So, you have a meat marinade injector. What should you actually inject into your meat? I’m going to give you a few ideas. Injected marinades can accomplish several things. They can help maintain moisture, tenderize and add flavor.
I assembled a little family tasting party in order to prepare a thoughtful marinade recipe for you. I put together a small sampling of chicken and beef injected with six different marinades. I covered the meat with the remaining marinade and let it rest in the refrigerator for several hours prior to grilling. The meat connoisseurs in my family were tasked with grilling and organizing the meat line up. Once they completed the grilling, we all gathered around the table for our tasting party. They tasted the meat and gave thoughtful evaluations. I ate the side dishes and took note of their comments. They actually enjoyed taste testing so much that we are planning another marinade event that we will share with friends.
I had prepared several complicated marinade recipes as well as several very simple recipes for the taste testing. Simple absolutely won the day. Here is “by far” their favorite marinade:
1-Cup Low Sodium Chicken or Beef Stock
(Depending on your meat choice)4 Teaspoons of Clarified Butter
(Clarified so it is injectable)4 Teaspoons Sriracha Sauce
(Adjust according to your preference for spiciness)1-1 ½ Pounds of Your Choice of meat
(I chose chicken breasts and strip steak)
Combine ingredients and fill your injector. Inject about 1/3 of your marinade carefully into your meat. Remember to place your hand around the injection area once the needle is inserted to prevent squirts. Also remember not to pierce through the bottom and sides of your meat. This prevents leakage. Inject across the top of your meat then place the meat in the remaining liquid to marinate prior to grilling.
My meat connoisseur’s second favorite marinade was a basic homemade teriyaki sauce made with white wine, soy sauce, sugar, ground ginger and garlic. Our favorite version is from my vintage 1982 Betty Crocker cookbook.
Meat injectors can also be helpful when roasting your Thanksgiving turkey. Roasting until the dark meat is fully cooked often times dries out the breast meat. You can avoid dry breast meat by injecting a small amount of melted butter combined with low sodium turkey broth and seasonings. Lightly lift the skin and inject underneath into the meat without piercing the skin or cavity.
Injecting turkey breast meat is not limited to the Thanksgiving turkey. Use this method prior to smoking and grilling turkey. Use turkey broth to thin your favorite barbecue sauce to use in your injector. This method works well for other meat such as chicken, beef or pork. Use your imagination to create a flavor that you and your family will enjoy.
London broil is a favorite beef cut on the grill. It is an inexpensive flank steak quickly seared to rare or medium rare and sliced thinly against the grain. To tenderize and flavor this meat before grilling, it is marinated in a liquid that contains an acid such as wine. A common marinade is simply Italian dressing poured over the meat and refrigerated overnight. This is a perfect opportunity to use your meat injector. This marinade will help with the tenderization as well as add flavor throughout the meat.
We have covered several very simple meat marinade ideas for your meat injector.
As always, you are welcome to ask questions, share your successes, ideas or comments. We would love to hear from you!
