Push that flavor deep inside your food and cook delicious meat like a pro. Keep your meat tender and juicy while cooking on the barbecue or in the oven, add mystic spices, or even make it healthier by injecting nutritious fruit juices.
Have you ever wondered why those restaurant steaks taste ten times better than most store-bought, home-cooked meats? The secret lies in the marinating tricks and the way you inject them into the meat. You can always rub sauce on to raw meat but the injector is the only way to season the lower levels. Discover the ins and outs of meat injection to boost the flavors and moisture content of your signature dishes.
What Is A Meat Injector?
A meat injector is designed for injecting marinades into various kinds of meats to increase flavor and tenderness. They usually come with two types of needles; a thick syringe for injecting chunky sauces with dried spices, chopped garlic, parsley, etc., and a thin one for mostly injecting sauces that are only made from liquids.
In order to select the best meat injector, you should decide on what kind of meat and sauces you want to prepare. Big loaves of meat, huge turkeys would require an injector with advanced features for easy use. Read along to learn how to select a good meat injector that can pierce through the toughest cuts. There are many different types and some of them come with multiple needles and cleaning brushes.
Consider these features when buying a meat injector:
- Needle; if your injectors come only with one needle then you are in trouble. This also depends on what kind of sauces you prepare. If you add only liquids then general needles will be fine but if you use a lot of dried particles in marinates then you certainly need variety.
- Capacity; a smaller tank would be enough when you are cooking small meat or steak only. But if your cook big turkeys or briskets then you should get one with a large tank so that you do not have to refill in the middle of marinating. Large tanks are made for commercial kitchens where cooks inject sauce to a lot of meat during the day.
- Injection method; some injectors have automatic systems that you can adjust the amount of sauce which enables you to inject standard doses each time. These are usually priced a bit higher but totally worth it.
- Handle quality; check if the injector has high quality handles with easy grip features. Don’t let your hands ache after a couple of injections. Your needle must be flexible and easy to use.
- Easy clean; you should be able to separate the needle parts for easy wash. Acidic and oil-based sauces must be cleaned very well to prevent bacteria growth in your needles. Check if the parts are made from plastic or stainless steel.
What Is the Best Meat Injector for Barbecue?
You need short and thinner gauge needles for BBQ injection. These are also good for barbecue competitions as the holes are less visible and they work better on smaller cuts. The goal is to keep the injected sauce inside the meat. You need small holes on the meat so that they can hold the injections since you generally cook smaller meat when you are cooking on barbecue. We recommend the Grill BEAST meat injector that you can purchase on Amazon.
What Is the Best Meat Injector for Brisket?
Injection is necessary when preparing tough meats like brisket. It is a large cut that requires special attention to improve tenderness. You definitely need high quality meat injector not one of those cheap plastic versions. Get a sturdy steel meat injector with large injection barrel and try to make injections 1 inch apart in matrix pattern across the brisket parallel to the grain. Select the ones with gun like handles, they would make your life easier when flavoring large meats like brisket. We recommend the Cuisinart CMM-232 Flavor Injector.
What Is the Best Meat Injector for Smoking?
Smoking large meats that are injected with marinades turn out super tender and tasty. Injecting is the best method in order to obtain intense flavor flowing around the entire meat. Smoking is generally used for meats with large surface, what you need is a meat injector with long needles to go deeper into the meat. We recommend the Heavy Duty Meat Injector.
Can You Inject Marinade into Meat?
You can inject marinade into meat but you might have to slightly change your recipe if it contains too much acidic ingredients such as vinegar. Some ingredients must be omitted if you are planning to inject the meat and keep it in the fridge for long hours prior to cooking.
The problem is that the meat can get over tenderized or super tough if you don’t know what you are doing. Acidic ingredients such as lemon, lime, vinegar, wine can make the meat extremely tough while enzymatic ingredients such as papaya and pineapple can make it too soft. So, take them off from your recipe and replace with oils or other spices and you are all set to use the marinade with the meat injector.
How Do You Clean Meat Injectors?
Put warm water in a bowl and add soap, do not use dishwasher. Pull back some soapy water from the bowl with the needle to clean the syringe. Empty out the water and repeat this process a few times. Disassemble the meat injector to clean all parts thoroughly. Carefully wash each part by hand. Dry well for longer lifespan.
In Conclusion
You can have restaurant style meat at home with the right marinating recipes and a smart meat injector. Make every bite juicy, tender, and delicious by injecting delicious sauces into steak, brisket, pork, turkey, lamb, poultry, and more. These tools truly change the way you cook meat at home. Make sure you choose a sturdy stainless-steel injector with comfortable grip and easy wash features. Bigger syringe barrel is better for you as you don’t have to refill as much.
