Meat injectors.

[Oleg]

Hello everyone!
I wanted to get your opinion on injectors and, maybe, a recommendation which one I need.
Questions:
What is the purpose of an injector?
- Accelerate cure time?
- Accelerate brining time?
- More even taste distribution?
- More even color distribution?
- Other?

Which one do I need?
- I am not planning to do large quantities of meat
- I do not like poor quality products

 

[chilerelleno]

I inject to both, put desired flavors directly into the meat, accelerate and/or more thoroughly brine/tenderize meats.
I'm happy with this one from Amazon,

 

[Oleg]

I inject to both, put desired flavors directly into the meat, accelerate and/or more thoroughly brine/tenderize meats.

Thank you for your post Chilerelleno,
You did not mention curing. Does injecting meat shorten curing time?

 

[chopsaw]

Does injecting meat shorten curing time?

It can . Depends on the method used . Still learning myself .

I do not like poor quality products

I don't either . I have a plastic barrel injecter thats at least 20 years old , that I still use . Cheap . The ones off the Tony C's injections work just fine also .

 

[chilerelleno]

I don't do any curing.

 

[Oleg]

I don't do any curing.

I guess it's not required unless you ground meat. Still cure gives nice color I think.

 

[SmokinAl]

Thank you for your post Chilerelleno,
You did not mention curing. Does injecting meat shorten curing time?

If you are using a brine or wet cure, and your meat is thicker than 2", then it must be injected with the cure brine.
I pump mine as full as it will take when using that method. Then it will cure from the inside out & the outside in, so you will be sure to get the cure to all the meat!
Al

 

[browneyesvictim]

^^^^ That.

I have a fancy stainless steel injector, but I find myself using the plastic ones more that come with the Tony Chachare's creole butter injection kits. It's just more egronomical to use than my big one. Just pick up a Tony's kit at Wal-mart, and the syringe is included. It should last you years. Its plenty durable. The biggest killer of those injectors, is if a chunk of garlic or celery seed or something gets stuck in the needle. If you have any chunks like that in an your injection liquid, be sure to grind or pure' well, and strain through a fine mesh strainer. Hand wash.

 

[Oleg]

If you have any chunks like that in an your injection liquid, be sure to grind or pure' well, and strain through a fine mesh strainer.

Thank you for the tip, I didn't think of it.

 

[Oleg]

Then it will cure from the inside out & the outside in, so you will be sure to get the cure to all the meat!

Hi Al, I am probably overthinking it but is there a technique that is used for injecting? Do you have to do in in some sort of pattern to ensure even coverage?

 

[SmokinAl]

Hi Al, I am probably overthinking it but is there a technique that is used for injecting? Do you have to do in in some sort of pattern to ensure even coverage?

Yes you want to go in every inch or so & as you are pushing in the plunger, you slowley withdraw it.
I'm sure if you look on YouTube there are a bunch of videos on injecting meat that you can watch. The object is to get as much inside the meat as it will hold. You will see the meat blow up as you inject it!
Al

 

[daveomak]

I inject hams....
Here's one thread....
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/ham-from-fresh-picnics-update-10-21-money.236375/

The short version... Calculate the amount of cure#1, salt and sugar you want in the meat... weigh out 10% of the weight of the meat of an injection liquid... Lets say that amount is 500 grams or 500 cc's... Do not use an acidic liquid... That will screw up the cure...
Cure "travels" through meat at 1" per 7 days...
Dissolve all the stuff in the 500cc's of liquid... guestimate 10cc's per injection and inject those 10cc's about every 1.5" all over the meat, paying special attention to bones, joints etc... after approx 50 injections, everything that is supposed to be inside the meat is there... No guessing if you have thoroughly added the proper amounts, like you would have if you did a brine cure...
Since everything is inside the meat, there is pressure, from the injections, to push the stuff toward the outside of the meat, completing the curing process...

 

[radioguy]

Those metal ones with rings are rough on your hands after some time. Give this one a look. More ergonomic and no time lost in reloads.

RG

 

[pops6927]

The Morton brine injector, 4 oz. is what I use. You can get it at Butcher-Packer:

It is heavy duty, will last a lifetime if cared for.

BUT! Most importantly, it has 2 needles - Spray (broadcast with holes throughout, so it squirts curing brine in all directions), and Artery (shoots a straight stream to artery-pump a ham or shoulder). For injecting, I use the broadcast needle as it injects in all directions. I have artery-pumped hams also, right by the aitch bone is an artery left sticking out. You have to insert the artery needle into that and you will see the hind leg plump with curing brine throughout. However, there is a chance that the artery may have ruptured and then you have to revert to broadcast injection anyways.

You become accustomed to the rings; it is built for high-capacity usage, doing one piece after another. There are larger capacity units also, from a continuous unit you use with a bucket of brine,

to an electric injection pump

That is a professional model and can accept different injection gang tips (3, 4, 5) for high speed injecting. This is from Koch Bunzl products. https://www.bunzlpd.com/curing-pump

Inexpensive plastic units, such as from Walmart:

may only contain one needle, an artery or combination artery and minimal broadcast needle (two little holes in it). As always, you get what you pay for. Less price, more work. Walmart also carries many different injectors you can order, too. It pays to shop around!

 

[gmc2003]

Hi Al, I am probably overthinking it but is there a technique that is used for injecting? Do you have to do in in some sort of pattern to ensure even coverage?

Not so much a technique, but something to keep in the back of your head(learned the hard way). When your using a broadcast injector be careful about injecting while exiting the meat. I wasn't paying attention and sprayed a whole sink full of clean dishes on my first attempt at injecting. Wife wasn't all that pleased. I also had to change my shirt.

Chris