece I injected with the apple vinegar, apple juice and rub mixture then the brown sugar and rub coating.

 

[ZeroEvol]

Experiments are good, especially side by side comparisons like this. Point to you!

I haven't found much difference in the taste of pork from brining or injecting, although I do prefer the commercially injected pork butts and picnics.

Like you though, not so with Chicken. Brining and injecting chicken does make a big difference in taste and texture. If smoking/grilling dark meat pieces, I don't bother with either injecting or brining. Whole poultry (chicken and turkey) though always gets brined, plus I inject the brine into the breasts.

Thank you sir! With the pork there were some differences in flavor, especially the one I injected with the southwest marinade. And of course, the brown sugar makes a difference.

With the chicken, I will def explore more with some different flavor brines! I see quite a few restaurants using flavored brines as well. (Diners, Driver-ins and Dives) HA HA I did thighs this time, but I would like to try a breast. I would assume it's a little harder to screw up if it's attached to the bird vs just the breast.