Marinades and rubs are a barbecue staple for putting exquisite flavor on a slab of meat. Injecting meat with moisturizers, tenderizers, and flavor enhancers is another way to make sure your eaters are getting the optimum flavors from your grill. It is a preferred method for many barbecue professionals, and it offers multiple benefits.
4 Reasons to Inject Your Meat
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Saves Time
One positive aspects of meat injection is that it works even if you forgot to prepare ahead. That is because it instantly penetrates instead of marinades that have to have time to soak in. Some barbecue experts recommend letting it sit for a couple hours to let that penetration spread, but you really don’t have to. In fact, if you let it sit for too long, it may run out of the meat. Muscle is made up of a good portion of water, so it does not take much injected liquid to fill it to the brim. Before you know it…voila! Flavor-injected meat in minutes.
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Saves Space
Because injecting meat does not require time to marinade, you save a lot of space. You don’t have to use big brining or marinating pans, and it doesn’t have to sit in the fridge taking up valuable space. Injecting can be very convenient if you don’t have a lot of spare room.
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Deep Penetration
Even if you let your meat rest with the rub on it, or you marinate for hours, you aren’t going to get the penetration of flavor that you can get by injecting. Not only that, but large flavor enhancers, such as garlic and other herbs, can reach the center of your meat. This allows for even flavor throughout your meat that cannot be replicated by any other method.
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Great Flavor
This is not a dis on rubs or marinades, but you do get a different type of flavor with injection because it does penetrate so much better. You also have to be careful with injection because the flavor can get out of hand. A lot of people prefer to keep it simple by injecting salt, butter, or stock into the meat. This preserves the meat flavor in contrast to overpowering it with different spices and herbs. However, you can get creative with injections, and people have been known to use whiskey, soy sauce, molasses, and even honey to flavor their barbecue masterpiece.
One of the great aspects of barbecuing is experimentation and becoming a master through trial and error. This journey is not complete if you haven’t tried injecting your meat.
