Injecting Boston Butt
- Thread starter Kenny S
- Start date
Frank H
TVWBB Gold Member
hi ken....i'm by no means an expert but i have cooked a number of butts and ive injected a couple. boy , its hard to say if its worth the extra effort. if you smoke the pork in a foil pan (and i usually do ) you can just add a splash of apple juice to the juices from the meat and get the same effect (to Me)
some people swear by injecting , some say dont bother. i think its fun to try it , but i wouldnt invest in expensive equipment....as to when , i would do it right before you apply the rub. i hope thats helpful.
some people swear by injecting , some say dont bother. i think its fun to try it , but i wouldnt invest in expensive equipment....as to when , i would do it right before you apply the rub. i hope thats helpful.
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Frank H
TVWBB Gold Member
i agree. with briskets i think many more people inject since briskets can come out dry....but pork shoulder is SO juicy as a rule....but hey. like i said ive injected a few of my pork butts and it was fun. try white grape juice sometime instead of apple. thats a nice flavor. bottom line is the injecting is not going to make your pulled pork taste bad.
Dwain Pannell
TVWBB Hall of Fame
Chris Lilly's Six-Time World Championship Pork Shoulder Injection
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3/4 cup apple juice
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup table salt (option Kosher)
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice (option)
Combine all ingredients and stir until sugar and salt are dissolved.
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3/4 cup apple juice
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup table salt (option Kosher)
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice (option)
Combine all ingredients and stir until sugar and salt are dissolved.
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Gary S
TVWBB Guru
I'm with Jon on this but I do like to add a sauce at the end after the meat is pulled. I try to get as much bark on the butt as I can because of the flavor it addes along with the smoke.
Mike Freel
TVWBB Pro
I generally inject with apple juice and apply the rub 4-6 hrs before putting it on the smoker. Does it make a real difference? Not sure but I like the results.
Mike
Mike
Ryan P.K.
TVWBB Pro
The last butt, I did, I injected it. I did notice the flavor, and also notice that it was moister. However, I also foiled the butt as well. The injection and foil was my first attempt in doing this. There was a lot of flavor, but I did notice that I did not have as much bark as I usually do. Was this related to this, I do not know for sure? I think next time I will only inject. Also, I used Chis Lilly's injection recipe. I loved the flavor it added.
Dave Russell
TVWBB Honor Circle
Regarding Chris Lilly's injection, this is what I posted on his pork shoulder recipe thread last summer:
"For those that think the injection is too salty, try KOSHER instead of table salt or simply cut the salt back a bit since table salt is cheaper and dissolves quicker. On another note, ADD 2 TB LEMON JUICE. Even though it's not published, that's what Chris Lilly has been teaching in his classes. I recently saw that posted somewhere and sure enough, had it confirmed on youtube. My last pork butts were with the added lemon juice and 1/4 cup kosher. Some of the best BBQ I've ever made, and my sister described it as "AWESOME"!
There's lots of issues with injection. I've never noticed the injection affecting the bark. Maybe it does a bit if you inject right before the cook, but I usually do the night before and can only assume that whatever injection is gonna leak out already has. I carefully put the butts on fat down and don't touch unless to wrap. If leaking injection has washed some rub off, it would be a good idea to sprinkle on a little more rub where needed, even after putting the butt on the grate since the meat should be wet, anyway. By the way, if using an injection, don't use a rub with too much salt.
One thing that to consider is how much of a brine effect the injection has, and I'm not sure that I get much. As to moisture, it might seem like it does, but moisture comes down to how well the meat is marbled and cooked. Like with any other bbq cut, pit moisture and foiling can also help.
What the injection does for sure, though, is add FLAVOR. The issue is trying to get the butt to retain the injection long enough to make it worth the trouble.
