▌ Product Description
The Meatech MT-BI brine injector distributes liquid marinade — salt solutions, phosphates, soy protein, tenderisers, and flavouring — directly into muscle tissue through a high-pressure multi-needle array, penetrating to the centre of thick cuts in a single pass. This bypasses the fundamental limitation of surface soaking, which delivers marinade only to the outer 2–3 mm of muscle tissue regardless of soaking duration. Injection combined with downstream vacuum tumbling consistently delivers 10–20% cook yield improvement over soaking-marinated product — a measurable reduction in raw material cost per kilogram of finished product.
Three models cover the range from artisan and central kitchen applications (MT-BI-50N, 50 needles, 500–1,000 kg/h) to high-volume industrial marinating lines (MT-BI-166N, 166 needles, 1,500–1,600 kg/h, injection rate ≥80%). All models are manually operated with a stepping conveyor, adjustable injection pressure (0.3–0.7 MPa), and adjustable injection frequency, allowing the injection parameters to be tuned to different meat densities, cut thicknesses, and marinade viscosities.
In a Meatech marinating line, the MT-BI is positioned after the thawing and portioning stages and directly before the vacuum tumbler — injection distributes marinade rapidly throughout the tissue, and tumbling then works the injected marinade into the muscle fibre structure over a 2–4 hour cycle.
▌ Technical Specifications — All Models
Parameter | MT-BI-50N | MT-BI-83N | MT-BI-166N |
Number of Needles | 50 | 83 | 166 |
Capacity (kg/h) | 500–1,000 | 1,000–1,200 | 1,500–1,600 |
Injection Rate (%) | 40–80 | 40–80 | ≥ 80 |
Injection Pressure (MPa) | 0.5 | 0.3–0.7 | 0.3–0.7 |
Injection Frequency (times/min) | 15 / 56 | 10 / 56 | 12 / 50 |
Stepping Speed (m/min) | 15–60 | 15–60 | 15–60 |
Motor Power (kW) | 3.7 | 4.0 | 5.7 |
Power Supply | 380V / 50Hz | 380V / 50Hz | 380V / 50Hz |
Net Weight (kg) | ~570 | ~680 | ~760 |
Dimensions (L×W×H mm) | 2,230×800×1,700 | 1,860×1,100×1,700 | 2,700×1,700×2,050 |
▌Solution Applications — Line Position
Meatech Solution | Role in Line |
Solution 05 — Marinated Meat Ready-to-Cook | Primary marination stage. Receives portioned raw chicken, pork ribs, or beef cuts after the bone saw/slicer and injects marinade before the vacuum tumbler. The injection + tumbling sequence compresses 24–48 hour soaking to a 2–4 hour in-line cycle. |
Solution 07 — Smoked & Cooked Meat Line | Injects curing brine (nitrite salt, phosphate, seasoning) into ham and bacon raw material before tumbling. Uniform curing salt distribution achieved by injection is the foundation of consistent pink colour and water retention in finished smoked products. |
Solution 04 — Kebab & Shawarma Line | Injects marinade into bone-in lamb shoulder or chicken thigh before tumbling. Injection is critical for bone-in formats where marinade cannot penetrate to the bone from the surface. |
Solution 10 — Central Kitchen Pre-Processing | Provides rapid marination capability for multiple meat SKUs in a central kitchen environment where traditional overnight soaking is not feasible due to batch scheduling. |
▌FAQ
Q: Why is injection more effective than soaking for marinating thick meat cuts?
A: Marinade penetration by soaking is driven by diffusion — molecules move from high to low concentration through muscle tissue at a rate that is physically limited regardless of soaking time. For a 30 mm thick chicken thigh, surface soaking for 24 hours achieves marinade penetration of approximately 2–3 mm from the surface. Injection distributes marinade directly throughout the full cross-section of the cut in a single pass, producing uniform flavour and yield improvement from surface to centre.
Q: How should injection pressure be set for different products?
A: Injection pressure should be set to the minimum that achieves full needle penetration and consistent distribution without tearing muscle fibre. As a general guide: fresh chicken and pork (softer tissue) — 0.3–0.4 MPa; beef (denser muscle) — 0.4–0.6 MPa; bone-in products — 0.5–0.7 MPa to ensure penetration around the bone. The MT-BI allows independent pressure adjustment, and Meatech provides injection parameter guidance for common product types.
Q: Can the MT-BI handle marinades with herbs, spices, or solid particles?
A: The MT-BI needle array is designed for liquid brine solutions. Marinades with fine-ground spices or dissolved seasonings are compatible. Marinades containing whole herb particles, large spice fragments, or high-viscosity pastes require filtering before injection to prevent needle clogging. Meatech recommends pre-filtering marinade solutions through a 0.5–1 mm screen before loading the injection tank.
