Turkey Injection Recipe (2024)

Table of Contents show

Equipment You Will Need

While we usually refrain from using any type of special equipment in our recipes, this one is different. You will need a meat injector (or a syringe) to inject the marinade into the turkey.

Luckily, it is not hard to find. Most grocery or hardware stores sell turkey seasoning injection kits during the holiday season. The good news is that once you make the investment, you can use it for injecting other types of meat as well.

For this recipe, you will need:

• Meat Injector: A suitable turkey injector is the most critical component of this recipe’s equipment. We recommend purchasing a stainless steel syringe with a needle that has one opening at the tip. Even though nowadays, most kits come with multiple needle heads, we found that using the one with a single opening gives you better control over the flow of the marinade as you inject it. Additionally, using this type of needle will prevent the injection liquid from leaking out. If you are in the market for a new one, this Stainless Steel Meat Tenderizer Injection Syringe Kit (affiliate link) is the one we used.
• Baking Sheet or a Large Plate: While you might be tempted to use an oven-roasting bag, thinking that you might need something to capture the leaking liquid, during our testing, we found that there was minimal leakage from the areas injected. Therefore, all you need is a baking sheet or a plate that is large enough to accommodate your turkey.

Substitutions & Optional Add-Ins:

• Stock: Though I use chicken stock, you may also use turkey stock for a similarly rich taste as you make your own injection recipe.
• Fresh garlic: I don’t recommend using minced garlic, as it will clog the syringe of your injector. However, you can mince garlic and infuse the butter with it should you want a bolder, more pungent taste. After all, who doesn’t like the taste of a rich Garlic Butter Sauce? However, be sure to drain the butter-garlic mixture before adding it to your turkey injection fluid in case the remaining garlic pieces clog the syringe.
• Olive oil: If you enjoy the flavors of olive oil, you can adjust this recipe by using one-half olive oil and one-half butter. With that being said, you can use other mildly flavored oils, such as avocado oil.
• Sweetener: Want to give your lemon butter turkey injection a slightly sweeter flavor? To cut back on the acidity of this simple recipe, you can make an apple cider, apple juice, or orange juice (without pulp) turkey injection by swapping out this recipe’s lemon juice for these other liquids.
• Spices: A great way to give your turkey a different seasoning profile is to substitute my recommended injection mix for another delectable profile. For a sweet, salty, and spicy injection for turkey, I recommend adding Old Bay seasoning to your injection mixture. Or, for an even more pronounced heat, you can prepare a piquant Cajun injection marinade using Cajun seasoning. Spices like paprika, black pepper, and cayenne will immediately elevate the heat and depth of flavor, creating an enticing contrast to turkey’s natural flavor. Finally, you may also add a tablespoon of poultry seasoning for more fragrant, herbaceous undertones.
• Liquid smoke: You can use this turkey injection recipe for smoking, but if you do not have the means to smoke the turkey yet still desire those flavors, liquid smoke is a great option. To make a liquid smoke turkey injection recipe, add ½ teaspoon of liquid smoke to the mixture, taste it, and add more as necessary. However, please keep in mind that a small amount goes a long way, so be sure to taste after every addition.
• Fresh herbs: Bright, garden-fresh, and aromatic, an herb turkey injection recipe is easy to make. Simply steep a small amount (a tablespoon or so) of roughly chopped fresh rosemary, sage, or thyme in your butter injection sauce for 10-15 minutes and remove them before injecting the mixture into your turkey.
• Ground black pepper (or white pepper): We decided to keep black pepper as an optional ingredient in our turkey injection marinade, as most roasted turkey recipes use black pepper in the seasoning for the exterior of the bird. However, if you like the peppery flavors, you can add a small amount (no more than ¼ teaspoon) to this liquid turkey seasoning mixture.

