With the injectors, you no longer have to deal with waiting hours for your meat to marinate, you no longer have to litter your counters with containers and your fridge can have some breathing room because it will no longer be crowded with ziploc bags stuffed with meat.
There are many ways you can add flavor to your meat before you cook it. You can marinate and brine it, you can coat it with oils and herbs, you can soak it in broth and place it in a ziplock bag and leave it in the fridge overnight so the flavor can really permeate the meat. While marinating is a great and popular way to add flavor to your meat, this method can sometimes provide only surface level flavor. If you want a deeper level of flavor, you may benefit from purchasing a meat injector. Meat injectors will guarantee that your meat will be packed with flavor and juices that will be flowing from within. You can use your injector on a number of meat cuts like ham, lamb, whole and half chicken, and briskets.
If you’ve ever wondered what types of liquid you can put into a meat injector, you don’t have to spend too much time thinking about it because you can be as flexible as you want with your choice of marinade. You can use anything from stock, broth, olive oil, soy sauce, fish sauce, white wine, whiskey and even fruit juice. The injector is designed to allow cooks the freedom to play with a variety of flavors for their meat. If you’re mixing different flavors, it may be helpful to place your ingredients in a large bowl so the syringe can easily extract the liquid.
There are different types of injectors that are sold both online and in stores, and each one comes with their own unique functions and parts. It’s important that you research an injector thoroughly before you make your purchase. Any good injector comes equipped with a needle, a body, a syringe, a plunger and a gasket. The most important factor to consider before purchasing an injector is the size, strength and length of the needle. Ideally you should be looking for a needle that can inject the marinade deep into your meat for maximum flavor. The needle tips are usually sharp so you should be careful while you work with them. Most syringes should be able to hold at least 2 ounces of liquid and should be easy to take apart and clean. It’s always better to pick an injector with a syringe made of stainless steel over one made of plastic. Plastic syringes are more likely to crack or burst due to the pressure of the liquid.
Meat injectors are pretty easy to use and require little to no effort with setting up and implementing. With the injectors, you no longer have to deal with waiting hours for your meat to marinate, you no longer have to litter your counters with containers and your fridge can have some breathing room because it will no longer be crowded with ziploc bags stuffed with meat.
Injecting your meat is a relatively simple task, even for beginners and novice chefs. The most important thing is to ease into the injecting process. You don’t have to rush or inject the flavor too quickly. It may be helpful to consider moving away from herbs and spices that tend to hide the natural flavor of your meat and instead opt for salt solutions and broths. Try to avoid ground spices because they might clog the injector. Before you use your injector, consider lubricating your silicone or rubber gasket with a little vegetable oil with each repeated use. It is also advisable to handwash your injector after each use, paying close attention to the needle tip.
If you’re working with meat or chicken cuts with particularly tough skins, it’s necessary to use a sharp knife to pierce the points of injection before you use the needle. Piercing the skin before hand will prevent the needle from wearing out prematurely and you also avoid stressing the point where the needle is attached to the barrel. 
Once you have your choice of meat in front of you, you must keep the skin and cavity of the entire meat intact; this will help keep the marinade in place after you’re done injecting the meat. Try not to poke through the skin with the needle, instead lift the skin of your poultry and inject the marinade from underneath. If you poke and pierce through the cavity of the meat, your marinade will leak everywhere and cause quite a mess. You should also avoid inserting the injector through the bottom and sides of your meat- try to connect with as much skin as possible. Refrain from injecting close to the bone and from pulling out the plunger too quickly after you have injected the liquid.
After filling your injector with liquid, be sure to keep a small amount of suction in the plunger to prevent the liquid from spilling out; this is especially important to consider if you’re working with multiple holed needles. It’s also important to know the parts of the meat you will be injecting with the needle so you can work as quickly as possible to avoid dealing with marinade flooding out of the needle. Once you have mapped out the pierced points on the meat, be prepared for possible squirts. If you want to control the marinade from squirting and creating a mess, it is advisable to rest your hand around the meat once you have the needle injected. If any squirting occurs, you can rub the marinade on the surface of the meat so it does not go to waste. You should be as slow and as deliberate as possible when you pull the injector and release the marinade into the meat. After you remove the needle, carefully apply pressure to the entry point to prevent the marinade from gushing or flowing out.
When it comes to caring for your injector, you should be careful when you are handling the needles, syringes, and gaskets. You should be especially protective of the “O” rings which are part of the needle attachment. Although the smaller versions of the rings can be found in hardware stores, the larger rings are more difficult to locate so replacing a damaged ring can be a daunting task. To prevent resistance from occurring while you are working with the injector, it’s advisable to dip the “O” ring into food grade lubricants before use. Lubricating the ring will also help create a protective seal that prevents leakage.
