Inject or not?

[JLeonard]

Doing some butts for my work folks. Inject or not?

 

[gmc2003]

I vote no to injecting butts. I happen to like the natural pork flavor.

Chris

 

[TNJAKE]

I've done it and see no real benefit

 

[PPG1]

I agree 100%. I have done it both ways and prefer not to take away from the natural flavor of the meat and smoke

 

[D.W.]

I always inject, never tried it without. I'll mix up the injection amd then set some aside to use for my spritz during the cook. A pretty standard go to is AJ, ACV, bourbon, and worcestershire sauce.

 

[chopsaw]

Salt , pepper and smoke for me . No injection .

 

[flatbroke]

I don’t inject either

 

[sandyut]

I never have and like never will. they turn out great rubbed and smoked. no inject, no wrap.

 

[JLeonard]

Thanks for the replies and opinions.

 

[D.W.]

Guess I'm odd man out here. If you've never tried it, give it a whirl and see if you like it. I'm going to try one without since everyone seems to like that approach. Rodney Scott does a whole lot of mopping on his pork and people seem to enjoy it.

 

[JLeonard]

D.W. Thats what I like about this forum. You can ask a question get differing opinions and go your own route. I think with a lot of cooking there is no set in stone "right way" to do something. Try different things and see what ya like.

 

[kruizer]

Injection will always add flavor to the inside so you need to make the choice. I have done it both ways and like each one of them.

 

[bhambrewer]

With my recent purchase of my first ever offset smoker, I deliberately decided to go basic. Brine only, no injection. I have, in the past, injected stuff into turkeys, but since starting spatchcocking them I have not bothered with injection. In addition, I am kind of keto-adjacent so I prefer to avoid any added sugars, especially HFCS which most of the commercial versions use.

 

[zwiller]

Guess I'm odd man out here. If you've never tried it, give it a whirl and see if you like it. I'm going to try one without since everyone seems to like that approach. Rodney Scott does a whole lot of mopping on his pork and people seem to enjoy it.

Nope, injecting all the way here . I used to consider injecting cheating but no longer do. Mine is based on Mixon's and definitely competition level. kruizer is right though. ANY butt done properly will be tasty. Also there are hacks to get it close to injected (dry brine, finish sauce, add juice back, more rub) but I think mine would still have the edge. Injecting is consistent and uniform throughout the meat when done properly. To truly compare, you need to use a proper injection recipe. Using plain apple juice, cherry Dr. Pepper, etc alone work to an extent but won't give you near the results like a well tuned recipe like Mixon or Lilly. Is it necessary for good PP, nope. Is my PP better than yours, yes.

 

[bbqbrett]

I haven't smoked a lot of them but have done them both ways and can appreciate them either injected or not. It sounds like you are doing more than one so why not try both ways?

 

[chilerelleno]

I've done both.
Injecting can be both beneficial and a PITA.
Beneficial in distributing a whole lot of flavor and brining throughout the butt.
PITA that it may take significantly longer to cook at normal Low-n-Slow smoking temps.
20 hour Butts? BTDT.
Hot-n-Fast smoking can/will decrease the likeliness of that PITA.

That said, I no longer inject Butts.
I can get all the flavor I desire with normal rubs, finishing sauces and maybe a little extra added spice after pulling.

 

[D.W.]

Nope, injecting all the way here . I used to consider injecting cheating but no longer do. Mine is based on Mixon's and definitely competition level. kruizer is right though. ANY butt done properly will be tasty. Also there are hacks to get it close to injected (dry brine, finish sauce, add juice back, more rub) but I think mine would still have the edge. Injecting is consistent and uniform throughout the meat when done properly. To truly compare, you need to use a proper injection recipe. Using plain apple juice, cherry Dr. Pepper, etc alone work to an extent but won't give you near the results like a well tuned recipe like Mixon or Lilly. Is it necessary for good PP, nope. Is my PP better than yours, yes.

My thought was that injecting most importantly helps develop a flavor profile and assists in the cooking process. There is more to the injection but what I put is my primary base. Hard to say if your pulled pork is better than most, I'm thinking it's not bad ;) Maybe vacuum seal some and send it out my way...

 

[Bearcarver]

I inject very few things, and Butts are about last on the list.

Bear

 

[noboundaries]

I guess I'm an injector. I have three places I buy butts. Winco grocery chain (Hormel brand pre-injected, DO NOT INJECT), Costco (boneless and natural), and Smart & Final (Farmer John natural).

The vast majority of my butts are the pre-injected Hormels because they can go from fridge to smoker with just the rub. Easy peasy. My wife prefers these over the all-naturals.

I use the Costco boneless for making buckboard bacon, so I inject the curing brine.

For the Farmer John all-naturals, I only pick these up when I'm trying some new flavor profile. And the key, for me, is to inject and let it rest in the fridge for at least a couple of days so the injection can penetrate the meat. Injecting and throwing it on the smoker is a waste. As the meat cooks, all the injection is squeezed out, and you can get weird spotting in the interior of the final product. Consequently, I make a light brine, inject it with the brine, and submerge it in the brine while it rests in the fridge for a few days.

 

[daspyknows]

I always inject, never tried it without. I'll mix up the injection amd then set some aside to use for my spritz during the cook. A pretty standard go to is AJ, ACV, bourbon, and worcestershire sauce.

That sounds good. Got to try it.