My pork butt injection takes a little bit of work, and some time.... but it's worth it. It's basically a smokey stock with some Coca-Cola (Mexican Coke is best) injected at 1 generous ounce per pound of butt.
Remove the bones, and strain your stock. You can cook it down further at this point. When you like the porky flavor, allow it to cool a while, then add the Coca-Cola and chill. For injecting, the ratio I use is 60% broth and 40 % Coke. If you want it less sweet, just tickle those percentages until it's where you want it. So, if your butt is 10 pounds make at least a 16 ounce batch and you should be good. Extra stock can be mixed with the foil juices and used on the pulled pork for moistness. If you elect to pull the neck bone meat, it looks like this.
Your Favorite rub will work fine.
My Pork spray is : Apple Juice, Seasoned Salt, Worcestershire, Water (as needed to dilute the apple juice.) You want to add just enough seasoned salt to make the spray slightly salty to taste. I don't start spraying until hour 3 and the bark is setting up.
Hey Thirdeye: Please forgive me butting in on this thread. I have 2 questions. 1. Would you use this same injection for making pulled pork bbq sandwiches? 2. Why coke? You go to considerable effort to make this stock and then cut it with Coke? What's the coke do for your pork? If it's sweetness, couldn't you just add sugar to your stock? Does the Coke help tenderize the meat?
Before so many commercial injections came on the scene, injecting chicken with chicken broth, (if you were not brining it) or injecting brisket with a beefy broth was common. But pork loins and butts were often injected with fruit juice, which is not a bad thing. But using a pork injection that already has a smokey, porky flavor to add flavor to a pork butt that you are smoking is a one-two punch.
To answer your questions:
1. I would use this injection before smoking the butt to add flavor to the inner meat. The smoke, surface fats combining with your rub and mop (or spray) will make the bark flavorful, but the inner meat is somewhat bland on it's own. So, if you are asking about a finishing sauce I would mix into pulled meat in order to serve it on a bun or Texas toast.... I would start with de-fatted foil juice, maybe add some sauce to that, and if I wanted to boost the "porky" flavor I might add some of the reserved injection.
2. Coke, after a few hours of cooking has a neutral flavor, but it is high in sugar. Mexican Coke is made with cane sugar, so that is a plus. Apple or apple/white grape is probably as sweet but apple juice is easier to detect. Many pork injections are sweet, and the sweet marries well with pork because many pork rubs are sweet, and many pork sauces are sweet. With only 40% of the injection being Coke, I don't think it has any tenderizing effect.
That's what I do at times. I usually inject right before putting on smoker. Seems to work well. Been thinking of injecting hot sauce!Maybe try mixing the rub your using with some apple juice and injecting that. Personally I rarely inject a butt anymore and use a finishing sauce.
-->I understand you want to flavor the inner meat...obviously. And I clearly understand the stock was added as an injection. My question was/is what were your plans for the finished meat - are you serving up pork roast or is this something you do for bbq pork sandwiches with bbq sauce? Sounds like you do a little bit of both.
-->I say this with all due respect, I really do, but I see introducing Coke as the equivalent of sticking a McRib into the center of my brined turkey - because I enjoy the smokey flavor of the McRib. If all you are getting from the Coke is the sweet, why not use something a little less processed? Why introduce a product into your meat that can moonlight for a car battery terminal cleaner? Unless...there is more going on with the Coke. That's all I was curious about.
Add me to the list of guys buying MSG by the pound. Same for STPP. I imagine caramel is the main thing happening with Coke but it also has phosphate. A lot of guys swear by injecting cherry Dr. Pepper. Has a nice vanilla note.I get a similar note running oak. Already mentioned but apple juice is a good start. Unlike thirdeye I prefer to mute the porkiness a bit and apple juice does this well. Other juices probably do it too, but the apple:pork is the classic paring so...
... I have done enough research on most premade injections and know what makes them tick (and am also a cheap SOB) but using premade is not a bad idea. I also like to rest overnight after injecting so it has a chance to mingle.
Yes, but I actually misspoke. "Creates phosphate" is more like it. I forget the exact science but the phosphoric acid reacts with the sodium in the meat and salt forming it. Have not tried mixing with white grape but do plan to try it. That said, was kind surprised how much better apple juice works over the cheap stuff. I use "Tree Top". Bought some to try and my family and I freaked out over how good it was. Much fresher and "real" tasting.I knew Coke has phosphoric acid, but didn't know about phosphate. You're referring to the moisture retaining phosphate? I've shot a lot of pork loins with a LiteBrine, basically apple juice and 1 gram of salt per ounce of juice. So those small bottles 8oz or 10oz are perfect for mixing. Have you tried apple/white grape? I can't get it in the little bottles, but it's in the shelf stable pouches. It's similar to, but not as recognizable as apple juice.
Yes, but I actually misspoke. "Creates phosphate" is more like it. I forget the exact science but the phosphoric acid reacts with the sodium in the meat and salt forming it. Have not tried mixing with white grape but do plan to try it. That said, was kind surprised how much better apple juice works over the cheap stuff. I use "Tree Top". Bought some to try and my family and I freaked out over how good it was. Much fresher and "real" tasting.
Thank You, thirdeye, for your time, clarification and clear response. I know it's 6AM's post, but I've learned a lot as well, and I certainly appreciate it. And same here for the fast food and sodas. Minus pizza - we certainly enjoy that.Personally, I'm not much of a sauce guy at home (on any of my barbecue except burnt ends) and the general routine for my butts is to break down the individual muscle groups and serve the choice ones as a main meat for a barbecue meal. In other words, maybe some slices from the money muscle end and some chunks from the horn (the muscle groups around the blade bone), the remainder of the butt I do pull but it might go into tacos or a burrito, and when we do make a pulled pork sandwiches they are traditional ones, topped with cole slaw and pretty light on the sauce. Sometimes I'll remove the money muscle (Coppa roast) end and smoke it separately, and grind the rest for sausage or making green chili. When cooking for a a small group or public events I cater to what they like..., so I serve mostly pulled pork and will have buns available but have at least two sauces at the serving table, not on the meat. I use a finishing rub, and I only moisten the meat with a finishing liquid or spray it with apple/white grape juice. All that said...., I've been involved in competition judging and cooking for about 12 years, so I am capable of switching gears. 99% of all competition shoulder is presented with sauce so when judging and cooking competition pork sauce is a big player, so I appreciate it in that arena.
Cooking with Coke has been around for generations, so it's obviously popular and not just in barbecue circles., because it works. It's not a Coke umami by any means, but there is something going on. I guess sweetness is one thing, but there is a depth of flavor, for lack of a better term, that is present. Heck, in the 60's my Grandmother used a Coca-Cola glaze on holiday hams, and would simmer baby onions with some Coke in the mix. For what's it's worth, my pork injection is the only thing I use Coke for and I haven't drank regular soda in 25 years, nor do I eat fast food more than 4 or 5 times a year at best. The processed foods I'm guilty of enjoying are limited to ham, bacon, sausage & salami. So, bottom line is, anything you don't feel comfortable with using in cooking, don't. Oh, and by the way, as much as I enjoy competition barbecue it is an overload of sugar, MSG, phosphates, fats, salts, among other things. I've seen cooks that buy MSG in the 1# jars, cooks that baste ribs with melted lard, and cooks that simmer thighs in 3 sticks of butter. But in moderation (and to a much lesser degree), when cooking in my backyard many of the pro techniques do work.