Expert Tips

We learned so much as we were working on this recipe. Come to find out, there is so much to know when it comes to injecting a turkey with marinade. Below, we are sharing everything you need to know, including where to inject the turkey with butter to ideal marinade temperatures:

• Thaw frozen turkey: If you are using frozen turkey, ensure it’s fully thawed before you start the injection process. Otherwise, the injection marinade won’t spread evenly throughout the meat.
• You don’t need to wait for the turkey to come to room temperature: Though I don’t suggest injecting your turkey while the meat is frozen, I warn against letting it come to room temperature before inserting it with the butter injection. Allowing the turkey to heat and cool repeatedly can grow unwanted bacteria, making the meat unsafe to eat.
• Ensure your butter isn’t too hot: Though your injection marinade doesn’t have to be at room temperature, it shouldn’t be boiling, either. Injecting your turkey with a too-hot marinade may begin cooking the meat, resulting in overcooked or unsafe turkey after the final cooking process. I recommend letting the mixture cool for 10 minutes or so while you are preparing the turkey for injection.
• Move quickly to avoid butter solidification: The best injectable marinade for turkey is neither too hot nor too cold. You can start injecting as soon as it is lukewarm. However, I recommend moving quickly as butter tends to solidify as it sits.
• Use hot tab water: Towards the end of the injection process, as the butter cools down, it may clog the needle. If and when that happens, an easy solution is to run the syringe (and the needle tip) under hot tap water for 15-20 seconds.
• Practice makes perfect: If you’ve never used an injector before (or want to test your marination recipe before using it on a full bird), I suggest starting on less meaty parts of the bird (such as wings and drumsticks) to practice before you begin injecting the “big-ticket portions.”
• Don’t pierce the bird’s cavity: When injecting your bird, try not to penetrate beyond the meat and into the turkey’s inner cavity, as the marinade won’t infuse the meat unless the needle lands within its fibers.
• Don’t worry about solidified butter: Since you need to store your turkey in the fridge after injection, don’t worry if you find hardened butter around the bird’s injection sites. This butter seepage represents a small amount of the total marination liquid within the bird, and it will help the turkey brown during the cooking process.
• Brining and injecting: You might be wondering, can I use this garlic butter injection if I am brining my turkey? The answer is yes. You can both brine and inject a turkey with marinade before roasting. However, keep in mind that the two methods should complement each other in terms of potency, flavor, and the amount of salt used. If you choose to use both preparation methods, I recommend brining the meat first for 12-24 hours, then rinsing off the bird and pat-drying it with a paper towel. Then, you can inject the meat with the injection marinade. However, when preparing the injection solution, omit using salt to prevent your turkey from being overly salty.
• Use this injection for turkey breast, drumsticks, thighs, and more: You don’t need to cook up a whole bird to use this tasty injection blend. However, if you plan to inject smaller cuts of turkey meat, adjust the amount of marinade you use according to the size of the meat you are injecting. You can then store your leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container, reheating the mixture before using it again.
• Food safety: After injecting your turkey with this injector recipe, promptly transfer it to the refrigerator. This cool temperature will allow the flavors to evenly distribute throughout the meat while also protecting against unwanted bacterial growth. Furthermore, don’t reuse excess marinade that came into contact with uncooked meat.

Should I inject turkey the night before?

To inject turkey before roasting or smoking, I highly recommend injecting your turkey overnight (or up to 36 hours!), ensuring the flavors have time to distribute evenly throughout the bird. However, if you plan on deep-frying your turkey, you may insert the injectable butter marinade for the turkey thirty minutes before cooking.

Does injecting a turkey make it juicier?

Yes! The additional liquids, oils, and fats common in injector marinades will keep your turkey from becoming dry, with an even distribution of succulent, moist texture throughout the bird.

How to inject a turkey without an injector?

I don’t recommend trying to internally marinate a turkey without a turkey injector. However, if you don’t have an injector, you may create knife pockets or slits in the turkey meat using a sharp knife. Then, use a spoon to pour the marinade into these pockets. Though the mixture won’t distribute as evenly as it would with an injector, it’ll still introduce some flavor and moisture to the turkey meat.

Can I use an injected turkey to make gravy?

Absolutely! The flavors from the infused turkey will help enhance the gravy, lending it all the rich, savory undertones of the injection marinade.

Can you inject a butterball turkey?

You can definitely use this turkey injector recipe on butterball turkey! This succulent addition adds tender juiciness to your meat, and you can also use it on leaner poultry, such as heritage turkey or chicken.

Turkey Injection Recipe

Yields: 1 cup

Here’s a simple turkey injector recipe made with butter and chicken broth. Use this easy recipe to add flavor and moisture to your turkey from the inside out. It can be used for the whole turkey or the turkey breast (or other parts.)

Nutrition

Calories: 926kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 94g | Saturated Fat: 58g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 25g | Trans Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 248mg | Sodium: 2906mg | Potassium: 502mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 2821IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 2mg