If you want to cook restaurant-quality meat at home, you should learn and take advantage of the meat injectors’ tips and tricks. Ever wondered why those grilled steaks taste super savory at your local diner? Well, it is because they inject special marinades into them, mainly garlic, onion puree, rosemary, thyme, and some acidic ingredient like lemon juice or vinegar. Tasty meat needs the right amount of sauce to be infused by a meat injector. Trust me, your home-made meat dishes deserve this voluptuous treatment.

Before we dig into the details, let’s answer a simple question to get started. What is a meat injector? A meat injector is a specially made syringe generally of stainless steel to infuse brines and marinades into the meat. It comes with various needles that have different width levels and openings. They are designed to be used with both liquid and very thick sauces that contain small food particles such as olives, cubed jalapeno, or garlic. All you need is to pick the right one according to the thickness of your sauce. Then go ahead and inject some yumminess into the meat.

Tips and Tricks for Meat Injector

It is crucial for me to use a meat injector whether I am preparing single-serve steaks for the barbecue party or some big meat like turkey to be roasted. Not only can I add tremendous layers of flavors, but I also get to be creative by using different herbs. Basically, you turn cooking into some kind of art. How about injecting different sauce on different levels? Use your imagination, the possibilities are endless. Best of all, I can make the meat even more nutritious by adding fresh fruit juices, vegetable extracts, traditional spices, and ethnic seasoning mixes. Be careful, though; it is a lot of fun to cook meat this way, and you can easily get addicted to it. You’ve been warned!

The benefit of injecting while cooking or smoking the meat is to produce moister and more tender bite with improved flavor. On the bright side, the number of available injecting recipes are overwhelming. Plus, you can easily make up your own by mixing your favorite drinks and herbs.

The following meat injector tips and tricks are useful whether you are grilling over the barbecue, smoking, or roasting in an oven.

Select the right needle

First thing you should decide when injecting sauce into the meat is to select the right needle. In order to do that, you need to know the thickness of the sauce. If you are using a very liquid marinade, then you should select the thinnest needle with multiple openings. Otherwise, you would have very big holes on the meat, and the injected juices would come out and get wasted.

Tip Alert

Use the thick needle of the metal injector to fill chunky particles such as cubed olives, carrots, garlic, peas, onions, and various herbs.

Smear vegetable oil

Make sure you smear vegetable oil inside the barrel and needle. This will help to operate the meat injector much more efficiently. It will also prevent the sauce and food particles to get stuck up inside the barrel.

Inject 5 minutes prior to cooking

You must inject sauce into the meat at least 5 minutes before you start cooking. This will allow the right amount of time for the juices to spread inside. In the end, you will have a tender and savory meat.

Plan your injections

It is best if you plan ahead where you will make the injections. Some call this mapping on the meat. Always apply the same amount of pressure and do so steadily. I prefer meat injectors that have automatic dosage options. They usually have a gun-like design, where you can also adjust the tension on the handle.

Clean immediately

It is important to clean your meat injector right after you use it. If you just leave it on the counter and dive into the meat, then you are in trouble. Since most sauces contain some sugar or fruit juice, the leftovers from the marinade inside the barrel can turn your life into a nightmare. You better wash immediately or pray that the sauce and the food particles not to get stuck.

How to use a meat injector?

You can use this smart kitchen tool for various mixtures. Two simple steps make all the difference. First, we inject the spices, fruit juices, sauces, etc. And then we let the meat rest until the savory juices spread inside. After 5 to 10 minutes, all the layers are soaked with the mixture, and you can start cooking according to your preference. Dip the tip of the syringe into the sauce and start pulling back the plunger to fill the barrel with the mixture. Insert the meat injector in the meat and start pushing to inject the marinade or liquid sauce.

What is the best meat injector for barbecue?

Meats that are grilled on the barbecue require thinner gauge needles. This is because it is harder to keep the juices inside them if you open up large holes on the surface by using thicker gauge needles. In general, this type of meat injector is used in barbecue championships since the injection marks are smaller and less visible. Ofargo stainless-steel meat injector with three needles for BBQ is a great choice for this purpose. The 2-oz large capacity, stainless-steel barrel makes your life easier; you don’t have to refill frequently. Besides, you can pierce through the toughest meats without any hassle. It is a heavy-duty product that is designed ergonomically whether you are injecting meat or poultry. Your fingers will thank you for the wide rings as you don’t need to apply too much pressure while push the needle. It comes with a neat storage box.

What is the best meat injector for brisket?

