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A pork butt injection recipe can add great flavor to a piece of meat. Best of all, it’s one of the easiest things you can do to add flavor before smoking your pork butt. Once you discover how easy injecting can be, you’ll be using injections in all sorts of meats.

Pork Shoulder on wood board
Add flavor and moisture, while tenderizing.

Should I brine or inject pork shoulder?

Both! A brine helps a piece of meat retain moisture while also adding flavor. An injection can help tenderize meat while adding flavor. I use this stainless steel meat injector for all my marinades. It only makes sense to take the time to do both. If you’re going to spend all day smoking a pork butt, why not take the extra time to brine and inject it?

Can you inject beer into pork shoulder?

Beer is said to help tenderize the meat and is wonderful to inject into a tough cut of meat. Do note that some cooks claim that beer doesn’t do anything to tenderize the meat. Try it yourself and you be the judge. If you like the flavor of beer, it certainly can’t hurt anything.

Should you inject pork shoulder overnight?

Once injected, meat should rest for 1 hour or as long as overnight.

Injecting Pork Shoulder
Meat needs to rest at least one hour after injection.

Is pork shoulder and pork butt the same thing?

No. The pork shoulder and pork butt both come from the shoulder, but the butt comes from higher on the leg than the shoulder.

What are the ingredients to make pork shoulder injection?

A pork butt injection consists of liquids, salt, sugar, and spices. For this recipe, we’ll be using the following:

Pork Shoulder Injection Ingredients displayed on wood board
Simple ingredients.

How do you make pork butt injection?

Pork Butt Injection in clear glass bowl
Simply mix and inject.

All you need to do is mix the ingredients and place into the meat injector. That’s it.

Want to add more flavor? Be sure to check out my Pork Shoulder Brine recipe.

Ready to smoke? I’ve got a great Smoked Pork Shoulder recipe you need to try.

pork shoulder injection recipe graphic for pinterest
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Pork Shoulder Brine

Pork Butt Injection Recipe

A pork shoulder injection like this one can add flavor to any piece of smoked meat. It’s one of the easiest things you can do to add flavor.
4.16 from 38 votes
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Course: Marinade
Cuisine: American
Keyword: pork shoulder injection
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 144kcal
Author: Mark Rogers

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Apple Juice
  • 2 tablespoons Kosher Salt
  • ½ cup Water
  • ½ cup Brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
  • teaspoon of paprika
  • teaspoon of garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons Soy sauce
  • ¼ cup Apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ cup Amesphos phosphates

Instructions

  • Mix the ingredients together. Pull into the injector and inject. It’s that simple.

Video

Notes

  • 8-10 pound bone-in pork shoulder (pork butt)
  • Serves 1 person per ½ pound

Nutrition

Calories: 144kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 4004mg | Potassium: 143mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 239IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1mg

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