I'm always up for injecting tips, because we can really taste the difference when enough of the injection stays in the meat. My wife has been injecting turkeys for frying for twenty years, so I often try to get her to do it. Sometimes though, like last time, even SHE can't get it right. I can pretty much tell whether the injection was worth the trouble by how much liquid is in the pan after applying the rub, and I guess I need to start just re-injecting and re-rubbing if needed. It's just annoying since usually I like to inject and rub the night before to cook the next day, starting in the WEE hours before I've had my coffee.
"For those that think the injection is too salty, try KOSHER instead of table salt or simply cut the salt back a bit since table salt is cheaper and dissolves quicker. On another note, ADD 2 TB LEMON JUICE. Even though it's not published, that's what Chris Lilly has been teaching in his classes. I recently saw that posted somewhere and sure enough, had it confirmed on youtube. My last pork butts were with the added lemon juice and 1/4 cup kosher. Some of the best BBQ I've ever made, and my sister described it as "AWESOME"!
There's lots of issues with injection. I've never noticed the injection affecting the bark. Maybe it does a bit if you inject right before the cook, but I usually do the night before and can only assume that whatever injection is gonna leak out already has. I carefully put the butts on fat down and don't touch unless to wrap. If leaking injection has washed some rub off, it would be a good idea to sprinkle on a little more rub where needed, even after putting the butt on the grate since the meat should be wet, anyway. By the way, if using an injection, don't use a rub with too much salt.
One thing that to consider is how much of a brine effect the injection has, and I'm not sure that I get much. As to moisture, it might seem like it does, but moisture comes down to how well the meat is marbled and cooked. Like with any other bbq cut, pit moisture and foiling can also help.
What the injection does for sure, though, is add FLAVOR. The issue is trying to get the butt to retain the injection long enough to make it worth the trouble.
I'm always up for injecting tips, because we can really taste the difference when enough of the injection stays in the meat. My wife has been injecting turkeys for frying for twenty years, so I often try to get her to do it. Sometimes though, like last time, even SHE can't get it right. I can pretty much tell whether the injection was worth the trouble by how much liquid is in the pan after applying the rub, and I guess I need to start just re-injecting and re-rubbing if needed. It's just annoying since usually I like to inject and rub the night before to cook the next day, starting in the WEE hours before I've had my coffee.
Dave Russell
TVWBB Honor Circle
I've used at least three different injections with three or four different juices, and personally, I don't think that the juices are as important as the salt and worster sauce or any other spices of flavorings. Having said that, I've used the Lilly injection many times with and without the lemon juice, and I can attest that the lemon juice kicks it up a notch.
From your last sentence though, it sounds like you're saying that the injection doesn't make a difference. If it you're not tasting any difference, assuming all the salt and sugar is thoroughly dissolved, then as I already posted, you're not getting enough injection to stay in the meat to make a difference, in flavor, that is. As I posted, injections don't seem to add anything in moisture.
jeff jordan
TVWBB Member
I've done the Chris Lilly injection but find there's not much need for it as there's plenty of intermuscular fat to keep it moist that injection isn't really needed other than maybe to get some flavor deeper into the meat for a contest but not needed in family backyard smokes.
timothy
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
To the OP. I like to try most anything a few times and see if I think it makes a difference. I used to inject,(mostly store bought) found one championship injection that really tasted great in the saucepan but after pulling I barely noticed any of that initial flavor.
Then I joined this site and read up on a "finishing sauce" basically it's adding a sauce with different flavors as you're pulling.
I now take that same injection, add a few shots as I'm pulling, and notice a difference in flavor.. In a good way
Tim
Then I joined this site and read up on a "finishing sauce" basically it's adding a sauce with different flavors as you're pulling.
I now take that same injection, add a few shots as I'm pulling, and notice a difference in flavor.. In a good way
Tim
Frank H
TVWBB Gold Member
ken , i didnt see an opinion on that....i will venture to say that it shouldnt.....the juice is inside so the outside should bark up until you foil it...maybe foiling is what kills the bark sometimes.