Injecting Meats for More Flavor
Next to knowing how to cook a particular cut of meat, the flavor is the next thing to master. One of the ways to add flavor to meat is by injecting it with a marinade. Injecting takes the flavor deep inside the meat, right where you want it. This technique is a real time saver because injected meats are ready to cook sooner than meats that have only been soaked in a marinade.
Poultry and pork benefit more from injecting than beef does. (In barbecue circles, there is a growing trend to inject briskets…but that is a story for later) The injecting process is very simple. You need a special syringe that has side ports in the needle to prevent clogging. You also need a liquid marinade to inject. There should be a selection next to the barbecue sauces in the supermarket. Some brands of marinades come with a syringe in the packet. Heavy duty injecting syringes are available at cooking stores.
Here are three of the injectors I own. The one with the red grips is a Cajun Injector. The one with the long needle is called a Monster Marinade Injector. The third one came packaged with a bottle of Tony Chachere’s Marinade.
A work of caution when buying poultry and pork: Be on the lookout for labels that say something like “moisture added” or “moist and juicy”. This is a tip off that the meat has been enhanced by the processor. Read the fine print on the label to make sure. Enhanced means the product has been injected with a solution such as water, salt and sodium phosphate and possibly flavorings. The aim is to both season the meat and to keep it from drying out. Don’t inject marinades into enhanced meats because the outcome can be unpredictable.
