Chicken Injection Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is good to inject into chicken? ›

1. Cajun injection: Add cayenne pepper, chili powder, and Worcestershire sauce to a chicken broth and butter base for a Cajun twist. 2. BBQ injection: Incorporate classic BBQ dry rub flavors with an injection made from brown sugar, apple juice, ketchup, vinegar, and hot sauce before smoking or grilling your chicken.

Again, this is because most rotisserie chickens contain an “injection solution” of sugars, sodium, and other processed ingredients. Because they are injected into the meat, these additives, salts, and sugars are distributed throughout the chicken—so you can't avoid them by not eating the skin.

Injecting is another great way to ensure much-needed hydration in all meats and can be done right before the big cook. Though, for better results, allowing time for the injection to equilibrate for up to 24 hours is recommended.

Plumping, also referred to as “enhancing” or “injecting,” is the process by which some poultry companies inject raw chicken meat with saltwater, chicken stock, seaweed extract, or some combination thereof.

Myth #1: Broiler chickens are pumped with hormones and steroids. Fact: Federal regulations prohibit the use of added hormones and steroids in all poultry. You may have heard some chatter about chickens being given hormones or steroids throughout their lives to make for larger birds, but that's just not the case.

At Costco, where you can buy a rotisserie chicken for $4.99, even with inflation running amok, the chickens are injected with a concentrated saline solution to give them their distinctive taste that customers know and love. And while some customers have discovered off-tasting chicken, not all have.

Costco's rotisserie chicken is arguably the most controversial piece of poultry in America. In the span of just one year, customers have claimed that the rotisserie chicken tastes like chemicals and causes gastrointestinal issues.

One of the key secrets to achieving juicy and flavorful rotisserie chicken lies in the art of brining. Brining involves soaking the chicken in a saltwater solution infused with herbs, spices and aromatics. This process not only enhances moisture retention but also imparts depth of flavor to the meat.

After injecting your turkey with the marinade, you can immediately cook it and avoid the hassle of spending hours brining your turkey. Deeper Flavor Penetration: Rubbing a marinade or dry rub on a turkey will only flavor the exterior.

Fresh chicken is injected with a solution of saltwater so it stays juicier and more flavorful (so they say). The solution contains a long list of ingredients that can account for up to 15%, or more, of the chicken's weight.

What do they inject chicken meat with? ›

During the process of enhancing, or plumping, meat is injected with water, salt and additives (chicken solution) to help preserve taste and moisture. It sounds gross, but it's the industry standard.

Despite this label appearing on many chicken products found in the store, no chicken you buy is ever given added hormones or steroids. In fact, the use of such added or artificial hormones is forbidden by law by the FDA and this must be noted on the label. Ever notice the asterisk with that label?

There are no known side effects related to the consumption of Kadaknath chicken and eggs. “Anyone who is allowed to have meat and high protein foods and wants to have a higher nutritional value chicken can consume the Kadaknath variety of chicken,” informed Agarwal.

But it is not just flavor that you can get from injecting meat before smoking or BBQing. You can also add more moisture to the meat, which is very important when you smoke or BBQ as it is easy to draw out moisture during the cooking process.

So what should you inject with your injector? The shortlist includes broth or stock, melted butter, cognac or whiskey, hot sauce or Worcestershire sauce, fish sauce or soy sauce, or a combination of these ingredients. For a touch of sweetness add fruit juice or molasses or honey.