Brisket Injection Recipe: How to Inject Brisket With Marinade

A brisket injection is a flavorful marinade consisting of liquids and seasonings that get injected into a cut of beef brisket (using a meat syringe or plastic injector) before cooking it. Brisket is one of the eight main (or primal) cuts of beef. Like the chuck and shank, brisket is composed of muscles that a steer frequently uses, resulting in a tough, fibrous cut of meat that benefits from a low-and-slow cooking process (like smoking or braising). A flavor-packed injection keeps tough brisket juicy and prevents it from drying out during the cooking process.

Whether you’re a bona fide pitmaster or grilling novice, home cooks of all levels will be able to craft and inject a tasty brisket marinade by following these steps:

1. 1. Select the injection ingredients. The first step in the injection process involves choosing the proper marinade recipe to suit your taste preferences. Begin with a liquid base of chicken, vegetable, or beef stock. From there, add savory, sweet, and spicy flavors with additions like soy sauce, hot sauce, BBQ sauce, pineapple juice, apple juice, brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, kosher salt, and a wide variety of spices. Only use finely ground spices and herbs in your injection marinade because larger particles can potentially clog the meat injector.
2. 2. Prepare the marinade. Once you’ve selected your marinade ingredients, add them to a saucepan and heat the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly. The sugar, salt, and spices will dissolve during this process, and the marinade ingredients will fuse. Alternatively, add your marinade ingredients to a large mixing bowl, whisk well to combine, and let the mixture rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.
3. 3. Fill the meat injector. To fill the meat injection syringe, submerge the needle into the injection liquid and pull back the plunger until the vial is full.
4. 4. Inject the meat. Lay the trimmed brisket flat in a shallow baking dish or cooking tray. Insert the injector’s needle into the center point of the meat and slowly push down on the syringe while withdrawing the needle until a small amount of liquid leaks out at the surface. Repeat this process across the entire brisket, moving along the meat’s grain, leaving about 1–2 inches between each insertion point. Once you’ve finished injecting the meat, pour any leftover marinade over it.