A meat injector comes handy when cooking dry meats like a brisket. You can turn a large cut of tough meat into a tender and juicy magic. For this type of meat, you should use a powerful meat injector. Plastic ones will not work, and you may break them easily. I suggest you inject one inch apart and use the large needle. I recommend Premiala Awesome Meat Injector for the best results on brisket. It is sturdy, and made of 304 grade stainless-steel, meaning it won’t wear or corrode with use. It is so good that the company provides lifetime warranty.

What is the best meat injector for smoking?

If you have never tried injecting sauce into meat before smoking, then you are in for a big surprise. It literally turns the meat into a celebration. Smoking already adds up tremendous flavor, but the injected sauce takes it all up to heaven. You should be careful to use a high capacity meat injector for this purpose. Most meats that are used for smoking are large, and have a big surface. Thus, you need to be able to go deep into the meat when infusing marinade or brine. Here is a perfect match for you; the high-capacity meat injector that you can use for smoking with extra-large barrel can hold 2.3 oz. It comes with three professional needles. I suggest you use the long and thick one. It can easily go deep, and stand against the tough meat.

Advantages of Using a Meat Injector

There are many advantages of using a meat injector, but we can summarize the most significant ones under three main headings.

Save Time

Marinating takes a lot of time and energy. You need to brush or rub the mixture all over the meat. This process is very time consuming. Plus, it also gets very messy when you are performing this task. A meat injector, on the other hand, is super easy to handle and there won’t be any sauce drippings all over the place if you know what you are doing.

Increase Flavor

Simply rubbing sauce on the meat will not cut if you are after some serious steakhouse taste. It would be best if you got the flavored juices flowing inside all the layers of the meat. You should be in control so that every inch of the meat is spiced up. And the only way to achieve that level of supremacy is by using a meat injector. Fill those meat plates with superior bites.

Maintain Moisture

Infusing liquid sauces into the meat prevents it from getting dried out during cooking. A regular meat with no injection will lose moisture when high heat is applied. This situation can have a devastating effect, especially if you are cooking over a long period. Meat injector helps you extend the cooking time, and keeps the moisture inside the meat.

What do you use to inject meat?

The best way to inject meat is to use special made meat injectors that are made from stainless steel material to infuse flavor into your meat. Select the right needle type according to your sauce’s thickness. Feel free to use different marinades, butter, herbs, sauces, and more.

Can I inject my turkey the night before?

For turkey and chicken breast, it is best if you inject marinade the night before. This will assist the sauce to move throughout the layers of the meat and achieve full taste. Bring the meat into room temperature before you start cooking. You can learn more on how to cook turkey from our turkey roast article.

Can you inject marinade into meat?

You can inject marinade into meat, and it would turn out just great. The injected marinade will soften the meat and add juice. You will have a tastier result when compared to meat that is marinated traditionally.

When should you inject meat?

You should inject marinade or brine 10 minutes prior to transferring the meat onto the grill. Keep in mind that he juices need some time to spread inside the meat evenly. Do not inject the meat and start cooking right away or the meat would not reach to the maximum level of consistent flavor.

How do you clean meat injectors?

It is best if you fill a large enough cup with warm and soapy water. Just as if you were filling the barrel with sauce, this time fill in with the soapy water and empty it a few times. Then clean all the parts under running water and mild detergent. Do not forget to dry well.

Tricks

• Map your injection points on the meat before you actually start injecting.
• Always apply pressure steadily.
• Add a tablespoon of pomegranate and lemon juice to injection recipes in order to tenderize steaks. You can easily create a filet mignon out of flank.
• When shopping for new meat injector, try to select the ones that come with automatic dosage option. You can inject the same amount each time you squeeze the handle. They also come with an option to adjust the tension.

Warnings

• Before first use, wash and dry all the parts of the meat injector well. Do not forget to smear vegetable oil, especially inside the barrel and the needle.
• Immediately wash and clean the meat injector thoroughly after each use. Otherwise, the gummy sauce would get stuck up in the barrel, and you would have to wait and clean for a long-time next time you want to use.
• Do not use large needles for injecting very liquid sauces, or all the injected sauce would come out flowing.

In Conclusion

You need a quality meat injector in order to compete with those pro-quality steaks served at your favorite chophouse. Whether you are making a few single-serve steaks or a huge batch of big meat like prime ribs or ham, injecting flavor remarkably advances the taste and texture. Any meat lover would prefer a juicy and spicy steak over a dry and dull one that is seasoned with only salt and pepper. Meat injectors are convenient to spice up any kind of meat with a few injections. The only thing you should know of is the type of needle you need to use, which is related to the sauce’s thickness.