Injecting Chicken

Peddler

I know some folks use a marinade injector on a turkey. Has anyone tried it on a chicken and if so, how was it and what was the marinade? I usually cook a bird on the chicken setter with goodies in the setter, but I just bought an injector and thought it might work on a small bird.[p]Peddler

Nature Boy

Peddler,
I have done this a few times with pretty good results, though the stuff does seem to hang out in pockets, where you notice dense flavoring in certain areas. I seem to be getting a little better at it...you have to squeeze steadily as you remove needle, and inject in several areas. Have also learned that the seasonings tend to spread out better of you inject some while the bird is on the smoker...after the bird is wamred. Thanks to Houndof for that suggestion![p]I usually melt some butter with very finely crushed garlic (or garlic powder), add a little fruit juice, maybe a little wine, and the finely ground seasonings of the moment...speaking of Houndog, that home made green chile powder of his is killer in the injection mixture! Maybe a little soy sauce, but don't overdo it with salt.[p]Play around and have fun. You certainly wont hurt anything!
Cheers!
NB

Unknown

Peddler,[p]I just injected a chicken last week. I used the Chef Williams brand injectable marinade. This last time, I used the version called Cajun Hot & Spicy Butter or somethin' like that. This was pretty spicy, but was excellent in the chicken. [p]I agree with NB that the marinade tends to stay local to the area that it was injected into, though with practice I'm getting a more even coverage of the meat each time I use the injector.[p]Good Eatin'
Kevin

Peddler

Kevin Klostermann,[p]Thanks to both you and NB. I'll let you know how it works out after tonight's try. I have Eastman's Monster Marinator Injector. It the needle is 6" long and has 12 holes in it. This should be fun. BTW, I also use the marinating vacume dish that Tila sells for the Food Saver. It works great on fish. My bird is a little too big to fit the container.[p]Peddler

ColoradoCook

Peddler,[p]I concur with Nature Boy, the marinade does collect in pockets. I've done it twice now and I also am getting better at it. Avoid making to many injection points (holes), you can angle your injector several different ways from one entry point injecting marinade while gradually pulling out. I'm going to try NB's idea of butter, garlic, and fruit juices, that's sounds good.[p]CC

Zip

Nature Boy,[p]I have to agree with NB about injecting after the meat has started cooking. If you heat some weak broth and steep your favorite spices for about 20 minutes. Strain the mixture and inject while cooking. The only evidence of the injection is the flavor, no pockets of spice.[p]What I've been doing alot with chicken is injecting just a simple brine of just salt, water, and sugar. I add the salt and sugar to water to make a very weak brine that you could actually drink, but not that you would want to. Just inject in all the parts just before you start-up the cooker. This allows you the overcooking safety net of the brine without the strong salt or allowing time for the brine to work.[p]
Ashley

Big Murth

Peddler,
Just injected a bird Thurs.night for a cook on Friday, and it came out great, but as NB and others have said, you can over-saturate areas of the bird in favor of others. I gotta practice some more.
I think using the vertical roaster over a drip pan would be fine, whether you're using an indirect method or not. I use my Chicken Sitter, to have a place for additional moisture to flow up from, and the bird's juices/marinade to flow in to. I think it's hard to beat the moisture level the Egg delivers, but the Chicken Sitter enhances it even more, IMHO. Big Murth

Shelby

Peddler,
I've injected turkey's for years and when I started with the Egg, decided to do the same with chicken. Works great.
I mix my own rather than use the store bought stuff.
I start with chicken brooth(or use bullion cube); to that I melt in at LEAST a stick of butter then add garlic and onion powder as well as Tony C's (season salt) black pepper and a little liquid crab boil. Of course, then I rub the outside with light oil and coat with more seasoning! Always get excellet results, like last night!

Peddler

Nature Boy,
Well I used the injector and pretty much followed your recipe. The chicken came out great. I also sat it on a chicken setter with beer, apple vinegar, chopped onions, and garlic. After I injected, I rubbed the breasts to try and distribute the fluid. I didn't detect any areas of the breast where the injected flavors were more intense than others, so maybe the rubbing helped. My only mistake was not straining the mixture before injecting. Some of the minced garlic got into the injector needle and clogged some of the holes up. There's always a next time to perfect the technique.