Brine meat injecting is a process that adds both weight and in many cases flavor to meat, poultry, fish and other food products by the process of injecting a brine solution into the product. This can be done using a brine injection machine that can be as simple as a small portable brine pump connected to what looks like a large hypodermic needle to very large machines that have a head or multiple heads filled with injection needles. These type of brine injectors range from smaller units with 16 to 20 needle heads that are very adequate for single market’s meat processing operation to very large units with multiple heads and hundreds of needles. The basic process is the same no matter the size of the machine.
The basic steps shown above are accomplished by different methods depending on the model of brine injector you chose. As is the case with most food processing applications the choice of machine is usually based on the type of product and the throughput required. When considering brine injection a third factor is very important and that is percentage of pickup (how much more will a piece of product weigh when the injection process is complete vs. before the brine injection process.
Promarksvac Corporation manufactures a complete line of brine injecting machines. Their MSK Series brine injectors range from the MSK-16 model with 16 needles standard in a spring loaded head to their MSK-195 with 195 needles in an air pressure controlled head. Some of the smaller to medium size models feature a walking beam system for product movement where the larger machines use a conveyor system for product movement. The smaller to medium sized models use a mechanical drive system to power the injection heads and product movement systems while the larger units make use of a robust hydraulic power system. All of their models feature # 304 stainless steel construction and a simple to use PLC / HMI control system (except model MSK-16 which uses analog controls).