I get a lot of questions about this one, so I thought I’d just post the basic recipe here for all to see/use…
Basic recipe for using Game Changer brine as a pork injection is as follows:
- Use a non-acidic fruit juice or soda pop instead of water.
- I like a 50/50 ratio of apple juice and ginger ale instead of water. Ginger ale and Sprite also works very well as does peach nectar and ginger ale.
- Mix using the full strength recipe, ie: 1/2 cup brine plus 16 oz apple juice and 16 oz ginger ale.
- Inject at a ratio of 1 fluid ounce per pound of meat. So a 10 lb. butt gets 10 fl oz. of injection.
- Let injected butt rest in fridge for a minimum of 2 hours. Can let them rest for up to 8 hours if time allows.
- Apply rub liberally. My favorite for pulled pork is Competition Beef & Pork rub. If I’m doing money muscle, I’ll use Secret Weapon or Dominator (or a combination of the two).
- Cook until internal temp hits 165 degrees F.
- Double wrap in aluminum foil.
- Continue cooking until bone is loose or butt hits 191 degrees F.
- Let butt rest for an hour before pulling.
can game changer brine be used for cow tongue?
Sure. It most certainly could be used. I would mix it with no salt added beef stock instead of water and brine at the full strength ratio/recipe. Thanks!
Looking at the two pork butts… Why are they split like that? Did you put knife scares in the meat before smoking it?
Hi redjr64 – Yes, I always score the tops of my pork butts before I apply rub to them. It helps create more bark and they cook faster. Plus, the little squares are like pork burnt ends when the butt is cooked… YUM!!
I want to try smoking pork loins. I have game changer. Is it better to brine the loins or inject them for smoking? We want to be able to slice the loins when they are done smoking.
Either method will work well, however injecting will work quicker without having to wait 12-24 hours for an immersion brine.
Has anyone tried injecting chicken? if so, same ratio’s as above or different?
Hi Hugo! We usually submersion brine chicken per the recipe.