I used to think that brining and injecting pork butts was not necessary because they had enough fat and connective tissue to keep the meat moist and tasty.
I eventually tried bring on a couple large cooks and the result was great, more flavor, more moisture, and the brine also helped to unravel some of the proteins making it tender as well. The downfall was that the brining process took up a lot of space in our refrigerators.
Brining worked so well that I tried injecting the butts just so I didn't have three refrigerators full. My first attempt went well using Chris Lilly's Championship Pork Injection. It worked well, but found it to be too salty to the taste. My next attempt I cut the salt in half and it was much better.
I had purchased some OakRidge Game Changer Brine for a large chicken cook for my American Legion. The result was so stellar that I gave it a try as an injection for my next pork cook. I cannot put into words how everybody raved about the end result of pulled pork.
Now, I always inject using OakRidge Game Changer Brine, using 1 tablespoon to one cup of apple juice for every 8 lb butt. Basically 1 ounce of liquid for every pound of meat. I have also learned to simplify the process by injecting the pork butt right through the cyro-packaging making one hole but injecting at many different angles to evenly distribute the liquid. I inject a few hours before cooking (2 - 4 hours), and let them sit as I ready the smoker and set up the prep area.
As I unpack the pork butts, I apply the rub, and let the meat sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes to let the rub hold firmly onto the meat, then into a pre-warmed smoker.
The injected pork is done much earlier than conventional pork cooks. The bone begins to wiggle like a loose tooth at around 185 - 187 degrees. After a 4 hour rest, the pork pulls in very long tender strands which make it more appealing to the eye than the shorter pieces of the conventional cooking method. The pork is full of flavor from the brine ingredients as well as from the fruit juice.
The type of syringe doesn't really matter, but I prefer a 4 ounce syringe with a 5 - 6 inch needle with large side ports in the needle itself. I use a stainless steel Weston injector and needle, but any syringe will work. I also have a "No-Cents pressure injector that I use when I am injecting more than 8 butts, but would not recommend it for casual use with only a couple butts at a time. While it make injecting easier, it does take time to mix and set-up and by that time the task could have already been done with a hand held injector.
I have also substituted peach nectar, pear nectar, and plum cider in place of apple juice/cider with great results.
FireCraft also has a line of hand held meat pumps that are reasonably priced. I was considering getting one of those for when I cook a small amount of pork or chicken.
I now always inject my pork: each and every cook....
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and I was very pleased with the results and the folks who were eating it seemed to really like it too.
