Pork Injection

[SmokinEdge]

Doing some pork butts for a retirement party, and thought I’d share my pork injection. This is designed as a base flavor and will allow you to add rubs and or finishing sauce, or it makes great stand alone PP.

Pork Injection:
For 10# of pork.

8oz water
8oz apple juice
1/2 Tbs salt
1/2 Tbs STPP
2 Tbs ACV
1 Tbs Woorsey
1 Tsp Soy sauce
1/2 Tbs MC Holy Gospel
1/2 tsp gran garlic
Can add 1/2 Tbs sugar but it is optional

This is a good one. Hope you try it.

 

[JLinza]

I'll be giving this one a try. Thanks for sharing, Eric.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Let them set at least overnight to a couple days before smoking. This comes out very balanced and mild in flavor.

 

[Astralogics]

Thanks for sharing Eric! Likely gonna give it a go if I can get a butt for PP this weekend.

 

[thirdeye]

How did you arrive at the amount of STTP? The amounts from Ames Phos and PhosThis are 4.5g to 9g per pint of liquid, and I've gone with the 5g per pint of liquid.

 

[SmokinEdge]

How did you arrive at the amount of STTP? The amounts from Ames Phos and PhosThis are 4.5g to 9g per pint of liquid, and I've gone with the 5g per pint of liquid.

I’m using Phos-This! Which is supposed to be the old Ames-Phos formula. At any rate they recommend 1-2% solution, which is 4.5g to 9g per pint exactly as you suggested. I’m using a pint of liquid (8oz apple juice and 8oz water or 1 pint. On my scale 1/2Tbs of Phos-This! Is just over 7g which puts me kinda in the middle of the application rate.

 

[okie sawbones]

Looks good. I've noticed a common theme in most pork injection recipes:

Apple juice
Worcestershire sauce
Vinegar
Salt
Sugar
Phosphates

After that, it is an open palate for the cook.

 

[thirdeye]

I’m using Phos-This! Which is supposed to be the old Ames-Phos formula. At any rate they recommend 1-2% solution, which is 4.5g to 9g per pint exactly as you suggested. I’m using a pint of liquid (8oz apple juice and 8oz water or 1 pint. On my scale 1/2Tbs of Phos-This! Is just over 7g which puts me kinda in the middle of the application rate.

Thanks. Included your comments to my injection notes. By the way, I emailed Bill Ames, and he confirmed that AmesPhos and PhosThis were exactly the same, and came from the same manufacturer. I've used AmesPhos for quite some time.

There are several phosphate products on the market by companies that sell competition injections, but the recommended amounts really vary. And like seasonings, tend to be heavy handed.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Thanks. Included your comments to my injection notes. By the way, I emailed Bill Ames, and he confirmed that AmesPhos and PhosThis were exactly the same, and came from the same manufacturer. I've used AmesPhos for quite some time.

There are several phosphate products on the market by companies that sell competition injections, but the recommended amounts really vary. And like seasonings, tend to be heavy handed.

Now keep in mind this,,,,
Phosphate is typically applied to meat at .4 to .5% by meat weight , my bottle of Phos-This says “target .2 to .5% of meat weight to product”

So in this case I would apply phosphate to the meat weight and not the liquid volume. So we would be 18g to 23g to the pint of liquid, not the 7.3-ish grams I’m using. This because the pint of brine goes all in a 10# piece of meat. Really though in this case I find the 7.3g to work perfectly well with the fatty butt. It really doesn’t need much help in the moisture department but it does make a difference with longer hold time. This just plain works for me.

 

[thirdeye]

Really though in this case I find the 7.3g to work perfectly well with the fatty butt. It really doesn’t need much help in the moisture department but it does make a difference with longer hold time. This just plain works for me.

Right, finding your personal sweet spot within the recommended amounts, is key when using seasonings or additives like this. That said... the website mentions 1-TBS per gallon, so that must be the bare minimum to use.

Directions (from the Amazon page for PhosThis)
Use approximately 4.5-9g (about 2-4 level tsp) per pint of water (1% to 2% solution) for injection or marination, slightly more for acidic solutions like apple juice. Target level is 0.2% to 0.5% of total product, by weight. For sausage making or other ground meats, use about 1.5g per pound of meat, and mix with water before incorporation to ensure even distribution.
From makeitmeaty.com:
Also known as "AmesPhos", this phosphate blend dissolves easily and it's stable over a wide range of pH.
Imported from Germany, this is the best of the best.

• Increases yield by as much as 10% by weight
• Improves taste, texture and slicing
• Dissolves easily in cold water
• A little goes a long way, just 1TBS per gallon
• Retains water and natural juices

 

[SmokinEdge]

Right, finding your personal sweet spot within the recommended amounts, is key when using seasonings or additives like this. That said... the website mentions 1-TBS per gallon, so that must be the bare minimum to use.

