How to brine, season and inject meat for an amazing BBQ experience

Knowing how to choose between brining, seasoning and injecting meat will help new cooks develop their own superb BBQ recipes. While all methods can be used on almost any type of meat, some flavouring techniques work best with certain cuts of meat.

• Lean meats, like poultry and pork, can benefit from wet brining. A wet brine will help prevent these types of meats from drying out before they are fully cooked.
• A four per cent solution of salt to water is a common brining solution that's appropriate for almost any type of meat.
• Some people like to add an equal amount of sugar to salt if they are brining poultry. Meat should be brined for at least 24 hours to allow the liquid to permeate the meat.

• The simplest dry brining technique is simply sprinkling a half teaspoon of kosher salt per half-kilo of meat to the exterior surface the food.
• For thin foods, like burgers and chops, the salt should sit on the meat for a couple of hours before grilling.
• Whole poultry should be salted and refrigerated for approximately 12 hours, but can be prepared the night before.
• Heavy roasts can be salted, wrapped in plastic, and left in the refrigerator for up to two days.
• Rubs that contain spices and sugars can also be used as a dry brine. They can be applied more liberally to the meat, but rubs should be applied for the same length of time as plain salt.

• Rather than being wet brined, meat can be injected with butter, broth or another flavouring liquid. This is a quick and effective way to ensure good flavour penetration throughout the meat.
• However, be aware that most poultry is already injected with a mixture of broth or brine prior to packaging.
• This meat cannot be injected because it would be too salty and wouldn't absorb additional liquid well.
• There are many injection recipes that use everything from juice to stock to butter. Once the liquid has been made, it can be added to the meat using a marinade injector.
• A common rule of thumb is to use 30 grams of liquid per half-kilo of meat. The meat should be injected with a series of tiny holes spaced approximately three centimetres apart.

• Thin cuts of meat can be seasoned with a marinade. All marinades should contain some salt, oil and flavouring, but should not contain any alcohol.
• Also, overnight marinades aren't recommended, and marinating should be limited to about six hours.
• Instead, a marinade should contain either an acidic juice or vinegar to speed up the process.

The correct seasoning prior to grilling can rescue an average cut of meat and elevate it into some excellent BBQ. While every good cook has their own method for creating the best food, for inexperienced cooks, it's best to start with some proven techniques before experimenting.

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