The Best Turkey Injection Recipe
This turkey injection recipe is the perfect way to season your thanksgiving turkey so that it is tender and juicy. Make the most delicious turkey breast with this easy recipe this year!
Using an injectable marinade is a brilliant way to prepare a whole turkey. Injecting the turkey meat with different seasonings makes for a juicy bird full of great flavors.
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We love to cook turkey for all kinds of occasions. At Thanksgiving we use this garbage can turkey method, for Christmas its a roast turkey and at Easter we like to make a smoked turkey in the vertical smoker or this Traeger smoked turkey.
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This is the best turkey injection recipe for a smoked bird, hands down! If you love to smoke your turkey at family gatherings, you’ll want to try this.
You’ll need a few supplies to get started, the meat injector being the most important.
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Supplies
- small pot
- medium bowl
- meat injector
- roasting pan
- paper towels
Turkey Injection Recipe
For the Injection:
- Chicken broth
- Unsalted butter, melted
- Franks red hot sauce*
- Garlic powder
12-20 lb frozen turkey, defrosted.
*The addition of Franks red hot sauce is best with a bird that is being smoked or cooked in the garbage can. If you are roasting your turkey we recommend omitting the hot sauce and coating the bird with our herb butter instead.
Depending on the way we are planning on cooking the turkey we like to place our turkey in a brine overnight. For roast turkey this is the best brine recipe and for smoked turkey we use this brine recipe for the smoker.
Instructions
1. Gather the ingredients.
2. Combine ingredients in a small saucepan.
3. Stir over medium heat until the butter is completely melted. This can be done in the microwave.
4. Remove the mixture from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
5. Load the marinade into a meat injector and slowly inject it into various spots in the bird at different angles.
6. Stop when the mixture oozes out of the skin.
Be sure to inject into the side of the breast, the thigh and the drumsticks.
7. Massage the bird around all of the injection sites to distribute the mixture throughout the injected turkey.
8. Cover the bird and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cooking.
When adding additional seasonings to the injection mix, keep in mind they need to be finely ground otherwise they will not pass through the hole in the tip of the injector. A spice grinder can be used to grind dry herbs so that they fit through the injection needle.
Ingredient Suggestions
- Instead of hot sauce try lemon juice or worcestershire sauce.
- Add finely ground black pepper, creole seasoning, cayenne pepper, onion powder or fresh herbs.
- You can substitute olive oil for butter but we’ve achieved the best results with melted butter.
Tips and Tricks
- Keep butter warm. Wrap a hot cloth around the injector if needed. Work quickly.
- The best way to season the outside of the turkey is with melted butter and your seasoning of choice.
- The mixture must be kept in liquid form or it gets stuck in the meat injector.
- Slowly release the mixture into the meat as your are pulling the injector out to create veins of the marinade throughout.
More Turkey Recipes
- We like to use this herb butter rub to coat the skin of the turkey before smoking or roasting.
- Do you have leftover turkey? Make these turkey cranberry sliders or turkey salad sandwiches!
- Looking for a low carb alternative to your standard stuffing? Try this delicious keto friendly stove top stuffing recipe!
- My mom always makes the best side dishes for Thanksgiving dinner! Try her classic yams recipe this year.
- This cranberry salsa recipe is a family favorite and makes the perfect appetizer!
This turkey injection marinade is a must try this holiday season! This delicious marinade makes the most tender turkey – the perfect turkey for Thanksgiving dinner.
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The Best Turkey Injection Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 tablespoon Franks red hot sauce optional
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Gather the ingredients.
- Combine ingredients in a small saucepan.
- Stir over medium heat until the butter is completely melted. This can also be done in the microwave.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Load the marinade into a meat injector and slowly inject it into various spots in the bird at different angles.
- Stop when the mixture oozes out of the skin.7. Massage the bird around all of the injection sites to distribute the mixture throughout the injected turkey.
- Cover the bird and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cooking.
Video
Notes
- Franks red hot sauce may be omitted.
- Be sure to inject into the side of the breast, the thigh and the drumsticks.
- Keep butter warm. Wrap a hot cloth around the injector if needed. Work quickly.
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- The mixture must be kept in liquid form or it gets stuck in the meat injector.
- The best way to season the outside of the turkey is with melted butter and your seasoning of choice.
Nutrition
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