Turkey Injection Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What do you inject turkeys with? ›

Inject the turkey with melted butter seasoned with salt, ground black pepper, and ground rosemary to achieve the moistest meat. Cranberry BBQ Glazed Whole Turkey: This glazed turkey is heavenly, but you can make it even better by injecting it with your cranberry BBQ glaze before cooking.

When you are going to inject, you can do it right before cooking. You can also put in a different flavor profile than you can when you brine. Also, I've had some brined turkeys that were just too salty, and you won't run the risk of that by injecting. You're going to need an injector obviously.

Advantages of injecting turkey:

Fats like melted butter, duck fat, or olive oil can be delivered deep into the breast meat, increasing its succulence. Because the liquid is delivered under the skin, the skin tends to come out darker and crisper than that of a brined bird.

Injected and Baked Whole Turkey, Water, Salt, Dextrose, Sodium Phosphate, Carrageenan, and Natural Flavors.

Rubs, brines and sauces deliver flavor to the surface of the turkey, but injecting flavor inside guarantees juiciness throughout the meat.

Stick with salt and pepper, put herbs like rosemary, thyme, and sage to work, or take spicy Cajun seasoning for a spin for some kick. Whatever blend you choose, spread it all over the turkey—on top, underneath, between the body and wings and legs, under the skin, and even in the cavity of the bird.

I recommend injecting the turkey the night before you plan to fry, but it can be done as soon as one hour in advance. I've found that the flavor is more intense if you allow it to set overnight in the fridge.

Every piece of poultry and pork, plus thicker cuts of beef and lamb, and even meatier fillets of fish like swordfish and grouper get seasoned at least one day ahead, and sometimes more, with kosher salt.

Butterball Fresh Whole Turkey is all natural*, never frozen, gluten free, and raised without hormones on American farms. Every fresh turkey is pre-brined before packaging for meat that's always tender and juicy. *All natural means minimally processed and no artificial ingredients.

"And a brine is a really great way, even if you go a few degrees over your desired cooking temperature, if you forget the turkey in the oven for some reason [to help avoid over-cooking]. You have a much greater range where you're still going to have moist, delicious meat because that salt is in there."

Can you over brine a turkey? ›

Brining for too long can result in meat that tastes overly-salty and has a spongy texture. If you're not ready to roast the bird after 18 hours, remove it from the brine, rinse it, pat it dry, and refrigerate for up to two days.

At 225 degrees F, you can plan on it taking approximately 30 minutes per pound to smoke your turkey. Alternatively, if you are running your smoker at 250 degrees F, it will typically take 25 minutes per pound. For example, my 15-pound turkey took around 7 and 1/2 hours at 225 degrees F to fully cook.

Buy a fresh turkey one to two days before the day you plan to cook. If there is a 'best-by' or 'use by' date on the manufacturer's label, then you can keep fresh poultry, unopened, in the refrigerator until that date.

Fresh and Frozen Butterball turkeys are deep basted for juiciness and flavor. All natural means minimally processed and no artificial ingredients. All turkeys are raised hormone- and steroid-free in accordance with USDA requirements.

Butterball turkeys are already injected with a solution of water, salt, and spices that helps to keep them moist and juicy. Brining them would only add more salt to the turkey, which could make it too salty. However, if you want to brine your Butterball turkey for extra flavor and moisture, you can do so.

They often are injected with a basting solution of water, salt and spices—more of it than with fresh turkeys—to amp up the flavor and make the meat extra juicy. Honeysuckle White turkeys are treated to a brine of turkey broth, salt, sugar, celery and rosemary extract.

Some options for aromatics include onion, garlic, apples or citrus fruits, celery, seasonings, herbs, beer and Coca-Cola. There are many alternatives and combinations to pull off the flavor best suited for you. Smoking your turkey is another great way to infuse it with flavor.

I recommend injecting the turkey the night before you plan to fry, but it can be done as soon as one hour in advance. I've found that the flavor is more intense if you allow it to set overnight in the fridge.

Plan for 1/2 an ounce of marinade for every 5 pounds of a whole turkey. Plan to inject the turkey right before cooking. Don't too it too early and do it AFTER rubbing with seasoning or butter (if you are doing either of these).