Injecting Pork Butt: Pros & Cons?

[jjdbike]

Hello all,
I have only ever injected my butts. I use Myron Mixon's injection recipe of Myer's Pork Base, apple juice, brown sugar, Myron's Clear Hot sauce. In my / our opinion it comes out flavorful and moist. Myron asserts all meat, no matter how good it is, can use a little extra moisture. Make sense to me. On the other hand, never tried it w/out. Further, I watched a demo - comparison on the Utubes. He (Wolf Pitt BBQ I believe) said the injected one was greasy and mushy. That was only one comparison, plus his injected one was at 209 internal vs 203 for uninjected. It might have just been overcooked. Plus, he used a competition injection mix, which I would not do. Too many additives and competition is very different than back yard for family eating.
What do you do?
In your opinion, what are the pros & cons of injecting pork butts to smoke?
Thanks in advance!
JD

[LA Pork Butt]

A lot depends on your cooker. I cook on a Big Green Egg, and have done it both ways at 225. I don’t usually inject. My take on injecting is that is adds flavor and extends the cook time at 225. Cooking on a Kamado keeps moisture in the cooker, so a water pan is unnecessary. I have never had a Butt dry out. However, I have cooked with and without a water pan. The water pan adds more smoke adhesion to the meat. I cook to 200, wrap and hold in an ice chest for 2 hours plus.

[58limited]

I inject with a vinegar brine solution recipe I got from watching the BBQ Nationals on Food Network several years ago. I think the injected butts come out moister and more tender. I haven't noticed a difference in the smoke though, usually that comes from my fire management which is sometimes subpar.

I've cooked them a couple of different ways: My go-to method is to cook on the smoker at 225^o - 275^o to an IT of about 200^o - 205^o. As an alternative I start by wrapping the butt in foil, cook in the oven at 275^o for 1 hour per pound (I usually cook 10 lb butts), then unwrap and onto the smoker with heavy smoke for an hour. Better bark and smoke on the one cooked on the smoker obviously but both ways are great. The second method is best when time is limited and you can't tend the fire, still gets a smokey flavor to the surface which mixes with the meat when shredded plus you get about a quart of liquid love for beans and such. My good friend (whom I taught the second method to) got a request to cater a wedding using that method.

Some folks (on another forum that I no longer visit) have told me that the second method would yield meat mush but I haven't had one turn out mushy yet. The meat is more tender than the bun I serve it on though.

Brine (enough for two 8-10 lb butts):

In a 2 cup measuring cup add:

1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup sugar
top off to 2 cups with 50/50 apple cider vinegar and water

Mix to dissolve the salt and sugar then inject into pork butt

Optional addition which I really like: add to the brine 6 drops of BBQ Bitters (a little goes a long way): https://gardenandgun.com/recipe/how-...n-bbq-bitters/

I used to inject the butts two evenings before I planned to smoke them. The night before I cook I rub the butts with whatever rub I plan to use, then onto the smoker the next morning. I was rushed for time once and injected 12 hours before smoking. I found that actually was better and produced moister more tender meat so now I inject the night before and rub the morning of the cook.

[jjdbike]

I will smoke these on my "new to me" KBQ. I have only smoked butts on my BGE. I will be smoking these at 275 till the stall and bark is well established, then into oven panned and foiled. Injecting dos in fact add flavor & moisture (i.e. juiciness) I will def inject. I was looking for that confirmation. Also wanted to know if there were any cons (like the Wolf Pitt claimed). Potentially increasing cook time slightly, isn't much of a con because I'm cutting these in half & cooking at a higher temp than traditional low & slow. These are two more reasons I'm interested in adding moisture (higher cooking temp & cutting in half).
Thanks again,
JD

[Donw]

I do not inject pork butts as they contain enough fat and I have never had a dry butt after smoking. I do pan my butts after bark formation and mix back any liquid yielded in the pan when pulling. I know people who say they inject for flavor but unless the finished meat is eaten naked, how could they tell? First it has to compete with the rub flavors still in the bark, and when serving I provide several choices of sauces for eating such as Eastern North Carolina and Tennessee Red, and either one would mask any injection flavors in the finished product.
If you are looking for super moist meat I would suggest doing the majority of your butts in the smoker, but do another one in a pressure cooker and then mix the butts when pulling. That way you save money on injection liquids with dubious ingredients and have more meat to serve to your family and guests. Just my 2¢.

[DTro]

^ Interesting technique Donw.

[Oak Smoke]

I don’t inject. I cook on a kamado so drying out isn’t a problem. I use Memphis dust, smoke with apple wood, and wrap at 180 internal with foil. I get good flavor and plenty of moisture while keeping it very simple.

[Jerod Broussard]

I injected early on, until I compared and realized I was injecting urine with kidney stones into hurricane force winds being produced by a forest fire. OK, maybe not that bad.

If someone wants me to, I will, while the butt is still in the bag.

[bbqLuv]

I generally do not inject pork butt. But if I were to inject a pork butt, I would inject the butt with pork broth. I have never really felt the need.
I do save the au jus to mix in with the pulled pork.

[rickgregory]

I'm with Donw. Pork butt does't need the 'moisture' (and who wants watery butt? Er, I mean... ) and by time you pull it mix in the rendered juices and sauce it, flavor shouldn't be your issue so... why?

[Sdell]

I have done them both ways, and did not notice a huge difference. One thing I have noticed to make a big difference is a long hold in the oven after wrapping. I will cook butts up to about 180f or until the bark is where I want it. At that point I wrap in foil and will finish in the oven until an internal temp of 203f. Once it hits that temp, I turn the oven down to its lowest setting, about 170f and will hold it there for several hours until shortly before pulling. The final product has been very moist and tender. It seems to me the long hold just give more time for all the collagen to break down and all the fat to tender.

[smokenoob]

No butts about it, I don’t inject or snort but I do smoke. Interesting thread though, thanks for posting!

[Mosca]

Used to inject, stopped. Food still good, so no more injecting.

[texastweeter]

I inject all the time. Have done plenty without though. I agree with Mixon (even if I am not a big fan of his). Only cons I have ever noticed was a little more involved as you have to make the injection and then inject it, and it takes longer to cook an injected butt than one that is not.

[jjdbike]

I inject all the time. Have done plenty without though. I agree with Mixon (even if I am not a big fan of his). Only cons I have ever noticed was a little more involved as you have to make the injection and then inject it, and it takes longer to cook an injected butt than one that is not.

Thanks texasweeter,
I agree, though I wonder why you're not a fan of Myrons? He's quirky and yes he's commercial but I can't fault him for trying to make a living for he and his family. I get a kick out of his humor and cockiness, mainly because I don't take him too seriously. I just look at him as an entertainer.
As far as the extra work, I kind of like messing w/ food, especially if it adds even a bit of enhancement of final product.
I'm cutting them both in half and cooking in my KBQ till just beyond stall when bark is well established (that thing makes a nice bark) so I'm not too concerned about time. I think they'll be done in 6 - 8 hours from start to finish leaving a couple hours to rest. I'll leave 12 so worst case scenario, they rest for 4 hours.
Thank again!
JD

[Donw]

How large are the halved butts?

[jjdbike]

The buts are between 8 & 9 lbs each. so between 4 & 4 1/2 lbs each.
Does my estimated time frame see correct? If anything, I have be overestimating my time. My butts always seem to get done quicker than I estimate. This is prolly because I'm cooking at 275 - 300 instead of 225 - 250. Plus, like I said the KBQ cooks stuff faster & I believe it's because of the volume of airflow. Kind of like a convection oven. It also does a great job on bark.
JD