Directions (from the Amazon page for PhosThis)
Use approximately 4.5-9g (about 2-4 level tsp) per pint of water (1% to 2% solution) for injection or marination, slightly more for acidic solutions like apple juice. Target level is 0.2% to 0.5% of total product, by weight. For sausage making or other ground meats, use about 1.5g per pound of meat, and mix with water before incorporation to ensure even distribution.
From makeitmeaty.com:
Also known as "AmesPhos", this phosphate blend dissolves easily and it's stable over a wide range of pH.
Imported from Germany, this is the best of the best.

• Increases yield by as much as 10% by weight
• Improves taste, texture and slicing
• Dissolves easily in cold water
• A little goes a long way, just 1TBS per gallon
• Retains water and natural juices

Absolutely agree. With these types of additives I think there is plenty of room to adjust the amount added. Phos works in a broad range as does erythorbate.

 

[thirdeye]

Doing some pork butts for a retirement party, and thought I’d share my pork injection. This is designed as a base flavor and will allow you to add rubs and or finishing sauce, or it makes great stand alone PP.

Pork Injection:
For 10# of pork.

8oz water
8oz apple juice
1/2 Tbs salt
1/2 Tbs STPP
2 Tbs ACV
1 Tbs Woorsey
1 Tsp Soy sauce
1/2 Tbs MC Holy Gospel
1/2 tsp gran garlic
Can add 1/2 Tbs sugar but it is optional

This is a good one. Hope you try it.

I tried your pork injection on some pork steaks, injecting and then allowing to brine in the remaining liquid for about 5 hours. Turned out great.

 

[Inscrutable]

Be careful with injecting. That pushes potential contaminants so deep it is in the danger zone a long time if doing very low very slow.

And yes, they eventually get up to temp and die, but their toxic byproducts never go away.

 

[SmokinEdge]

I tried your pork injection on some pork steaks, injecting and then allowing to brine in the remaining liquid for about 5 hours. Turned out great.
View attachment 720837
View attachment 720838

I’m glad you tried it and glad you enjoyed it. Looks delicious.

 

[thirdeye]

I’m glad you tried it and glad you enjoyed it. Looks delicious.

One other question... Did you mix the PhosThis with the water and juices..., then add the other ingredients like we do when making the DaveOmak injection for ham?

 

[SmokinEdge]

One other question... Did you mix the PhosThis with the water and juices..., then add the other ingredients like we do when making the DaveOmak injection for ham?

Correct. Mix the Phos in the water and dissolve it first, then mix in all other ingredients.

Another thing I’ve noticed with PhosThis is that if you don’t agitate the water while adding and continue to stir then this product will want to clump, if that happens it’s impossible to dissolve the clumps. It’s definitely not my favorite Phos and does not dissolve as well or work quite as well as the 450 Super Phos from Butcher & Packer that one dissolves the best out of every brand I’ve used.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Be careful with injecting. That pushes potential contaminants so deep it is in the danger zone a long time if doing very low very slow.

And yes, they eventually get up to temp and die, but their toxic byproducts never go away.

That is a good thought and it’s good to be cautious. That said, you really don’t have much concern with most injections. The reason is the ingredients in the injection are salty and acidic. Both of which make life very difficult for bacteria. So while technically they (bacteria) could be present and pushed into the meat they will only exist in the injection holes which are filled with a salty acidic solution which will greatly slow their growth. Besides that the pathogenic bacteria need a lot more time to produce toxins, they have to go through stages of development before they can make toxins in a perfect environment, but in injected meat there is less than ideal conditions.

All kinds of meats are injected or “enhanced “ at the grocery store, that means injected. Nobody getting sick from it. Probably 50% of the whole hog cooks out there are injected maybe more. Nobody getting sick from a pig picking either. No worries.

 

[Inscrutable]

That is a good thought and it’s good to be cautious. That said, you really don’t have much concern with most injections. The reason is the ingredients in the injection are salty and acidic. Both of which make life very difficult for bacteria. So while technically they (bacteria) could be present and pushed into the meat they will only exist in the injection holes which are filled with a salty acidic solution which will greatly slow their growth. Besides that the pathogenic bacteria need a lot more time to produce toxins, they have to go through stages of development before they can make toxins in a perfect environment, but in injected meat there is less than ideal conditions.

All kinds of meats are injected or “enhanced “ at the grocery store, that means injected. Nobody getting sick from it. Probably 50% of the whole hog cooks out there are injected maybe more. Nobody getting sick from a pig picking either. No worries.

Good to hear. Personally, I don’t inject salty solutions (low sodium diet) but for those that do that’s good.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Good to hear. Personally, I don’t inject salty solutions (low sodium diet) but for those that do that’s good.

Consider using acids, those are actually more powerful in controlling bacteria than salt. Plus they give a good taste in the end, that tang.

 

[Inscrutable]

Consider using acids, those are actually more powerful in controlling bacteria than salt. Plus they give a good taste in the end, that tang.

Maybe in moderation. I am not a fan of vinegar-based ENC bbq. I can live with not injecting big cuts